BIGGER BUDGETS FOR BIODIVERSITY MANAGEMENT

What used to be known as the Parks and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB) has been renamed as the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB), but it has been retained as an agency under the DENR. I think that it is a good move to change the name, but what would have been a better move was to increase its budget, considering that it now has a bigger scope of responsibilities. Although it is difficult to argue that wildlife protection is more important than health, education and national defense for example, it could also be argued that our flora and fauna are part of our national patrimony and our national identity. What that means is that if we lose these two, we may lose our sense of being a unique people. Aside from the sentimental side, there is also a practical side to this, because our natural ecosystems are part of our overall food security, because if our environment is destroyed, we may not be able to produce food at all. Let us not also forget that the destruction of our natural environment has an impact on our climate security. I know for a fact that in many countries, wildlife protection agencies are able to reverse the numbers of many animals from near extinction to relatively safe levels. Some have even managed to find animals that have been thought to be extinct, but were actually still in the wild. Can anyone suggest which species we should prioritize? IKE SENERES/ 02-28-2024