Biodiversity case studies
Philippines: Award-winning project protects Philippine's biodiversity
Our award-winning Malampaya Deepwaters Gas-to-Power project clearly demonstrates how environmental, social and economic considerations can be embodied into large-scale developments.
The project - which signals the birth of the natural gas industry in the Philippines - placed biodiversity at the heart of development and won a United Nations award for sustainable development. As well as comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessments, Shell Philippines Exploration BV and the Philipinas Shell Foundation funded several conservation projects that will make a positive contribution to indigenous flora and fauna.
Among these conservation projects is a programme to revive the biodiversity of Mindoro Island. Mindoro Island, a renowned biogeographical region with high biodiversity, has lost 92 percent of its forest cover due to the unsustainable use of natural resources. To restore some of Mindoro’s splendour, Shell Philippines Exploration BV and the Philipinas Shell Foundation developed a plan that integrates biodiversity conservation, environmental education, advocacy and community development. The programme will establish a Biodiversity Conservation Foundation and world-class threatened species regeneration and breeding centre staffed by Filipino experts with technical support from Flora and Fauna International. Shell Philippines also supports the Malampaya Sound Ecological Studies Programme. In collaboration with WWF, this programme is researching the rare Irrawaddy Dolphin to determine whether it is feasible to preserve these estuarine mammals and how this may be accomplished.
Another example of how Shell is involved in biodiversity is the Subic Bay Bat Habitat Restoration Programme. This entails planting orchards, which not only help increase the number of endangered fruit bats through providing a suitable habitat and feeding ground, but raises revenues for the local community by creating a commercially viable product. Shell Philippines and the Centre for Renewable Resources and Energy Efficiency have also partly funded a crab farm in a small fishing community in the Palawan province. Solar panels provided by Shell are powering security and safety systems on the mud crab farm which helps to preserve larger specimens as well as persuading people to look after their mangrove swamps.
Key messages
- Empowerment of the local community to create sustainable restoration programmes.
- Using biodiversity to sustain livelihoods.
Related links
Malampaya Sound Ecological Studies Project – opens in a new window
