Tamaraw and Mindoro Bleeding Hearts can be found in Mt. Siburan on Mindoro.
Every October for Tamaraw Month, two unique animals take a tour of their own home in Mindoro.
Tala the Tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis) and Mindy the Mindoro Bleeding-heart (Gallicolumba platenae) pigeon like to visit Mt. Siburan, Mt. Iglit, and Mt. Baco, mountains where generations of their friends and relatives have lived side-by-side.
Unfortunately as time goes on, there are less of them now.
Only around 600 Tamaraw can be found (MBCFI 2021), and up to 400 Mindoro bleeding-hearts are estimated to be left in Mindoro (BirdLife).
Both of them are “island endemics” meaning they can only be found in Mindoro and nowhere else in the world! (Gonzalez 1999)
A bar-tailed godwit arrives in the Philippines to escape the winter months, with a warm welcome – the PBSAP is updated!
How can we find balance between economic growth and stability, while sustaining our environment? If you take a closer look, a country’s wealth and health is linked to nature. Unfortunately protecting one of the world’s most biodiverse countries while supporting the needs of more than 110 million people still presents a challenge – but nothing is impossible without a plan.
It is one of the most important plans for our future as a nation because it is not just about saving plants and animals. It is about making sure the environment can still provide us with food, water, clean air, and protection against disasters.
What is the PBSAP?
The PBSAP is the Philippines’ official national plan for biodiversity conservation. Think of it as a long-term strategy:
It identifies what species and ecosystems need protecting,
Explains why they are important, and,
Sets clear goals and actions for government, businesses, and communities to follow.
The Philippines has created PBSAPs before – in 1997 (the first attempt) and in 2015 (covering 2015-2028). Each version reflects the country’s commitments to global biodiversity agreements while also responding to local challenges like deforestation, illegal wildlife trade, and destructive fishing practices.
Was designed with input from scientists, NGOs, Indigenous Peoples, and local communities-making it more inclusive and grounded in current issues and real-world experiences.
It’s easy to think of biodiversity as just forests and fish, but it’s actually the foundation of daily life. The PBSAP matters to everyone because:
Food security: Healthy ecosystems provide fish, pollinators for crops, and fertile soil. Without biodiversity, our food supply collapses.
Disaster protection: Mangroves and forests act as shields against typhoons, floods, and landslides.
Health: Many medicines come from plants and animals.
Livelihoods: Millions of Filipinos depend directly on farming, fishing, and ecotourism.
Cultural identity: From weaving patterns to folk tales, much of Filipino culture is inspired by nature. This includes age-old cultures, beliefs, and practices of Indigenous People who have long had a strong connection to our environment.
When biodiversity suffers, people suffer. The Philippines is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, meaning we have incredible species found nowhere else, but also face extremely high risks of losing them.
A lagundi flower, (Vitex negundo). Lagundi has long been used as a traditional ailment for respiratory issues, and is now one of 10 medicinal plants recognized by the Department of Health.
What’s new in the 2024–2040 plan?
Here are some highlights of what makes this latest PBSAP different and more ambitious:
Specific targets: It commits the Philippines to protect 24% of terrestrial and inland waters, and 16% of coastal and marine areas, covering 7.44 million hectares of Philippine land area and 35.24 million hectares of Philippine sea area by 2040.
Cross-sector approach: Unlike before, it doesn’t treat biodiversity as just an “environment issue.” It recognizes the links between nature and food security, climate change, disaster resilience, and poverty reduction.
Monitoring & accountability: It includes a stronger system to track progress, so the public can hold agencies accountable.
Local Action: Local government units (LGUs) are expected to align their own environmental strategies with the PBSAP, bringing the plan closer to communities.
Institutional power: With a presidential Executive Order, the PBSAP becomes a national directive. All government agencies, not just DENR, must integrate biodiversity into their plans. That means agriculture, fisheries, finance, and even infrastructure agencies must align their policies with biodiversity protection.
A Short history of the PBSAP
1997: The first PBSAP (then called NBSAP or National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan) was created in response to the Philippines’ commitment to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the global treaty that almost every country has signed.
