Philippines

BIOFIN in the Philippines supports the country in mobilizing and aligning financial resources for biodiversity conservation and the implementation of the Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (PBSAP), the country’s roadmap for conserving and sustainably managing its biodiversity. The initiative is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources–Biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB). 

The Philippines is one of the world’s 17 megadiverse countries, with biodiversity that provides essential ecosystem services and supports the well-being of millions of Filipinos. The updated PBSAP 2024–2040 outlines the country’s national priorities and targets for biodiversity conservation, sustainable use, and restoration, aligning with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) and its global biodiversity goals and targets. 

Implementing these priorities requires substantial and sustained investment. Recent BIOFIN assessments estimate that the Philippines requires approximately ₱92.9 billion annually to finance biodiversity priorities under the PBSAP 2024–2040, while current government financing is estimated at around ₱15.8 billion per year, resulting in an annual financing gap of approximately ₱77 billion. BIOFIN works to help close this gap by identifying, accessing, combining, and sequencing diverse sources of biodiversity finance, including public and private resources, and innovative financing mechanisms. 

Currently, the Philippines is implementing a range of biodiversity finance solutions involving national government agencies, local government units, the private sector, civil society organizations, and citizens. 

Key Results

The total finance results have reached USD$ 674M, consisting of mobilized, tagged, catalyzed, and leveraged public and private funds for biodiversity conservation. 

BIOFIN finance solutions have contributed to 3 of the 5 priority programs of the Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (PBSAP):  

Optimizing Potential of Protected Areas for Ecotourism 

  • USD$ 23.24M Year of the Protected Areas 

  • USD$ 87.06K Crowdfunding 

  • USD$ 9.51K Animal Town 

  • USD$ 14.31K Grants 

  • USD$ 8.35K Non-fungible Tokens 

  • USD$ 109.62M Investment Program for Protected Areas 

Biodiversity and Water Management 

  • USD$ 596.84K Crowdfunding 

Improving Resilience, Reducing Vulnerabilities 

  • USD$ 937.6 Energy Regulation 1-94 

  • USD$ 371.80M Improved biodiversity reporting for national government agencies 

  • USD$ 6.53M Improved biodiversity reporting for trust funds 

  • USD$ 147.47M Mainstreaming biodiversity in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ regional programs 

  • USD$ 11.32M Mainstreaming biodiversity in local government units 

  • USD$ 32.62K Access to and synergy with national government agencies 

  • USD$ 3.85M Private Sector 

Beyond the finance results, BIOFIN has contributed to broader institutional, capacity-building, and innovation outcomes, including: 

Biodiversity-positive finance policies and processes further institutionalized 

  • Working with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to formulate policy issuances that define how companies can meaningfully contribute, through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)-aligned engagements 

  • Developing a policy study on biodiversity credits to inform the formulation of a possible legal framework 

  • Supported the revision of the DENR’s forest carbon credit policy  

  • Exploring the feasibility of an insurance mechanism for marine protected areas (MPAs) in the country 

  • Advocating for the issuance of a Presidential Proclamation declaring the Month of Protected Areas, in collaboration with the Department of Tourism (DoT) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) 

  • Integrating protected area finance planning into the DENR’s Protected Area Management Plan (PAMP) guidelines 

  • Developing a policy and toolkit for the Environmental Management Governance Area of the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) 

Emerging finance solutions with positive uptake and follow-through actions in 2026 

  • Nature-related Financial Disclosures – implemented a series of capacity-building activities to support the introduction and practical application of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) in the Philippine context 

  • Harmful Subsidies – focusing on yellow corn farming across the 118,000-hectare Peñablanca Protected Landscape and Seascape (PPLS), a comprehensive baseline will be undertaken to assess agroecosystems, production systems, markets, financing, policy, and environmental and health impacts of yellow corn farming 

  • Gender and Biodiversity – integrating biodiversity into gender-responsive planning and budgeting by identifying opportunities to optimize the province's Gender and Development (GAD) Fund in collaboration with the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental 

  • Biodiversity in Green, Blue, and Gray Infrastructure – will undertake biodiversity expenditure tagging of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 2026 budget to establish a baseline of biodiversity-related expenditures and identify opportunities in gray, blue, and green infrastructure that contribute to biodiversity conservation and resilience 

Capacities of key actors strengthened 

  • One hundred thirty (130) individuals (M-78 F-52) from over 117 protected areas across the country (10 of which are recognized ASEAN Heritage Parks) have been trained in protected area finance planning 

  • Integrated three biodiversity-related indicators into the DILG's Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG): a) Wetlands and Water Management, b) Parks and Green Spaces Development, and c) Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection 

  • Ongoing biodiversity expenditure tagging using the Global Biodiversity Expenditure (GLOBE) Taxonomy for LGUs, protected areas, and the mining sector 

  • Conducted a capacity-building workshop on the costing of the first Indigenous Peoples' Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (IPBSAP)  

Financial Technology 

  • The Animal Town mobile game application has attracted 22,976 users worldwide and generated USD$ 574 in revenues since its soft launch in 2023

Finance Solutions

PUBLIC SECTOR

  • Improved Biodiversity Expenditure

    • Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Bureaus

    • Other National Government Agencies (NGAs)

