State policy and objectives
- The State policy is to conserve the country’s wildlife resources and their habitats for sustainability (Section 2).
- The Act pursues objectives to:
- conserve and protect wildlife species and their habitats to promote ecological balance and enhance biological diversity (Section 2);
- regulate the collection and trade of wildlife (Section 2);
- pursue, with due regard to the national interest, the Philippine commitment to international conventions on protection of wildlife and their habitats (Section 2);
- initiate or support scientific studies on the conservation of biological diversity (Section 2).
Coverage, jurisdiction, and Palawan exception
- The Act is enforceable for all wildlife species found in all areas of the country, including protected areas under Republic Act No. 7586 and critical habitats (Section 3).
- The Act also applies to exotic species that are subject to trade, are cultured, maintained, and/or bred in captivity, or propagated in the country (Section 3).
- The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has jurisdiction over all terrestrial plant and animal species, all turtles and tortoises and wetland species including crocodiles, waterbirds, and amphibians, and dugong (Section 4).
- The Department of Agriculture (DA) has jurisdiction over all declared aquatic critical habitats, all aquatic resources including fishes, aquatic plants, invertebrates, and all marine mammals, except dugong (Section 4).
- The Secretaries of DENR and DA shall review and, by joint administrative order, revise and regularly update the list of species under their respective jurisdiction (Section 4).
- In Palawan, jurisdiction conferred in this Act is vested in the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development pursuant to Republic Act No. 7611 (Section 4).
Key definitions established by law
- Bioprospecting is the research, collection and utilization of biological and genetic resources for purposes of applying knowledge derived therefrom solely for commercial purposes (Section 5).
- By-product or derivatives mean any part taken or substance extracted from wildlife in raw or processed form, including stuffed animals and herbarium specimens (Section 5).
- Captive-breeding/culture or propagation is producing individuals under controlled conditions or with human interventions (Section 5).
- Collection or collecting is gathering or harvesting wildlife, its by-products or derivatives (Section 5).
- Conservation means preservation and sustainable utilization of wildlife and/or maintenance, restoration, and enhancement of habitat (Section 5).
- Critically endangered species refers to species facing extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate future (Section 5).
- Economically important species are species with actual or potential value in trade or utilization for commercial purpose (Section 5).
- Endangered species are species not critically endangered but whose survival in the wild is unlikely if causal factors continue (Section 5).
- Endemic species are species naturally occurring and found only within specific areas in the country (Section 5).
- Exotic species are species that do not naturally occur in the country (Section 5).
- Export permit authorizes an individual to bring out wildlife from the Philippines to another country (Section 5).
- Gratuitous permit is a permit for any individual or entity engaged in noncommercial scientific or educational undertaking to collect wildlife (Section 5).
- Habitat is a place or environment where a species naturally occurs or has naturally established its population (Section 5).
- Indigenous wildlife means species naturally occurring or having naturally established population in the country (Section 5).
- Introduction is bringing species into the wild outside its natural habitat (Section 5).
- Import permit authorizes an individual to bring in wildlife from another country (Section 5).
- Reexport permit authorizes bringing out of the country previously imported wildlife (Section 5).
- Secretary means either or both the Secretary of the DENR and the Secretary of the DA (Section 5).
- Threatened species denotes categories including critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable, or other accepted categories of wildlife whose population is at risk of extinction (Section 5).
- Trade is engaging in exchange, exportation or importation, purchase or sale of wildlife, derivatives, or by-products, locally or internationally (Section 5).
- Traditional use is utilization of wildlife by indigenous people under written or unwritten rules, customs, and practices traditionally observed, accepted, and recognized by them (Section 5).
- Transport permit authorizes bringing wildlife from one place to another within the Philippines (Section 5).
- Vulnerable species are not critically endangered nor endangered, but are under threat throughout their range and likely to move to endangered category in the near future (Section 5).
- Wildlife means wild forms and varieties of flora and fauna in all developmental stages, including those in captivity or being bred or propagated (Section 5).