2002: A review of the NBSAP in 2002 identified 206 conservation priority areas and species conservation priorities. Unfortunately there was no clear monitoring and evaluation system.
2015: A 2015 PBSAP (2015–2028) was created to improve on the previous versions. The 1997 and 2002 NBSAPs listed strategies that were mostly confined to the DENR, rather than broader sectoral plans. Starting in 2015, a new PBSAP aimed to address these gaps, committing to “measurable targets for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use”. Unfortuantely funding and enforcement remained challenges.
2024–2040: The latest version was launched in Iloilo City during the 32nd Philippine Biodiversity Symposium (August 2025). This version is aligned with global goals and has stronger legal backing through an Executive Order. It also involved broad stakeholder inputs including those from Indigenous People.
What are the first steps?
After the launch, the following are expected to happen:
Executive Order issuance: The President’s office must sign the EO, making the PBSAP legally binding across agencies.
Agency Integration: DENR will coordinate with the Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Fisheries, LGUs, and others to incorporate PBSAP actions into their annual plans and budgets.
Funding mechanisms: The government, NGOs, and private sector will work on mobilizing resources, both domestic and international, to support PBSAP programs.
Monitoring framework: A national committee will track progress and publish reports so people can see what’s working – and what isn’t.
A gateway arch to the baranggay of Gawahon. In the background is Mt. Silay of the Northern Negros Natural Park NNNP, which is part of the protected areas system of the Philippines. The PBSAP aims to expand these areas of protection.
What can you do?
The PBSAP is a national plan, but it will only succeed if everyday Filipinos also take part. Here are some ways you can help:
Inquire with local officials, from the baranggay level to the provincial and national levels – have they ever implemented previous or current PBSAPs? In what ways have they been implemented and how can citizens help?
Support local conservation groups and community projects, and ask if the PBSAP has been or will be reviewed and considered in these groups and projects.
Continue the momentum in your everyday life. Avoid single-use plastics, eat sustainably sourced seafood, and reduce waste. Share about it on social media, your friends, and your family.
Participate in citizen science – apps like iNaturalist allow you to record species you see, helping scientists monitor biodiversity. Organizations like the Haribon Foundation conduct annual campaigns from bird counting to tree walks – inquire and join these campaigns every year.
The Philippines’ new PBSAP is more than just a government plan – it’s a national commitment to our future. With stronger legal backing, global alignment, and cross-sector collaboration, it’s the most ambitious roadmap yet for protecting the natural wealth that sustains us all.
But a plan is only as good as the action behind it. Whether you’re a policymaker, farmer, fisher, teacher, student, or professional, the environment serves us all. Help pressure and remind the government and other institutions that the PBSAP… helps the environment help us! What we achieve in 2040, 15 years after this writing, depends on what we achieve today.
Of the 90,000 or so hectares of mangroves that once existed in Manila Bay from the 1900s, less than 1% is left.
Mangroves are nurseries for fish – an important food source, they help reduce existing flooding issues, filter pollutants and metals, and are home to birds, shellfish, crabs, and more.
Show your love of what is left by reminding everyone the importance of these mangroves. The Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park or LPPWP is already enshrined in law as a Protected Area. So protect it… or else all we will have left are buildings.
Researchers took DNA from ear tissue of a Visayan Spotted Deer, and are now analyzing it to determine how to best conserve the remaining Visayan Spotted Deers in captivity and in the wild. This is the first endangered endemic species to have its DNA sequenced and assembled in the Philippines, by Filipinos. Specifically Ilonggos!
Many answers to questions about YOU are also in your DNA! What diseases are you most at risk for? What “invisible powers” might make you… a better dancer, singer, or swimmer? With a draft genome of the Visayan Spotted Deer, conservationists can now find ways to help them survive in the wild. But they need more help. Study genomics and help improve the health of people and the planet!
Where there is water, there are birds. Time for the annual Asian Waterbird Census!
The AWC happens every January, when people count waterbirds, or birds “ecologically dependent on wetlands” (Wetlands Int. 2018). Wetlands include coasts, mangrove areas, rivers, lakes, marshes and other similar areas.
