Two days before I left the country on May 24 for my US trip, the international community commemorated the International Day for Biological Diversity (IBD).
Perhaps not too many Filipinos know about it since IBD was originally celebrated every December 29 since 1993 since it was the day when the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) came into force.
Then, the date was moved to May 22 as this was the day when the Nairobi Final Act of the Conference for the Adoption of the Agreed Text of the Convention on Biological Diversity was adopted. The body approved it in order to allow more countries to carry out celebrations, giving the number of holidays coinciding with December 29.
The Philippines is a member of the CBD and is affiliated with ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) which is based at Los Baños, Laguna. “(ACB) reaffirms its commitment to catalyze and scale up efforts on biodiversity valuation, conservation, sustainable management, and equitable sharing of benefits derived from the natural wealth of the ASEAN region,” said Dr. Jerome L. Montemayor, ACB’s executive director.
This year’s theme was “Harmony with nature and sustainable development.” As Dr. Montemayor explained, “(It) invites us to reflect on and rethink how we interact with our environment. Our well-being, economy, and shared future depend heavily on healthy ecosystems. Biodiversity provides us with clean air, food, water, and shelter, and it supports livelihoods and economies, all of which are essential to our survival.”
Despite its importance, we are losing our biodiversity at an alarming rate. “Along with climate change and pollution, biodiversity loss forms the triple planetary crisis impacting the lives of billions of people,” the ACB head pointed out.
“It also threatens our health, since biodiversity loss is also connected to zoonoses, or the transmission of diseases from wildlife to humans. Recognizing this should inspire us to shift and act together to foster a sustainable coexistence with nature, adopting practices that benefit both people and the planet.”
Tropical forests, insects, plants, animals, microorganisms, and the ecosystem where they harbor are all part of biodiversity. “We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity,” said Eward O. Wilson, American biologist and naturalist.
“Human beings could not exist without the abundance and diversity of nature: all our food and many of our industrial materials and medicines are provided by plants, animals, and microorganisms,” points out the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is trying to bridge the gap between biodiversity conservation and sustainable utilization. Its Biodiversity Science and Technology program supports the goals of the Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and the initiatives of the environment department.
In Bukidnon, the Central Mindanao University, which has established the first and only spore bank in the country, has examined the morphoanatomy, propagation techniques, and product development related to ferns.
Among the biodiversity-based products developed are fern-enriched pandesal, known as “ferndesal,” as well as frozen food items such as sausages, food balls, and patties made from fern-based mixtures, in addition to noodles and cookies.
In Cebu, the Cebu Technological University spearheaded an initiative aimed at evaluating, profiling, and promoting economically significant key biodiversity areas (KBAs) within the province. This project investigated the viability of terrestrial snails as a supplementary food source to enhance food security.
Among the identified land snails, the endemic and edible “takyong” (Helicostyla daphnis) has been developed into various food products, including tomato sauce, sisig, protein bars, cookies, meatloaf, ramen, and spreads.
The Philippines is recognized as one of the 17 countries globally with the highest biological diversity. Its land and marine ecosystems exhibit significant endemism, with almost 50% of its plant and animal species being exclusive to its islands.
Ongoing discoveries of new species further highlight this richness. The country is home to 228 designated Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs), which support 855 species of plants and animals that hold global significance, including corals, molluscs, elasmobranchs, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.
“The Philippines has tremendous wildlife resources,” wrote Jesus B. Alvarez Jr. in a 1981 position paper. “We have unique and beautiful birds which are in great demand, both here and abroad. We also have rare, interesting mammals. Most outstanding are the tamaraw and the Philippine eagle which could be placed alongside the world’s finest species.”
Unfortunately, many of our endemic biodiversity are on the verge of extinction. “A few decades ago, the wildlife of the Philippines was notable for its abundance; now, it is notable for its variety; if the present trend of destruction continues, Philippine wildlife will be notable for its absence,” commented Dr. Lee Talbot, who was once a member of the Southeast Asia Project on Wildlife Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.
Noted Filipino wildlife expert Dioscoro Rabor echoed the same sentiment. “It is about time that we, Filipinos, stop making ourselves internationally blind to the real status of our wildlife resources,” he said. “We should face the fact that our country is no longer rich in forests and consequently, of wildlife which used to be a normal component of our forests.”
The Convention for International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) has listed almost 50 wildlife species in the country that are rare, threatened, or endangered. Among those that are included in the list are five marine turtles, two crocodile species, the Philippine eagle, tamaraw, and dugongs.
“Once these species are gone, they are gone forever, leaving behind an imbalance in ecology and beauty difficult to determine and restore,” deplored a committed Filipino environmentalist.