- Wildlife collector’s permit authorizes taking or collecting from the wild certain species and quantities for commercial purpose (Section 5).
- Wildlife farm/culture permit authorizes developing, operating, and maintaining a wildlife breeding farm for conservation, trade, and/or scientific purposes (Section 5).
Secretary-authorized activities and conditions
- All activities under this Chapter must be authorized by the Secretary, based on proper evaluation of best available information or scientific data showing the activity is, or is for a purpose, not detrimental to the survival of the species/subspecies and/or their habitat (Section 6).
- The Secretary must regularly update wildlife information through research (Section 6).
Collection rules
- Collection of wildlife may be allowed in accordance with Section 6, and collection must require appropriate and acceptable techniques with least or no detrimental effects on existing populations and habitats (Section 7).
- Collection by indigenous people may be allowed for traditional use and not primarily for trade (Section 7).
- Traditional-use collection shall not cover threatened species (Section 7).
- Collection of threatened species is governed by Section 23 (Section 7).
Possession, by-products, and local transport
- No person or entity may possess wildlife unless it proves financial and technical capability and facility to maintain the wildlife (Section 8).
- Possession is not allowed if the wildlife was obtained in violation of the Act (Section 8).
- By-products and derivatives may be collected and/or possessed only if the source was not obtained in violation of the Act (Section 9).
- Local transport of wildlife, by-products, and derivatives collected or possessed through any other means is authorized unless it is prejudicial to wildlife and public health (Section 10).
Exportation, importation, and recipient capability
- Wildlife may be exported to or imported from another country only as authorized by the Secretary or designated representative, with strict compliance with the Act and implementing rules (Section 11).
- Export/import authorization requires that the recipient is technically and financially capable to maintain the wildlife (Section 11).
Introduction, reintroduction, and restocking (endemic/indigenous)
- Introduction, reintroduction, or restocking of endemic and indigenous wildlife is allowed only for population enhancement or recovery purposes (Section 12).
- Such acts require prior clearance from the Secretary or authorized representative pursuant to Section 6 (Section 12).
- Any proposed introduction must be subject to a scientific study focusing on bioecology (Section 12).
- The proponent must conduct public consultations with concerned individuals or entities (Section 12).
Introduction of exotic wildlife (prohibitions and conditions)
- No exotic species may be introduced into the country without prior clearance from the Secretary or authorized representative (Section 13).
- Exotic species may not be introduced into protected areas under Republic Act No. 7586 and critical habitats under Section 25 (Section 13).
- When introduction is allowed, it must be subject to an environmental impact study focusing on bioecology, socioeconomic and related aspects of the area (Section 13).
- The proponent must secure prior informed consent from local stakeholders (Section 13).
Bioprospecting and scientific research obligations
- Bioprospecting is allowed only upon execution of an undertaking committing to compliance with reasonable terms and conditions the Secretary imposes to protect biological diversity (Section 14).
- Before granting the permit, the Secretary or authorized representative must require prior informed consent by the applicant from:
- concerned indigenous cultural communities;
- local communities;
- the management board under Republic Act No. 7586; or
- private individuals or entities (Section 14).
- The applicant must disclose fully the intent and scope of bioprospecting in a language and process understandable to the community (Section 14).
- Prior informed consent from indigenous peoples must be obtained in accordance with existing laws (Section 14).
- Action on the bioprospecting proposal by concerned bodies must be made within a reasonable period (Section 14).
- Upon submission of complete requirements, the Secretary must act on the research proposal within a reasonable period (Section 14).
- If the applicant is a foreign entity or individual, a local institution must be actively involved in the research, collection, and, where applicable, technological development of products derived from biological and genetic resources (Section 14).
Scientific research under gratuitous permits
- Collection and utilization of biological resources for scientific research not for commercial purposes is allowed upon:
- execution of an undertaking/agreement; and
- issuance of a gratuitous permit by the Secretary or authorized representative (Section 15).
- Prior clearance from concerned bodies must be secured before issuance of the gratuitous permit (Section 15).
- The last paragraph of Section 14 applies to these scientific research activities (Section 15).