By counting these birds together in various places in Asia, we contribute to a more robust scientific foundation of why these areas must be protected. These wetland areas also give us water for agriculture, recreation, and tourism. If a wetland area is healthy enough for birds, it is healthy enough for people too.
If you live in the Philippines, and live near bountiful rice fields, mangroves, a lake, fish ponds, or some other expanse of wetland, you might be able to help.
The best way to start is to see if your local DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) is already holding counts. You might live near another environmental group as well.
Recommended dates for counting are January 4 to 19. The following organizations are known to join the AWC by holding waterbird counts in certain areas in the Philippines. Contact them to see how you can help!
Here is a butanding fashionista SPOTTED, with a SPLASH of color!
William the Whale Shark is the mascot of AteneoBOx, a student organization that supports biodiversity awareness and animal welfare.
Their Ocean’s Week campaign involves community engagement between Ateneo students, faculty, and Bantay Dagat communities in Calatagan, Batangas. In our collaboration two “whale pun” illustrations were made as printable greeting cards.
The first card features William the Whale Shark hugging (or squeezing) a fellow fishy friend, here portrayed as a remora fish species. Remoras are typically found stuck on the sides of whale sharks in photos, as well as in photos of other large species in the ocean. Remoras are like the ocean’s “hitchhikers”: they enjoy free rides on the large sea animals!
The next illustration features William dressing up, as a fellow friend of the sea (or SEA-tizen) gives William a compliment on what they are wearing. William is just “WHALE-dressed” they exclaim!
AteneoBOx’s Ocean Week focused on activities that raised awareness on mangrove conservation based in Calatagan in Batangas. They worked with the Calatagan Reef Patrollers, and even invited children in fun environment-related activities. Kits that included free coloring pages made here on Philippine Wildlife Art were also given to the children.
Jessie Fronda Delos Reyes, the founder of the Calatagan Reef Patrollers, was also invited to share more about Calatagan and how they’ve been conserving the marine ecosystems there.
Support ateneobox and the Calatagan Reef Patrollers Volunteers for their Ocean’s Week, and beyond!
Join Sawi the Grey-faced buzzard for an event as unique and special as raptor bird migration!
Sanchez Mira, a town located at the northern coast of the island of Luzon in the province of Cagayan, is an important part of the Sawi or Grey-faced Buzzard‘s Flyway Corridor. This year, 2024, Sanchez Mira will be hosting the 4th edition of the International Summit on Grey-faced Buzzard and Migratory Raptors.
This event aims to highlight the critical role of Sanchez Mira and the Philippines in the conservation of the Grey-faced Buzzard and other vulnerable and endangered species of raptors in the region.
The summit includes short lectures and messages, cultural performances, field trips, a souvenir bazaar, communal events, and more!
Is this a new species… of Pokemon? There are 14 species of Rafflesia flowers in the Philippines. The Bulbasaur is a “species” of Pokemon, one of over 1,000 species in the popular Japanese media franchise.
At Philippine Wildlife Art, there is a Bulbasaur for every Philippine Rafflesia species: Rafflesaurs!
So far, 8 of the 14 species found only in the Philippines have been illustrated here. Learn more about them below!
Rafflesaur consueloae
Rafflesaur leonardi
Rafflesaur baletei
Rafflesaur lobata
Rafflesaur aurantia
Rafflesaur verrucosa
Rafflesaur manillana
Rafflesaur philippensis
Last updated July 27, 2025
Rafflesaur consueloae Bulbasaur
This species is Rafflesaur consueloae, which is a result of a Bulbasaur born on Mt. Balukbok in Nueva Ecija: the only place in the world where Rafflesia consueloae flowers have been found (Galindon et al., 2016).
Scientists have long known that tetrastigma vines in the forest are the only hosts of Rafflesia flowers. Rafflesia like R. consueloae grow inside these vines and eventually reveal their blooming flowers. They are “parasitic” or dependent on tetrastigma vines for survival, but they also depend on pollinators like flies to reproduce.
