Driving investment and accountability: The focus of new monitoring platform for biodiversity finance in the Philippines

(L-R) Titon Mitra, UNDP Resident Representative, Director Crisanta Marlene Rodriguez of the DENR-BMB, and James Donovan, CEO of ADEC Innovations coming together to reach biodiversity financing goals

Manila, Philippines (4 March 2019) – A new partnership was launched this week to develop an online Biodiversity Monitoring and Evaluation system and an investment platform to meet national targets for biodiversity conservation. The Platform will facilitate transparency and accountability in investment and track the progress of the PBSAP (Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan) while mobilizing resources from various mechanisms such as corporate social responsibility, crowdfunding, diaspora/migrant philanthropy, and impact investment.

The partnership was formed between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) through its Biodiversity Management Bureau, and ADEC Innovations Corporation and will ultimately increase both public and private sector participation to unlock capital towards sustainable biodiversity financing and conservation for the Philippines precious and rich natural resources.  

The M&E Platform is one of BIOFIN Philippines’ 21 finance solutions all aimed at narrowing the huge financing gap of almost PhP19B (USD 349-M) annually for the PBSAP implementation.

James Donovan, CEO of ADEC Innovations, said they recognize the importance of developing such platform and has committed to work hand in hand with UNDP-BIOFIN Philippines and DENR-BMB. “We at ADEC Innovations see the value in developing this platform as a way to achieve the Philippines’ targets for biodiversity conservation,” he said. 

“This initiative not only requires work from the government and public agencies, but also calls for efforts from us in the private sector as we undoubtedly share the same vision with the Philippine government when it comes to sustainable management of natural resources,” he said. 

James Donovan, CEO of ADEC Innovations Corporation 

Titon Mitra, UNDP Resident Representative said at the launch of the partnership that there is a big opportunity to leverage the capital, capabilities and innovation available from the private sector for biodiversity conservation. 

“UNDP is delighted to have the opportunity to work with ADEC Innovations, known for its software development capabilities, to create this unique platform to monitor and promote public and private investments in biodiversity conservation. This will be an invaluable tool for DENR to help it bridge the financing gap,” he said. 

Encapsulating the country’s rich and vast data from various agencies and organizations, the platform will provide visibility on and serve as repository of information on biodiversity-related projects and initiatives nationwide. 

Arianne Saga of ADEC Innovations presenting the Platform  

The information will help in making informed decisions for government programming and budgeting as well as for private investments for biodiversity, contributing to the achievement of the Philippine Development Plan targets, Aichi Biodiversity Targets, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It will also aid in the Philippines’ reporting to the Convention on Biological Diversity. 

Screenshots of the mock-up Platform presented by ADEC Innovations 

ADEC Innovations Corporation’s Arianne Saga, Research and Development Specialist and Kar Lyle Constantino, Senior Corporate Planner presented the platform mock-up to UNDP and DENR, represented by Director Crisanta Marlene Rodriguez of the Biodiversity Management Bureau. 

“I am excited about this partnership and working with UNDP and ADEC Innovations. I am looking forward to more years of partnership and learning more about this initiative.” She added that BMB will facilitate DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu’s signing of the Memorandum of Understanding for this undertaking. She assured that DENR Secretary Cimatu, as a biodiversity advocate himself, will strongly support this initiative.  

The development of the platform is divided into three phases: 1) Creation of the platform’s main features amounting to USD 44,081 ,which will be contributed in-kind by ADEC Innovations Corporation; 2) Development of payment technology for the donation feature to host various finance mechanisms; and 3) Development of the investment platform. 

BIOFIN contributes to closing the financing gap for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity by identifying, accessing, combining and sequencing sources of biodiversity funding to finance the PBSAP. The PBSAP implementation will cost PhP24-B/year or PhP334-B (USD 7.4-B low estimate) from 2015-2028.  

However, public expenditure was estimated at only P4.9-B/year (USD 110-M) thus the gap of almost PhP19-B (USD 349M) annually was determined. Several finance solutions to address the gap were identified and are being piloted by BIOFIN at present.