Biosafety and commercial breeding permits
- Activities dealing with genetic engineering and pathogenic organisms in the Philippines, and activities requiring importation, introduction, field release, and breeding of organisms potentially harmful to man and the environment, must be reviewed under biosafety guidelines ensuring public welfare and protection and conservation of wildlife and habitats (Section 16).
- Breeding or propagation of wildlife for commercial purposes is allowed only by the Secretary or authorized representative pursuant to Section 6 through issuance of a wildlife farm/culture permit (Section 17).
- Only progenies of wildlife raised, and unproductive parent stock, may be utilized for trade (Section 17).
- Commercial breeding operations for wildlife, whenever appropriate, must be subject to an environmental impact study (Section 17).
Economically important species management
- Within one (1) year from effectivity, the Secretary must establish a list of economically-important species (Section 18).
- The Secretary must conduct a population assessment within a reasonable period and regularly review and update it (Section 18).
- Collection of certain species may be allowed only when assessment results show the population can remain viable and recover despite the extent of collection (Section 18).
- The Secretary must establish a schedule and volume of allowable harvests (Section 18).
- When an economically important species becomes threatened, any form of collection is prohibited except for scientific, educational, or breeding/propagation purposes, consistent with the Act (Section 18).
International trade authorities and permits
- For implementing international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora, management authorities are:
- Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB) of the DENR for terrestrial resources; and
- Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) of the DA for aquatic resources (Section 19).
- In Palawan, implementation is vested to the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development pursuant to Republic Act No. 7611 (Section 19).
- Scientific authorities for terrestrial species include ERDB of the DENR, U.P. Institute of Biological Sciences, National Museum, and other agencies designated by the Secretary (Section 19).
- Scientific authorities for marine and aquatic species include BFAR, U.P. Marine Science Institute, U.P. Visayas, Silliman University, National Museum, and other agencies designated by the Secretary (Section 19).
- ERDB chairs the scientific authorities for terrestrial species, while U.P. Marine Science Institute chairs for marine and aquatic species (Section 19).
Permit issuance authority
- The Secretary or duly authorized representative must issue permits/certifications/clearances with corresponding validity periods, including:
- wildlife farm/culture permit: 3 to 5 years (Section 20);
- wildlife collector’s permit: 1 to 3 years (Section 20);
- gratuitous permit: 1 year (Section 20);
- local transport permit: 1 to 3 months (Section 20);
- export/import/reexport permit: 1 to 6 months (Section 20).
- These permits may be renewed subject to guidelines issued by the appropriate agency and upon consultation with concerned groups (Section 20).
Fees and charges
- Reasonable fees and charges fixed by the Secretary, upon consultation with concerned groups, are imposed for the issuance of permits enumerated in Section 20 (Section 21).
- The export permit fee may be not greater than three percentum (3%) of the export value, excluding transport costs (Section 21).
- Production costs must be given due consideration in determining the export permit fee (Section 21).
- Cutflowers, leaves and the like, produced from farms, are exempt from the export fee (Section 21).
- Fees and charges must be reviewed by the Secretary every two (2) years or as the need arises, with revision subject to consultation with concerned sectors (Section 21).
Threatened species: classification, list, and listings
- The Secretary must determine whether a wildlife species or subspecies is threatened and classify it as critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable, or other accepted categories based on best scientific data and internationally accepted criteria (Section 22).
- The Secretary’s criteria include:
- present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of habitat or range;
- over-utilization for commercial, recreational, scientific or educational purposes;
- inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; and
- other natural or man-made factors affecting existence of wildlife (Section 22).
- The Secretary must review, revise, and publish the list of categorized threatened wildlife within one (1) year after the Act’s effectivity (Section 22).
- Thereafter, the list must be updated regularly or as the need arises (Section 22).
- A species listed as threatened cannot be removed within three (3) years following its initial listing (Section 22).
- Upon filing of a petition supported by substantial scientific information seeking addition or deletion of a species from the list, the Secretary must evaluate the petition using the relevant factors and act within a reasonable period (Section 22).
