Key Definitions
- Adjusted net savings: National savings adjusted for education and depleted natural resources and pollutants.
- Ecosystem: All living organisms and their interactions with the abiotic environment.
- Ecosystem accounting: Framework integrating ecosystem measures with economic and human activities.
- Ecosystem services: Benefits from ecosystems categorized into provisioning, regulating and maintenance, and cultural services.
- Environmental indicators: Selected statistical measures representing complex environmental phenomena.
- Natural capital: Stocks of renewable and non-renewable natural resources that provide benefits, including ecosystem services.
- Natural Capital Accounting (NCA): Systematic measurement and reporting of natural capital stocks and flows.
- System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA): Integrated economic and environmental data framework reflecting interrelationships and asset stock changes.
- Valuation: Physical and economic appraisal of natural capital and ecosystem services at national and subnational levels.
Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System (PENCAS)
- Institutionalized within government agencies and mandated to comply with international environmental-economic accounting frameworks.
- Framework covers statistics on depletion, degradation, restoration of natural capital, environmental expenditures, pollution, environmental damages, and adjusted net savings.
Objectives of PENCAS
- Support policies related to economic, environmental, and health sectors.
- Develop systems for collecting and compiling physical and natural capital accounts aiding planning and decision-making.
- Serve as comprehensive data framework for natural capital statistics integration into macroeconomic indicators.
- Provide tools for ecosystem protection, conservation, and restoration.
- Enable valuation of ecosystem services including provisioning, regulating, maintenance, and cultural aspects.
Institutional Arrangements
- PSA Board oversees PENCAS implementation.
- Interagency Committees under PSA Board address methodologies, data duplication, gaps, and system improvements.
- Interagency Committee on Environment and Natural Resources Statistics (IACENRS) supports data generation and roadmap implementation.
- Technical Working Group (TWG) on NCA, chaired by PSA and including DENR, NEDA, DA, with specific roles in coordination, problem-solving, methodology enhancement, output prioritization, and reporting.
Specific Government Functions
- PSA: Overall responsibility, data compilation, technical coordination, creation of ENREAS service.
- DENR: Data provider, leads ecosystem account establishment, strengthens environmental impact assessment, and staff capacity.
- NEDA: Incorporates NCA in development priorities and policy guidance.
- DA: Supports agricultural and fisheries data generation, coordinates with DENR, strengthens related bureaus.
- DILG: Consolidates LGU data and ensures local application of NCA.
- Education and Professional Bodies (DepEd, CHED, TESDA, SUCs, PRC): Incorporate NCA into curricula and professional education.
- DOF: Integrates NCA into fiscal policies and creates investment incentives.
- DOE and DHSUD: Integrate NCA into respective mandates and planning.
Participation of Specific Bureaus
- Inclusion of various bureaus within DENR, DA, DOST, and other agencies for data collection and analysis.
Other Stakeholders
- Engagement of private sector, NGOs, indigenous peoples, and local communities for data provision and PENCAS utilization.
- Mandatory public disclosure of NCA information, subject to security concerns.
Legal Application and Penalties
- Application of Anti-Red Tape Act, Ease of Doing Business Act, and Philippine Statistical Act provisions and penalties to PENCAS implementation.
Citizen Participation and Remedies
- Establishment of consultative and collaborative mechanisms for public awareness and participation.
- Citizens’ rights to access PENCAS data, compel agency compliance, and seek explanations for neglect.
- Release of major PENCAS data alongside economic indicators like GDP and GNI to highlight nature’s economic contributions.
Rights of Nature
- Affirmation that nature’s intrinsic and inherent value is recognized beyond economic valuation.
- Emphasis on sustainability and acknowledgement of natural ecosystem limits and regenerative capacities.
Budgetary Provisions
- Initial funding charged to current agency appropriations.
- Subsequent funding to be included in annual General Appropriations Act budgets of concerned agencies.
Implementation Rules
- PSA to establish interagency working group within one year to formulate implementing rules.
- Incorporation of international best practices and SEEA integration.
- Rules to cover data collection, renewal, and review protocols.
Separability Clause
- Invalidity of any provision does not affect other provisions’ validity.
Repealing Clause
- Repeals laws, orders, or regulations inconsistent with this Act.
Effectivity
- Effectivity fifteen days after publication in Official Gazette or newspaper of general circulation.