Mainstreaming
Biodiversity-Friendly
Agricultural Practices
Within the context of Protected Areas (PAs) and wider landscapes, Biodiversity-Friendly Agricultural Practices (BDFAPs) are those that use traditional and modern technologies as well as agriculture, fishery, agroforestry and multi-cropping management techniques to contribute in maintaining ecosystem resilience, and protect biodiversity reserves and sanctuaries including agriculture-important species, habitat networks and biodiversity corridors.
These practices also facilitate regeneration of natural habitat, protect watersheds and wild habitats against conversion to other uses, use low-input or less environmentally damaging systems that reduce soil erosion and water run-off, and adopt the principles of sustainable livestock and poultry production, among others. They also aim to increase soil fertility and productivity, balance insect population and reduce air, soil and water pollution that affect important habitats of plants and animals.
Rehabilitating Degraded Agricultural Lands
The BD Corridor Project supports the mainstreaming of BDFAPs in PAs (except strict nature reserves and protection zones), in Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) and other conservation areas, as well as promoting BDFAPs in wider agricultural landscapes, which refer to agricultural areas and landscapes that may or may not share similar physical characteristics with PAs and KBAs, and where farmers/farm owners may voluntarily adopt these practices. Under a 2021 Joint Administrative Order of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), among the areas where BDFAPs may be allowed include:
a) Tenured areas in the multiple-use zones and buffer zones of protected areas;
b) Private agricultural lands;
c) Agricultural lands in ancestral domains; and
d) Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) and Integrated Social Forestry (ISF) areas in classified forestlands.
Rollout of JAO
The DA-DENR JAO provides a framework:
- for covering wider agricultural landscapes, ancestral domains and private agricultural lands,
- as basis for formulating BDFAP standards and their relevant certification and recognition systems.
To note, BDFAPs:
- promote agricultural development compatible with ecosystem conservation,
- ensure the judicious use of the country’s natural resources for sustainability, and
- conserve genetic diversity of biological resources for food and agriculture.
To benefit occupant-tiller/farmers and tenured migrants, the Project supports initiating and strengthening the institutionalization of BDFAPs in:
- multiple use and buffer zones of protected areas,
- tenured areas within KBAs.
The BD Corridor Project will:
- support the rollout of the JAO;
- assist in the formulation of the national BDFAPs standards,
- assist in the review and updating of BDFAPs training activities,
- support the DENR and the DA, through its partnership with the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM), in providing and extending technical assistance.
In coordination with partner local governments, the Project will support activities, such as in
- identifying tenured holders or occupants-tillers/farmers,
- promoting BD-friendly farming systems to apply or incorporate in their land-use or PA management plans, and
- in monitoring the implementation of BDFAP impacts through the CBFMs and Protected Area Management Boards (PAMBs).
BDFAPs: Responsiveness and Sensitivity
The principles around BDFAPs center on the balance between production and conservation, and the sustainable use of resources. Agriculture production shall be in harmony with natural resource conservation, while agriculture practices shall integrate best practices in both indigenous and modem technologies. Meanwhile, the use of land and water shall take into consideration the biophysical characteristics of the PAs, buffer zones and forest lands to include slope, elevation, soil, climate and vegetative cover, among others.
Responsive to ecosystem requirements:
- BDFAPs shall support and sustain the integrity and viability of ecosystems.
Responsive to BD conservation goals:
- BDFAPs shall promote the diversity of species, genes and ecological systems including the protection of soil, water and air.
Sensitive to culture/customs:
- BDFAPs shall support the local needs, culture and customary rights, and
- BDFAPs shall respect the rights of farmers and indigenous peoples and local communities, as well as their aspirations and gender considerations.
The DA and DENR will lead in the identification of relevant and applicable BDFAPs, taking into account the physical conditions of the areas and their farming experiences and recommended best practices. With the support of the Project, the DA and DENR will conduct consultation of occupants-tillers/farmers and tenured migrants with their respective CBFM organizations and PAMBs, for approval and incorporation into their PA management and community resource management plans.
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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