What is

Biodiversity?
Biodiversity or biological diversity refers to
the vastness of multitude of living
organisms and how they interact with
each other and their environment.

Biodiversity is essential to human survival.

SPECIE
DIVERSITY
The variety of specie per unit area. This
includes both the number of species
present and their relative abundance.
 Illegal Wildlife Trade

The value of Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) is

estimated at $10 billion–$23 billion per year,
making wildlife crime the fourth most lucrative
illegal business after narcotics, human trafficking,
and arms.

Illegal wildlife trafficking is the fourth-biggest

transnational crime in the world, following the
trafficking of drugs, people, and weapons; in the
Philippines, the trade is estimated at $1 billion a
year, and threatens the country’s unique wildlife,
of which many species are found nowhere else.
The value of IWT in the Philippines is estimated
at ₱50 billion a year (roughly equivalent to
$1billion), which includes the market value of
wildlife and its resources, their ecological role
and value, damage to habitats incurred during
poaching, and loss in potential ecotourism
revenues.
 HEREof
Status ISPhilippine
THE SLIDE
TITLE!
Biodiversity

The Philippines has very rich and diverse flora and

fauna.
Considered as biodiversity hotspot.
Biodiversity of the Philippines attracts tourists and
scientists to come over and examine its natural
resources.

The Philippines hosts 52, 177 described species which is

more than half is found nowhere in the world
(Philippine Biodiversity Conservation Priorities).
Philippines is considered a hotspot because it
continues to experience an alarming rate of
destruction.
STATUS OF PHILIPPINE BIODIVERSITY

According to the 2011 Tropical Forestry and Biodiversity Analysis

commissioned by USAID, the destruction of biodiversity and natural
resources remains a core environmental problem in the Philippines.
LIST OF SPECIES
UNDER ILLEGAL
WILDLIFE TRADE
 MAJOR CONFISCATIONS AND SEIZURES

 5 tons of elephant ivory tusks (1996–
2009)
 1,522 mynas (2000–2006)
 652 blue-naped parrots (2000–2006)
 95 kg of pangolin scales and 36 kg of
pangolin meat equivalent to
approximately 200 individual
pangolins (2012)
 2,870 pangolins (2013)
 354 marine turtles (2014)
 4,300 freshwater turtles, 4,000 of which
were Philippine forest turtles (2015)
 58 pangolins (2017)
 70 hawksbill turtles (2017)
 58 Goffins cockatoos (2017)
 nearly 1,000 endemic pitcher plants and
lady slipper orchids (2017)
 106 sulfur-crested cockatoos (2018)
 462 Indonesian endemic parrots over at
least 4 seizures (2013–2017)

Source: Confiscation records from the Department of Natural Resources–Biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR–
BMB) and the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) of the Philippines.
Researchers from TRAFFIC, who monitored 90 Facebook groups over a
three-month period in 2016, recorded 2,245 live reptile advertisements
representing more than 5,000 individual animals from 115 taxa. (Dasgupta,
2018)
 STANDING FOR
THE VULNERABLE
Recognizing the threats of the illegal wildlife trade (IWT) to the country’s biodiversity
and economy, the Philippine government passed legislation, created inter-agency
groups to combat the trade in illegal wildlife and wildlife parts, and is building
capacity across the law enforcement chain.

The 10-year national Wildlife Law Enforcement Action Plan (WildLEAP) 2018-2028,
which is aligned with the Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, serves as
the national roadmap to address wildlife crimes and a guide to prioritizing
enforcement activities, allocating funds and resources and evaluating impacts of
enforcement.
Republic Act No. 9147 otherwise known as the Wildlife
Resources Conservation and Protection Act is an act providing
for the conservation and protection of wildlife resources and
their habitats, appropriating funds therefor and for other
purposes.
 5 SIMPLE WAYS TO COMBAT ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE

1.Be aware. Information today a just a click away. Learn more about the critically and endangered
species, and understand the issues surrounding them.
2.Educate your family and friends on wildlife protection laws in your country. Wildlife protection
laws exist and are enforced in many countries like India, the Philippines, and Malaysia.
3.Say no, and take action. Do not use products derived from wildlife trade. Check the ingredients of
the products you buy, and make sure they are legally supplied. Do not buy products made from or
formulated with wildlife body parts like ivory, fur, and shells. If you are buying pets, make sure
they are legally documented.
4.Report wildlife crimes to your local law enforcement agency. Download and use Wildlife Witness,
the first smartphone app for global community action that allows residents of or travelers to Asia
to easily report wildlife trade using a photo, pinning the incident’s exact location, and sending it to
the illegal wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC.
5.Get involved. Donate to or join advocacies for tougher laws and policies against the perpetrators.
Find time to share, like, and follow pro-wildlife advocacies on social media. (Tabing, 2016)