Integrating Biodiversity
in Land Use Planning
Through the Integrated Ecosystem Management (IEM) approach, the Biodiversity Corridor Project will work on intersectoral, interagency and institutional mechanisms which are designed to enhance governance over biodiversity in the corridors.
The BD Corridor Project will provide support in integrating biodiversity in comprehensive land use plans (CLUPs) and forest land use plans (FLUPs) to ensure proper interventions for conservation and sustainability. Since these biodiversity corridors underpin the lives and livelihoods of a large number of local communities, the implementation of such an integrated strategy will be an integral and vital part in achieving a balanced approach to development and community resource use.
Cluster Plans
The Project will facilitate the design of site-specific integrated cluster conservation plans (CCPs) through stakeholder and community consensus and decision-making for areas of critical high biodiversity within the BD corridors. Moreover, the Project will recognize a network of other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) such as indigenous community conserved areas (ICCAs) and local conservation areas (LCAs), in order to improve protection and conservation of people, species and ecosystems within key biodiversity areas (KBAs).
As such, the Project will capacitate national and sub-national governments, sector stakeholders, local communities and indigenous peoples to mainstream BD conservation measures in the pilot corridors into their policies, planning and monitoring systems. More specifically, it aims to integrate IEM considerations into the sub-national plans of regional and local governments.
Policy Formulation: Local Plans
The BD Corridor Project aims to increase the number of regional, provincial and other local plans that mainstream IEM objectives within the biodiversity corridors of Mindoro and Eastern Mindanao. It will support the formulation of IEM-relevant policies, specifically local plans which include:
- CLUPs (comprehensive land use plans), including FLUPs (forest land use plans);
- CDPs (comprehensive development plans);
- PDPFPs (provincial development and physical framework plans); and
- RDPs (regional development plans).
Integration: Assistance to LGUs
The Project will assist local government units (LGUs) in integrating, mainstreaming or updating their CLUPs and other local plans. It will support the undertaking of guidelines, regulations, frameworks and actions for capacity improvement, so as to facilitate biodiversity and ecosystem mainstreaming into sub-national planning systems.
Among the Project activities related to integrating or mainstreaming biodiversity and IEM into CLUPs/FLUPs and CDPs include:
- Support the conduct of activities relative to the pilot test and initial revision of the Joint Administrative Order (JAO) of (1) the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, (2) the Department of Housing Settlements and Urban Development, and (3) the Department of Interior and Local Government or the DENR-DHSUD-DILG JAO;
- Support the conduct of pilot testing of the manual on mainstreaming biodiversity in CLUPs in various corridor clusters;
- Support the conduct of capacity-building activities for provincial or municipal LGUs on integrating BD/IEM in their local plans.
Hence, the end-of-Project target by 2027 is to integrate IEM considerations and mainstream biodiversity and ecosystems into the sub-national plans of at least:
- three (3) RDPs,
- eight (8) PDPFPs, and
- 24 LGU CLUPs/CDPs.
Development of OECMs, SFM and SLM Entry Points
Aside from OECMs such ICCAs, LCAS, critical habitats and private conservation estates, the Project will also look at LGUs with degraded agricultural and forest lands, as potential entry points for Sustainable Land Management (SLM) and Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) interventions. These include highly vulnerable cities and municipalities, LGUs with high susceptibility to climate hazards, those situated in critical watersheds or with high poverty incidence, among others.
SFM provides the enhanced capacities of communities for resilience by maintaining proper forest functions through sufficient cover, sequestration for prolonged storage of standing carbon, and provision of livelihood from non-timber production and utilization into BD friendly enterprises. On the other hand, SLM envisions to restore degraded croplands by determining champions and mapping stakeholders towards reduction of natural hazards through reduced exposure to physical risks.
The Integrated Approach in Management of Major Biodiversity Corridors in the Philippines or BD Corridor Project is a Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded Project with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as the GEF Executing Agency and Implementing Partner, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as the GEF Implementing Agency. Project sites are Mindoro Island and Eastern Mindanao Biodiversity Corridors.
For more info: (02)8 924-4082 / bdcorridorproject@gmail.com
Mindoro Corridor PMU: mbc.denr@gmail.com
Eastern Mindanao Corridor PMU: embcdenr@gmail.com
Biodiversity Corridor Project 
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