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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasan Hills, Quezon City

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

2504

House Bill No. ___~

Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE DANTE SOTELO GARCIA

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Wetlands refer to a wide variety of inland habitats such as natural
pools/ponds, springs, freshwater swamps/marshes, peatlands, floodplains, rivers
and lakes, and coastal areas such as estuaries, saltmarshes, mangroves, lagoons,
intertidal flats and seagrass beds, and also coral reefs and other marine areas no
deeper than six meters at low tide, as well as human-made wetlands such as dams,
reservoirs, rice paddies, fish ponds, saltpans, and wastewater treatment ponds.
Wetlands also refer to water bodies or aquatic ecosystems except oceans and the

deep sea.

The most recent estimate of global inland and coastal wetland area is in excess
of 12.1 million km, an area almost as large as Greenland (Global Wetland Outlook
2018). For the Philippines, the 2016 Atlas of the Philippine Inland Wetlands and
Classified Caves put their numbers at 314 inland wetlands and 2,487 river systems.
Out of these 314 wetlands are 221 lakes, 14 marshes and swamps, 9 peatlands, 39
water storage, and 31 ponds. Due to its archipelagic nature, the Philippines has
numerous coastal wetlands such as coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangrove swamps,
estuaries, and intertidal flats.

In Luzon, the approximate number of inland wetland is about 129 which is
about 161,000 hectares. Among these are the special types of wetlands such as lakes,
peatlands, water storages areas, marshes and swamps.

Wetlands provide a wide range of ecosystem services that is vital for human
survival. They provide critical food supplies including rice and fish, fresh water,
fiber, and fuel. They also serve as the habitat of threatened species of the Philippine

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flora and fauna and harbors biodiversity that is vital in sustaining life and
promoting human well-being and sustainable development. Another notable
services of wetlands are its capacity to supply and regulate water and act as natural
safeguards against disasters thus protecting vulnerable communities to devastating
effects of floods, droughts, and storm surges. Indeed, healthy and well-managed
wetlands increase resilience to climate change and extreme weather events.
Wetlands also offer recreational and tourism benefits to people.

Despite the wide range of ecosystems services provided by wetlands, they are
laced with countless issues and concerns that pose a great challenge in maintaining
the integrity of these important ecosystems. Foremost of these is the degradation of
wetlands due to their conversion to other land and water uses. These are in turn
caused by human actions such as drainage, dredging and stream channelization,
damming, poor agricultural practices, introduction of alien invasive species, and
such other extractive activities. Natural actions such as drought, severe storms, and
climate change also serve as direct and indirect drivers of change of wetlands. These
human and natural actions often result to siltation and sedimentation, release of
toxic chemicals, pollution, runoff, changing nutrient levels, subsidence, sea level rise,
and loss of biodiversity.

Scientific studies show that 64 percent of the world’s wetlands have
disappeared since 1900. Compared against figures in 1700s, an estimated 87 percent
of wetlands have been lost. The loss is even higher in some regions particularly Asia.
Inland wetlands are disappearing at a faster pace than coastal ones but the overall
trend is clear. As a result, access to fresh water is declining for one to two billion
people worldwide, while flood control, carbon storage and traditional wetland
livelihoods all suffer. (Ramsar, 2014)

‘The Living Planet Index, created by the World Wide Fund for Nature and the
UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre, provides a measure of the trends in
more than 3,000 populations of 1,145 vertebrate species around the world and is an
aggregate of three separate indices of change in freshwater, marine, and terrestrial
species. The index showed that fresh water populations have declined consistently
and at a faster rate than the other species groups assessed, with an average decline of
50 percent between 1970, and 2000. In the same period, both terrestrial and marine
fauna decreased by 30 percent. In general, the trend is one of continuing decline in
each ecosystem over the 30-year period. Therefore, it is clear that global wetland loss
and degradation continues faster than any other ecosystems (Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment, 2005).

The Convention on Wetlands, also known as the Ramsar Convention, in
which the Philippines is a Contracting Party, is the only international treaty focused
on the wise use and conservation of wetlands. As a Contracting Party, the country is
committed to adopt and implement laws, policies and plans so as to promote wise
use of wetlands or the maintenance of their ecological character, achieved through


the implementation of ecosystem approaches, within the context of sustainable
development.

While wetland conservation and wise use is already promoted, directly and
indirectly, under existing laws on water resources, water quality management,
fisheries and aquatic resources, wildlife resources and their habitats, protected areas,
land use development, public infrastructure, and environmental impact assessment,
among others, there is no single Philippine legislation that deals specifically on
wetlands. The policy review found that not all wetlands are equally protected and
that the degree of protection depends on the classification or kind of wetland. To
add with, most of the wetlands have limited legal protection from uses incompatible
with the maintenance of its ecological character. Given that the legal bases for
wetland conservation and wise use are dispersed in various laws, there is still a need
for a concise policy statement on wetlands to be adopted at the national level.