- The Secretary must prepare and publish a list of wildlife resembling so closely in appearance with listed threatened wildlife that those species are also categorized as threatened (Section 22).
Collection and conservation breeding of threatened species
- Collection of threatened wildlife, including by-products and derivatives, is allowed only for scientific, or breeding or propagation purposes in accordance with Section 6 (Section 23).
- Only accredited individuals, business, research, educational, or scientific entities may collect for conservation breeding or propagation purposes (Section 23).
- Conservation breeding or propagation of threatened species is encouraged to enhance population in its natural habitat (Section 24).
- Conservation breeding or propagation must be done simultaneously with rehabilitation and/or protection of the habitat where captive-bred or propagated species will be released, reintroduced, or restocked (Section 24).
- Commercial breeding or propagation of threatened species may be allowed only if minimum requirements are met:
- proven effective breeding and captive management techniques of the species; and
- commitment to undertake commercial breeding in accordance with Section 17, simultaneous with conservation breeding (Section 24).
- The Secretary prepares a list of threatened species for commercial breeding and must regularly revise or update it or as the need arises (Section 24).
Critical habitats establishment and protection
- Within two (2) years after effectivity, the Secretary must designate critical habitats outside protected areas under Republic Act No. 7586 where threatened species are found (Section 25).
- Designation must be based on best scientific data and take into consideration species endemicity and/or richness, and presence of man-made pressures/threats to survival, among others (Section 25).
- All designated critical habitats must be protected, in coordination with local government units and other concerned groups, from any form of exploitation or destruction detrimental to threatened species dependent therein (Section 25).
- The Secretary may acquire lands or interests therein—including acquisition of usufruct, establishment of easements, or other undertakings appropriate in protecting critical habitat—by purchase, donation, or expropriation (Section 25).
Registration for threatened and exotic wildlife possession
- No person or entity may possess wildlife unless it proves financial and technical capability and facility to maintain wildlife (Section 26).
- Within twelve (12) months after effectivity, the Secretary shall set a period for registering all threatened species collected and exotic species imported prior to effectivity (Section 26).
- When threatened species are needed for breeding/propagation or research purposes, the State may acquire the wildlife through a mutually acceptable arrangement (Section 26).
- After the registration period elapses, threatened wildlife possessed without a certificate of registration is confiscated in favor of the government, subject to the penalties provided in the Act (Section 26).
- Philippine wildlife not listed as threatened prior to effectivity but later becomes threatened must be registered during the period set after publication of the updated list of threatened species (Section 26).
Illegal acts prohibited without authorization
- Unless allowed under the Act, it is unlawful for any person to willfully and knowingly exploit wildlife resources and their habitats, or to undertake the following acts (Section 27).
- Killing and destroying wildlife species is unlawful except when:
- done as part of religious rituals of established tribal groups or indigenous cultural communities;
- the wildlife is afflicted with an incurable communicable disease;
- it is necessary to put an end to misery suffered by the wildlife;
- it is done to prevent imminent danger to the life or limb of a human being; and
- the wildlife is killed or destroyed after it has been used in authorized research or experiments (Section 27).
- Inflicting injury that cripples and/or impairs the reproductive system of wildlife species is unlawful (Section 27).
- In critical habitats, prohibited acts include:
- dumping of waste products detrimental to wildlife;
- squatting or otherwise occupying any portion of the critical habitat;
- mineral exploration and/or extraction;
- burning;
- logging; and
- quarrying (Section 27).
- The following are unlawful:
- introduction, reintroduction, or restocking of wildlife resources (Section 27);
- trading of wildlife (Section 27);
- collecting, hunting, or possessing wildlife, their by-products and derivatives (Section 27);
- gathering or destroying active nests, nest trees, host plants and the like (Section 27);
- maltreating and/or inflicting other injuries not covered by the preceding paragraph (Section 27);
- transporting of wildlife (Section 27).
Penalties, forfeiture, deportation, and escalation
- The Act imposes different penalties and/or fines depending on the illegal act and the species category.
