Convention on Biological Diversity

1. Develop a National Strategy and Action Plan on biodiversity conservation and nationaldevelopment;
2. Identify and monitor the important components of biological diversity that need to be conserved and usedsustainably;
3.  Establish protected areas to conserve biological diversity while promoting environmentally-sound development around theseareas;
4. Rehabilitate and restore degraded ecosystems and promote the recovery of threatened species in collaboration with localresidents;
5. Respect, preserve and maintain traditional knowledge of the sustainable use of biodiversity with the involvement of indigenous peoples and local communities;
6. Preventtheintroductionof,control,anderadicatealienspeciesthatcould threaten ecosystems, habitats orspecies;
7.  Control the risks posed by organisms modified bybiotechnology;
8. Promote public participation, particularly when it comes to assessing the environmentalimpactsofdevelopmentprojectsthatthreatenbiodiversity;
9.    Educate people and raise public awareness about the importanceof biological diversity and the need to conserveit;
10.  Report on how the country is meeting its biodiversity goals. Parties are required to submit national reports, as agreed during COP5, every four years to provide information on measures taken for the implementation of the Convention and the effectiveness of thesemeasures.

The National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan (NBSAP), which under Article 6 of the Convention is the principal instrument for implementing the Convention at the national level was prepared in 1997, updated in 2002 and again updated with the 2015-2028 Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (PBSAP). The PBSAP 2015-2028, adopted in 2016, integrates and mainstreams CBD objectives into the national development and sectoral planning framework that includes measurable targets for CBD commitments. The PBSAP lists 113 actions that cover nine thematic areas, namely, forest, coastal and maritime, inland wetlands, cave and cave systems, protected areas, agrobiodiversity, urban biodiversity, invasive alien species and access and benefit-sharing. It involves more than 50 national and attached agencies as responsibility centers supported by other sectors in the society, such as the academe, local governments and civil society.

The First National Biodiversity Congress was held in Quezon City, Philippines on 22-24 May 2017 in celebration of the International Day for Biological Diversity. Organized by BMB and UNDP, the theme was "Upwelling of Lessons, Sustaining Community Benefits in the Conservation of Landscapes and Seascapes."

As part of the country's commitments to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, the BMB has been conducting regional consultation workshops for the preparation and submission of the 6th National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the development of regional targets in support of the Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (PBSAP).