The Philippines is located in a region called the Coral Triangle; an area of exceptional importance as it is recognized as the global center for marine biodiversity. Within this region, the Philippines is also known as the center of this center. The marine resources are made up of coral reefs, seagrass beds, seaweeds, invertebrates, fisheries, and many others. Unfortunately, the Philippines is facing challenges to conserve its marine biodiversity due to overfishing, destructive fishing practices, and mariculture-derived eutrophication and coastal acidification, among others. These human activities coupled with climate change pose serious threats and possible decimation of its marine biodiversity.

CD-ROM contains an overview of the state of biodiversity in the Philippines as well as materials used during the workshop.

An illustrated study of the flora and fauna of the Philippine rain forest which explains its origins as well as the reasons that its imminent destruction threatens the economic and social well-being of the Philippine nation.

Biological diversity is important for ecosystem function and services, which in turn is essential for human well-being. Under the Convention on Biological Diversity, international efforts have been made to achieve a significant reduction in the current rate of biodiversity loss. The loss continues, however. The Asia-Pacific region includes both developing countries with high biodiversity and developed countries with sophisticated data collection and analyses, but only limited information about the status quo of biodiversity in this region has been available. Many Asia-Pacific countries have rapidly grown their economies and social infrastructures, causing a loss of biodiversity and requiring an urgent mandate to achieve a balance between development and conservation in the region. In December 2009, scientists successfully organized the Asia-Pacific Biodiversity Observation Network in the region, to establish a network for research and monitoring of ecosystems and biodiversity and to build a cooperative framework. The present volume is the first collection of information on biodiversity in the Asia-Pacific and represents a quantum step forward in science that optimizes the synergy between development and biodiversity conservation.

The book aims to address the lack of information on the experiences of others by providing a comparative analysis of national access and benefit-sharing laws and policies in the 41 Pacific Rim countries that signed the CBD. It provides key insights on the main characteristics of selected access and benefit-sharing (ABS) policies and laws, their development, and implementation process. It contains a detailed comparative analysis of existing laws and policies. It presents four case studies of countries with regulations in place and contrasts them with four case studies of countries that are struggling to develop their regulations. It ends by discussing options of an international regime on ABS and a summary analysis of the main lessons and recommendations from the study.