    • Alignment of environmental trust funds with the PBSAP

  • Mainstreaming Biodiversity in DENR Regional Programs

    • Budgets for DENR Regional biodiversity programs

  • Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Local Government Units (LGUs)

    • LGU budgets

    • Synergy with national programs

    • Environmental fee system

    • Accessing Energy Regulation (ER) 1-94

    • Optimizing the GAD budget

    • Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) biodiversity-related indicators

  • Subsidies

PRIVATE SECTOR

  • Involving the citizenry

    • Crowdfunding

    • Sales from gaming application & peripherals

  • Involving the private sector

    • Private sector engagement i.e., CSR

    • Digital Platform

    • Policy in PPP for Protected Areas

    • Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)

    • Nature-related financial disclosures

PUBLIC + PRIVATE SECTORS

  • Increasing investments in Protected Areas

    • Developing an Investment Program for Protected Areas

    • Year of the Protected Areas (YoPA) Campaign (2022)

    • Month of the Protected Areas (MoPA)

SUPPORT TO POLICY

  • 2018-2025

    • DAO 2019-05 ENIPAS Implementing Rules and Regulations

    • HB 9143 or the Philippine Genetic Resources and Access and Benefit-sharing (PGRABS) 

    • DA-DENR SO 2023-01 Creating the National Oversight Committee and Regional Technical Working Groups for the Implementation of Biodiversity-friendly Agricultural Practices (BDFAPs) in Protected Areas and Wider Agricultural Landscapes

    • House Bill 8299 or An Act to Institutionalize the Tamaraw Conservation Program, creating its Administrative and Implementation Mechanism, Providing Funds Therefore and for Other Purposes

    • DAO 2022-04 Enhancing Biodiversity Conservation and Protection in Mining Operations

  • 2021 - Present

    • DAO on the Guidelines on Private Sector Engagement for Biodiversity Conservation 

    • Guidelines for PPPs in Conservation Tourism within Protected Areas

    • Month of the Protected Areas (MoPA) 

    • DAO on SGLG 

    • DAO on Forest Carbon Credits 

STUDIES

  • 2019

    • Creation of a new conservation trust fund

    • Compilation and Synthesis of Existing Valuation Studies on Philippine Biodiversity 

  • 2022

    • Nature-positive Impact Investing for Nature-based Solutions and Enterprises for the Development Bank of the Philippines 

    • The Philippine Mining Industry: Leveraging Resources to Improve the Outcome of Biodiversity Objectives in the Country

    • Scoping Study on Private Sector Engagement Strategy to Accelerate Biodiversity Financing in the Philippines

  • 2023

    • Development of a Shared Language for SDGs 14 and 15 

    • Is the Philippines Ready for Nature-Related Financial Disclosures? An assessment of global trends, reporting frameworks, institutions, and state of practice

    • Agricultural Practices and Agricultural Programs as Applied in Ecologically Sensitive Hilly Lands: Environmental Footprints, Drivers, and Strategic Recommendations 

    • Update on the Compilation and Synthesis of Existing Valuation Studies on Philippine Biodiversity

  • Present

    • Coral Reef Vulnerability Data for Developing Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) Insurance in the Philippines

    • Policy Study on Biodiversity Credits

 

Key Documents
Policy and Institutional Review (PIR)

Results of the PIR showed that while Philippines has several laws and policies in place for biodiversity, there is still a need to address those with negative impact and promote those with positive impact on biodiversity conservation and restoration. Resource mobilisation opportunities from selected policies such as the Energy Regulation 1-94 as amended; Malampaya Fund; Motor Vehicle User’s Charge; Mining Taxes & Royalties and Fees from Mining were examined.

Expenditure Review (BER)

From 2008-2013, the baseline financing for biodiversity was estimated at Php 5B (USD 110 million) among national agencies contributing to the 20 Aichi Targets, non-core agencies, and local governments. This represents 0.08% of GDP and 0.31% of the national budget for this period of analysis. Within this period, the budget of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) was observed to be increasing at the rate of 23% per year. The biodiversity budget has been increasing at a faster rate of 34% per year for the same period, although its contribution to total budget is less than 20% of the total. Increase in funding can be realised by realignment of budgets coupled with effective mainstreaming among core and non-core biodiversity agencies. Comprising an average of 4% of the 20% development fund representing share of national taxes, local governments contribute Php 0.5B (USD 13 million) based on protected areas expenditures alone.

Needs Assessment (FNA)

The total estimated cost of implementing the PBSAP from 2015-2028 ranged from PhP334 billion or USD 7.4 billion (low) to PhP388 billion or USD 8.6 billion (high) with an annual requirement of Php 23.9 billion (USD 530 million). The projected appropriations of the government agencies for this period is only USD 1.5 billion versus the USD 4 billion estimated cost of activities identified in the PBSAP. 

Finance Plan (BFP)

BIOFIN’s Finance Plan is targeting to raise PhP20 billion by 2020 by implementing the following solutions: a) consolidation, mainstreaming, and formalising the PPBER process through biodiversity tagging; b) increasing funding of local governments through realignment, increased access to earmark funds, or generation of revenues on site; and c) private sector engagement.