This legislative measure seeks to guide all concerned national government
agencies and local government units in adjusting their sectoral or local policies,
plans and programs to be consistent with wetland conservation and wise use. This
will also greatly enhance current efforts to raise awareness on the importance of
wetlands as the “cradle of biodiversity”. This proposed measure will also provide
the opportunity to comply with the directives on the mainstreaming of disaster risk
reduction and management, climate change and biodiversity conservation in policy
formulation.

‘The approval of this bill will ensure the protection, conservation, and wise use
of all wetlands, eventually contributing to the human well-being of the present and
future generations.

In view of the foregoing, immediate passage of this measure is earnestly
sought.



REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No._2904

Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE DANTE SOTELO GARCIA

“AN ACT
INSTITUTIONALIZING THE NATIONAL WETLANDS
CONSERVATION POLICY”

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Title. — This Act shall be known as the “National Wetlands
Conservation Act”.

SEC. 2.Declaration of Policy. - The State shall protect and advance the
right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm:
and harmony of nature. Towards this end, the State shall establish measures for
the conservation and judicious use of wetlands and wetland resources consistent
with the principles of sustainable development, inclusive growth, poverty
reduction, food security, biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation
and mitigation, and disaster risk reduction and management.

SEC. 3 Definition of Terms.— As used in this Act:

a. Biodiversityrefers to the variability among living organisms from all
sources, including terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems in the
ecological complexes of which they are part of;

b. Ecological character refers to the combination of the ecosystem


components, processes, benefits and services that characterize the wetland

at a given point in time;

c. Ecosystem approach or ecosystem-based approach refers to a strategy for
the integrated management of land, water and living resources that
promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way;

d. Ecosystem goods and services refer to the multitude of material and
nonmaterial provisions and benefits from healthy ecosystems necessary
for human sustenance, well-being, and survival including support
processes, provisioning and environment regulating services, and cultural
resource preservation services;

e. Riparian areas or zones refer to interfaces betweenaquatic and terrestrial
ecosystems, and areas adjacent to bodies of water, and intermittent
streams that are distinguished by gradients in biophysical conditions,
ecological processes, and biota;

f. Sustainable use refers to the use of resources in a way and a rate that does
not lead to its long-term decline, thereby maintaining its potential to meet
the needs and aspirations of present and future generations;

g. Wetlands refer to a wide variety of inland habitats such as natural pools or
ponds, springs, freshwater swamps or marshes, peatlands, floodplains,
rivers, lakes, and coastal areas such as estuaries, saltmarshes, mangroves,
lagoons, intertidal flats and seagrass beds. These also include coral reefs
and other marine areas no deeper than six (6) meters at low tide, and
human-made wetlands such as dams, reservoirs, rice paddies, fish ponds,
saltpans, and wastewater treatment ponds.

SEC. 4. Coverage. — This Act shall apply to all types of wetlands,
including inland, coastal and marine and human-made wetlands in the
Philippines. In the case of human-made wetlands, application of this Act shall be
limited to those with high biodiversity value,and are critical as wildlife habitat
or migratory routes of birds and fishes.

SEC. 5.Categories of Wetlands. — Wetlands are composed of bodies of
water or aquatic ecosystems, as well as their riparian areas. The three (3) broad
categories of wetlands are the following;


a. Inland wetlands are aquatic-influenced environments, sometimes referred
to as freshwater or inland water or waterbodies, located within land
boundaries such as inland deltas, springs, creeks, rivers, streams,
waterfalls, freshwater swamps or marshes, peatlands, natural ponds or
pools, wet caves and lakes;

b. Coastal wetlands are wetlands located within coastal watersheds, such as
bays, marine shores, estuaries, coastal lagoons, saltmarshes, mangroves,
swamps, intertidal flats, seagrass beds, coral reefs and other marine areas
no deeper than 6 meters at low tide; and

cc. Human-made wetlands are typesof wetlands constructed or maintained by
humans, such as dams, reservoirs, rice paddies, fish and shrimp ponds,
farm ponds, salt pans, dams, small water impounding areas, and
wastewater treatment ponds and lagoons.

