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Foreword
In 2013, the Department of Agriculture (DA) and Department of Environment and
Natural Resources (DENR) implemented the joint project on “Partnership for
Biodiversity Conservation: Mainstreaming in Local Agricultural Landscape'' or
“Biodiversity Partnership Project (BPP)”. The project aims to develop and adopt
protocols for on-farm conservation of biological diversity particularly indigenous
species with counterparts found in the wild i.e., in protected areas (PA) and key
biodiversity areas (KBA). Further, the project identified the development of the
Philippine National Standard for Biodiversity-Friendly Agricultural Practices (BDFAP)
as one of the project outputs. It aims to set a guideline for identifying BDFAP geared
towards the promotion and enhancement of these practices in and around the PA and
KBA and promoting the same in the wider agricultural landscape. However, the
approval of the draft PNS was deferred until the approval of the Joint Administrative
Order No. 2021-01 on “Mainstreaming BDFAP in and around protected areas and
promoting the same in wider agricultural landscapes'', which was approved in 2021.
In 2023, the “Integrated approach in management of major biodiversity corridors in the
Philippines” or “BD Corridor” Project Meeting commenced with the aim to implement
the outputs of the BPP. During the BD Corridor Meeting on 20 January 2023, the body
agreed to reconvene the Technical Working Group (TWG) to review the current draft
PNS BDFAP to accommodate current regulations and practices prior to its approval.
The DA, through the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards (BAFS)-Standards
Development Division (SDD), and the DENR-Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB)
jointly formulated the standard in support of biodiversity-friendly agriculture in
protected areas and key biodiversity areas.
The Technical Working Group (TWG) tasked to develop the PNS was created through
the following Special Orders (SO):
a) SO No. 220, series of 2012 (Creation of the DA TWG for the Partnerships for
Biodiversity Conservation: Mainstreaming in Local Agricultural Landscapes,
otherwise known as the Biodiversity Partnership Project (BPP);
b) SO No. 69, series of 2013 (Updating of DA Special Order Nos. 220 and 635,
series of 2012 regarding the composition of membership of the DA TWG for the
Partnerships for Biodiversity Conservation: Mainstreaming in Local Agricultural
Landscapes, otherwise known as the Biodiversity Partnership Project [BPP]);
c) SO No. 960, series of 2014 (Creation of the DA TWG for the Partnerships for
Biodiversity Conservation: Mainstreaming in Local Agricultural Landscapes,
otherwise known as the Biodiversity Partnership Project [BPP]); and
d) SO No. 532, series of 2023 (Addendum to SO No. 146, series of 2023 entitled
(Creation of TWG for the Development of PNS for Agricultural and Fishery
Products, Machinery, and Infrastructures”).
This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the BAFS-SDD
Standardization Guide No. 1: Writing the Philippine National Standards.
