WWF vows to protect earth's biodiversity

MANILA, Philippines - The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Philippines) has reaffirmed its resolve to save and protect the earth’s biodiversity from destruction in the face of great threats from global warming and rapidly growing population.

WWF-Philippines board chairman Vince Perez said the WWF – the largest independent conservation organization – will continue to embark on new conservation programs in the coming years to help stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment.

“We are here to reaffirm our commitment to transform our present to a sustainable future... to achieve this much remains to be done,” Perez, a former energy secretary, told donors and supporters during the WWF-International’s 50th anniversary celebration at the Manila Polo Club in Makati City Thursday.

“From 1970 to 2007, the biodiversity plummeted by 30 percent, the demands for natural resources are increasing,” Perez said. “It can no longer be business as usual as there are now seven billion people. By year 2030, we will need an equivalent of two earths to sustain our consumption.”

The United Nations’ World Risk Report 2011 ranked the Philippines as the third most disaster prone country in the world next to Vanuatu and Tonga.

“Given this situation, we need a healthy, sustainable and climate-resilient Philippines,” Perez said.

Perez said the WWF-Philippines, which marks its 15th anniversary this year, has launched the Philippine Fund for Nature (PFN), an endowment fund that will enable WWF-Philippines to sustain its key projects in the long run, helping conserve the biodiversity and mitigating the impact of human footprint on the environment.

Perez said they aim to raise P100 million to P200 million for the PFN.

The WWF-Philippines also honored on Thursday its corporate donors, including the Ayala Group of Companies.

The family patriarch, Jaime Zobel de Ayala, is a member of the WWF-Philippines’ Board of Trustees since 2005.

Since 1997, the Ayala Group of Companies has provided a total of P53 million for the WWF-Philippines.

Recently, the Zobel-owned Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) partnered with the WWF-Philippines for the implementation of a Climate Risk Adaptation Project.