President Rodrigo Duterte has signed Republic Act 11038, the E-NIPAS Act of 2018, into law, which adopts strong amendatory measures to the 24-year-old National Integrated Protected Area Systems Act.
“We laud the timely passage of the E-NIPAS Act, as it will enhance the conservation efforts undertaken of our unique but vastly threatened biodiversity and ecosystems including our marine habitats,” said Gloria Estenzo Ramos, vice president for Oceana Philippines.
The passage of the E-NIPAS Act provides a national legislation for all protected areas to ensure their ecological integrity.
This includes the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape, one of the largest marine protected areas in the Philippines and declared as a protected seascape through a Presidential Proclamation in 1998.
The E-NIPAS Act also covers the Philippine Rise Marine Resource Reserve, which was recently declared as a protected area with strict protection zones by Duterte.
Salient provisions of the Act include the provision for scientific and technical support for biodiversity conservation; delineation and demarcation of boundaries; deputation of support especially on enforcement to the Protected Area Superintendent; and regular reporting on the status of the Integrated Protected Area Fund and allocating 75 percent of all revenues raised to the Protected Area Management Board.
It also prohibits the use and possession of destructive fishing gears within the protected seascape.
The E-NIPAS Act also expands the mandates of the Department of Justice to appoint special prosecutors handling cases specifically related to protected areas, and assist in the training of wardens and rangers in arrests and criminal procedures.
The principal authors of the law point out the rationale of biodiversity conservation behind the enactment of the E-NIPAS Act.
“We are losing our biodiversity at an alarming rate. We need more effective protection with people and communities at the heart of it,” Rep. Josephine Sato, one of the main authors of the ENIPAS Bill, said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Senator Cynthia Villar, who chairs the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and the Committee on Agriculture, looks at the ENIPAS Act as an important legislation to ensure the protection of the country’s diverse diverse natural resources.
“The Philippines’ rich biodiversity is a source of pride and joy for all of us Filipinos. We actively protect and strongly defend the breadth and depth of our territories to ensure that the future generation of Filipinos will still have the opportunity to take pride and find joy in our country’s “rich biodiversity,” Villar said.
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