SEC. 6. Establishment of Wetland Conservation Areas. —Where
appropriate, wetland conservation areas shall be prioritized for establishment
under Republic Act No. 7586, or the “National Integrated Protected Areas
System Act of 1992”, as amended by Republic Act No. 11038, or the “Expanded
National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 2018”; Republic Act No. 8550
or the “The Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998"; Republic Act No. 9147 or the
“Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act”, or as local conservation
areas through the issuance of ordinances of LGUs, or for recognition as
indigenous community conserved areas (ICCAs) within the ancestral domains of
indigenous cultural communities and indigenous peoples (ICCs/IPs).

SEC. 7. Development of a National Wetland Conservation Program
and Action Plan. - Within one year from the effectivity of this Act, the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) shall, in
coordination with other government agencies, andconcerned sectors, developa
National Wetland Conservation Program and Action Plan, to provide direction,
support and guidance to local government units (LGUs) and stakeholders in the
development and implementation of their local wetland conservation programs.
‘The National Wetland Conservation Program and Action Plan shall be consistent

with existing national policies, plans and programs on coastal wetlands and their

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resources. It shall also define national targets for the conservation of wetlands
and the development of its national coordinating mechanism.

The National Wetland Conservation Program and Action Plan shall

include the following objectives:

a.

Conduct wetland assessment including bio-capacity and carrying capacity
assessment and valuation of wetland ecosystems in order to measure the

full extent of its value and guide agencies on the wise use of wetlands;

. Adopt an ecosystem-based approach in the rehabilitation of priority

wetlands to ensure the ecological integrity and original functioning of
specific ecosystem.Prioritization of wetlands for rehabilitation shall be
based on a national inventory of wetlands with potential for rehabilitation
such as wetlands susceptible to hazard, and wetlands critical to
biodiversity. Partnerships may be established with nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs), people’s organizations (POs), the academe and
private sector in the rehabilitation of priority wetlands.

. Ensure the strict implementation by concerned government of land use

setback provisions including the prohibition on the construction of any
structure along the easement zones of banks or rivers and streams and the

shores of the seas and lakes pursuant to existing laws.

. Limit reclamation activities and conversion of wetlands to those that are

necessary for national interest and security, and in compliance with legal
requirements provided under applicable rules and regulations on
environmental impact statements and National Economic and
Development Authority (NEDA) approval for reclamation projects.

. Establish the Philippine Wetlands Conservation Awards (PWCA) which

shall recognize individuals, NGOs, POs and LGUs with significant
contributions to the wise use of the country’s wetlands. The PWCA shall be
given by the Biodiversity Management Bureau of the DENR.

Promote research and development, database and knowledge
management, and develop communication, capacity-building and

awareness programs;

. Assessthe vulnerability of priority wetlands to climate change and disaster


risk;

h. Develop soil and water conservation technologies for the wetlands and
institute measures to address the introduction of invasive alien species to
wetland areas;

i. Encourage the participation of LGUs, communities, and private entities in
the governance of wetlands through various schemes, such as the “Adopt-
a-Wetland” scheme through Public-Private Partnership; and

j. Support international recognition of suitable wetlands, such as declaration
of Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites), Flyway Sites,
ASEAN Heritage Park, World Heritage Site, and the like, through the
Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, Convention on Migratory Species, East
Asian Australasian Flyway Partnership, ASEAN and other such multi-
lateral environmental agreements and bodies.

SEC. 8. Integration and Mainstreaming of Conservation and Wise
Use of Wetlands. - All government agencies and offices and local government
units shall integrate and mainstream conservation and sustainable use of
wetlands into their policies, rules and regulations, programs, projects and
development planning processes. They shall also directly consult with the DENR.
and affected LGUs in the development and implementation of their plans,
programs and projects having an impact on wetlands.

The municipal, city, or provincial government having territorial
jurisdiction over the wetlands shall integrate in their local development plans,
the conservation measures referred to in this Act.

SEC. 9. Lead Implementing and Monitoring Agency. - The
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), through the
Biodiversity Management Bureau, shall be the lead agency in the overall
implementation and monitoringof this Act.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) shall
monitor compliance by local government units and shall formulate and
implement incentive schemes to promote wetland conservation and wise use
practices through effective local governance.

SEC. 10. Appropriations. ~ The Secretary of the DENR shall


immediately include in the Department's program the implementation of this
Act, the funding of which shall be included in the annual General Appropriations
Act.

SEC. 11. Implementing Rules and Regulations. ~ Within ninety (90)
days from the effectivity of this Act, the Secretary of the DENR shall, in
consultation with concerned national government agencies, issue the
corresponding rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act.

SEC. 12.Separability Clause. ~ If any section or provision of this Act is
held unconstitutional or invalid, the remaining sections or provisions with the
provisions not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.

SEC. 18. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules
and regulations, issuance or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this
Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 14.Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation

Approved,