Paragraph (a) illegal acts: killing/destroying, injury, and critical habitat exploitation
- For illegal acts under Section 27(a) against species categorized as critical, the penalty is:
- imprisonment of a minimum of six (6) years and one (1) day to twelve (12) years and/or a fine of P100,000.00 to P1,000,000.00 (Section 28).
- For illegal acts under Section 27(a) against endangered species:
- imprisonment of four (4) years and one (1) day to six (6) years and/or a fine of P50,000.00 to P500,000.00 (Section 28).
- For illegal acts under Section 27(a) against vulnerable species:
- imprisonment of two (2) years and one (1) day to four (4) years and/or a fine of P30,000.00 to P300,000.00 (Section 28).
- For illegal acts under Section 27(a) against other threatened species:
- imprisonment of one (1) year and one (1) day to two (2) years and/or a fine of P20,000.00 to P200,000 (Section 28).
- For illegal acts under Section 27(a) against other wildlife species:
- imprisonment of six (6) months and one (1) day to one (1) year and/or a fine of P10,000.00 to P100,000.00 (Section 28).
Paragraph (b) illegal acts: (as categorized)
- For illegal acts under Section 27(b):
- against critical species: four (4) years and one (1) day to six (6) years and/or P50,000.00 to P500,000.00 (Section 28);
- against endangered species: two (2) years and one (1) day to four (4) years and/or P30,000.00 to P200,000.00 (Section 28);
- against vulnerable species: one (1) year and one (1) day to two (2) years and/or P20,000.00 to P200,000.00 (Section 28);
- against other threatened species: six (6) months and one (1) day to one (1) year and/or P10,000.00 to P50,000.00 (Section 28);
- against other wildlife species: one (1) month to six (6) months and/or P5,000.00 to P20,000.00 (Section 28).
Paragraphs (c) and (d) illegal acts
- For illegal acts under Section 27(c) and Section 27(d):
- imprisonment of one (1) month to eight (8) years and/or a fine of P5,000.00 to P5,000,000.00 (Section 28).
Paragraph (e) illegal acts: (as categorized)
- For illegal acts under Section 27(e):
- against critical species: two (2) years and one (1) day to four (4) years and/or P5,000.00 to P300,000.00 (Section 28);
- against endangered species: one (1) year and one (1) day to two (2) years and/or P2,000.00 to P200,000.00 (Section 28);
- against vulnerable species: six (6) months and one (1) day to one (1) year and/or P1,000.00 to P100,000.00 (Section 28);
- against species listed as other threatened species: one (1) month and one (1) day to six (6) months and/or P500.00 to P50,000.00 (Section 28);
- against other wildlife species: ten (10) days to one (1) month and/or P200.00 to P20,000.00 (Section 28).
Paragraphs (f) and (g) illegal acts
- For illegal acts under Section 27(f) and Section 27(g):
- against critical species: two (2) years and one (1) day to four (4) years and a fine of P30,000.00 to P300,000.00 (Section 28);
- against endangered species: one (1) year and one (1) day to two (2) years and a fine of P20,000.00 to P200,000.00 (Section 28);
- against vulnerable species: six (6) months and one (1) day to one (1) year and a fine of P10,000.00 to P100,000.00 (Section 28);
- against species listed as other threatened species: one (1) month and one (1) day to six (6) months and a fine of P5,000.00 to P50,000.00 (Section 28);
- against other wildlife species: ten (10) days to one (1) month and a fine of P1,000.00 to P5,000.00 (Section 28).
- For illegal acts under Section 27(f) where the acts were perpetuated through inappropriate techniques and devices, the maximum penalty herein provided must be imposed (Section 28).
Paragraphs (h) and (i) illegal acts
- For illegal acts under Section 27(h) and Section 27(i):
- against critical species: six (6) months and one (1) day to one (1) year and a fine of P50,000.00 to P100,000.00 (Section 28);
- against endangered species: three (3) months and one (1) day to six (6) months and a fine of P20,000.00 to **P50,000