QuestionsQuestions (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 578)
It is the policy of the State to protect, conserve, and sustainably use biological diversity to ensure and secure the well-being of present and future generations of Filipinos, covering all components of biodiversity—ecosystems, species, and genes—and requiring integration of biodiversity protection into government policies, plans, and programs.
DENR, DOT, DOST, DA, DOH, DOE, DOTC, DFA, DTI, DND, DILG, NEDA, and all concerned government agencies and offices and local government units must integrate and mainstream biodiversity protection, conservation, and sustainable use into their respective policies, rules, regulations, programs, projects, and development planning.
All government agencies, including LGUs, must formulate and submit to DENR their respective biological diversity programs for monitoring compliance; DENR must provide technical assistance.
Biodiversity protection is a shared responsibility. DENR and concerned agencies must actively engage and collaborate with the private sector, civil society, and local communities so biodiversity goals are incorporated in their programs and activities, including institutionalizing biodiversity conservation as a principal corporate environmental responsibility; public participation—especially at the local level—is encouraged.
DENR must, in accordance with law and subject to public consultations, develop and promulgate rules and regulations for establishing critical habitats within key biodiversity areas, including guidelines for their management and protection.
Areas known to harbor habitats and ecosystems critical for the survival of threatened, restricted-range, and congregatory species.
Biodiversity impact assessment must be integrated into both the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and the Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) processes, considering guidelines adopted under the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Such rules, regulations, and guidelines must be issued within sixty (60) days from the effectivity of the Order.
The Presidential Commission for the Integrated Conservation and Development for the Sulu Celebes Seas created by Proclamation No. 1028; DENR, as Chairman, is instructed to immediately undertake specified tasks.
(1) Review and update the SSME conservation plan; (2) create and organize an Ad Hoc Task Force on Verde Island Passage; and (3) identify other marine biodiversity corridors within the SSME needing urgent attention and formulate conservation and management strategies.
The TF-VIP must formulate and organize the Verde Island Passage Management Plan in consultation with stakeholders, the private sector, civil society, and local communities, and submit it to the Commission for approval.
The plan must take into account existing efforts to protect marine biodiversity, implement integrated coastal management, and conduct disaster risk assessment and management in the Verde Island Passage Marine Corridor.
It is to be composed of DENR, DOT, DOST, DA, DOH, DOE, DOTC, DFA, DTI, DND, DILG, NEDA, and all local government units.
The Commission must ensure the plan is completed within one hundred twenty (120) days from the effectivity of EO No. 578.
Starting 2008 and thereafter, funding requirements must be included in the General Appropriations Bill submitted to Congress. Member-departments are also obligated to fully support activities through appropriate agreements and sharing financial and technical resources to implement the SSME conservation plan.
All executive orders, rules and regulations, and other issuances or parts thereof inconsistent with EO No. 578 are revoked, amended, or modified accordingly.
It shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in a national newspaper of general circulation.