Germany, DENR sign MOU for Sulu-Sulawesi project

MANILA, Philippines - Germany has pledged financial support to the Philippines’ conservation initiatives within the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion (SSME), considered as one of the most diverse and productive marine systems in the world, Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Ramon Paje said yesterday.

He said a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was recently signed between the DENR and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH in connection with the grant.

He said GIZ has put up a seven million-euro special fund to support the project, of which the DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau would initially get 450,000 euros.

“The grant will help sustain conservation projects that aim to protect threatened species and habitats within the SSME, as well as the livelihood of people who depend on them,” Paje said.

Four of the areas cited in the MOU were the El Nido Marine Protected Area, Tubatahha Reefs Natural Parks, Balabac Marine Conservation Area in Palawan; and the Turtle Islands Wildlife Sanctuary in Tawi-Tawi.

Paje said the funding support would also be used to implement the SSME Comprehensive Action

Plan, a five-year blueprint that would ensure the sustainability of fisheries production and marine conservation efforts in the protected area.

SSME is an area of about 900,000 square kilometers of aquatic resources, a big portion of which is in the midst of the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia.