CMU-CEBREM participates workshop for NAPERSEP

The Center for Biodiversity Research and Extension in Mindanao (CMU-CEBREM) played a significant role in the “Data Stocktaking Workshop for the Development of the National Action Plan on Ecosystem Restoration and Species Extinction Prevention (NAPERSEP)” held on May 2-4, 2024, in Quezon City.

This workshop, led by the DENR-Biodiversity Management Bureau Wildlife Resources Division, served as a platform for comprehensive discussions and collaborative workshops aimed at generating the Action Plan. The resulting plan offers a “holistic framework of management interventions on habitat restoration and species conservation for the guidance of DENR and its biodiversity conservation partners.”

Recognizing their expertise and contributions to biodiversity conservation in the Philippines, NAST Academician and Professor Emeritus Dr. Victor B. Amoroso and NAST Outstanding Young Scientist Dr. Fulgent P. Coritico were invited to participate in the event. Dr. Amoroso, a key figure in the establishment of CEBREM, and Dr. Coritico, Head of the Research Unit at CEBREM, are both active members of the Philippine Plant Conservation Committee of DENR-BMB.

The highlight of the outputs of the workshop is the generation and validation of data as input to the plan. The workshop provides an exchange among researchers and scientists on tracking the 20 PBSAP targets in the context of the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework. The emphasis of the discussion is on the identification and level of threats to wildlife and biodiversity in the Philippines. Workshop outputs are critical inputs in the crafting of the Action Plan.

The participation of CEBREM in this noble workshop is proof of the involvement of CEBREM in critical discussions for biodiversity conservation in the Philippines. It also shows the CEBREM has made a mark in biodiversity conservation initiatives at the local, regional, national, and even international levels. ^{[by Dr. Angela Grace Toledo-Bruno and Iyren Dalipe-Neri]}