It was recently discovered that Bulbasaurs are a “host Pokemon” for Rafflesia flowers (Philippine Wildlife Art 2023). Not much is known about their symbiotic relationship, because not many scientists are Pokemon experts yet.
Though the Pokemon Vileplume is known to be a rafflesia-inspired species, the Rafflesaur is the only species known to exist in the forests of the Philippines. We must protect our forests, so that we can gather more information about our elusive Philippine Rafflesaurs!
Rafflesia leonardi Bulbasaur
This Rafflesaur is a special one, as it is dedicated to the late Dr. Leonard Co, whom it is named after.
Dr. Co knew so much about plants that a digital library was made in his honor. Today, philippineplants.org features photos from almost half of all Philippine plant species. And there are an estimated 10,000 species native to the country!
On November 15, 2010, he was killed in a supposed crossfire in the forests he lived and worked to protect.
Rafflesaur leonardi is a beautiful Rafflesaur, known for its intelligence, observant behavior, and tendency to pass on knowledge to other Rafflesaurs! It was discovered by Agta community member Sumper Aresta.
Say hello to Rafflesaur baletei! Named after the late mammalogist Danilo Balete, R. baletei likes frolicking on rocky slopes!
It is a small Rafflesaur, similar in size to R. manillana (which you will meet soon), but it prefers to bloom from the roots of Tetrastigma vines. R. manillana is not as shy, blooming higher above the ground for all to see (Barcelona et al 2006).
Rafflesia lobata Bulbasaur
Say hello to Rafflesaur lobata! It is named after the unique-looking rafflesia flower on its back: Rafflesia lobata.
Unlike most Rafflesia flowers, R. lobata has a diaphragm at its center that is lobed, or open with flaps. This rafflesaur likes to think it gives it wings, like its pollinator the fly!
Rafflesia aurantia Bulbasaur
Say hello to Rafflesaur aurantia! It is named after its vibrant orange color, from a latin word for gold, aurum.
Indeed it is like gold, because it was found in fast disappearing lowland dipterocarp forests in northeastern Luzon – in the Sierra Madre. And it is threatened because of another precious item in these mountains: actual gold!
Researchers shared in a 2009 study about R. aurantia that commercial open-pit mining “…Poses the gravest threat for this Rafflesia habitat.”
Rafflesia verrucosa Bulbasaur
Rafflesaur verrucosa is a bit distracted today. One of the smallest of the Rafflesaur’s, R. verrucosa gets very cozy with their pollinator the fly. And just like the actual flower of Rafflesaur verrucosa, their flowers are bisexual!
Another unique quality of this particular Rafflesaur is their warts, which are raised and irregularly shaped, unlike their Rafflesaur cousins. Hence their name’s etymology: verruca is Latin for wart!
Free coloring page and printable in the Gumroad shop!
Somewhere near the edge of a garden Rafflesaur philippensis are playing! They’re known to gather outside campsites and trails if these areas are left to minimal to no human presence. Allow them space to enjoy the forest margins by staying in your own space too!
Which hornbills live on your island, and what is being done to protect them, their habitat, and the natural resources you share with them?
The province of Antique in Panay declared August as Dulungan Month since 2020. Support organizations such as @philincon and @goharibon to help conserve Dulungan and the forests we share with them. Dulungan is known internationally as the Rufous-headed Hornbill (𝘙𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘥𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘪).
*IUCN Red List data 2023. The Philippine Red List includes the Samar hornbill, bringing the number to 11.
Take a dive with fish of all sizes, while staying dry! All you need is SEA-gnal!
Jessica Labaja swims with fish big and small, and works with fishers to understand the fish we all love and enjoy. She is Executive Director of Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines. They are dedicated to the conservation of marine megafauna and their environment in the Philippines and the Southeast Asia region.
Gubataan (gubat + kabataan) is a program that teaches young Filipinos how to be catalysts for change through lessons in nature. Organized by Ashoka Philippines and Ecology of Changemaking.
Join the session online, under or over the water, Thursday, Dec 21, 5pm to 6pm PH time. Register via Zoom: http://bit.ly/GBonfire6
