Section 3Sec./Art. 3

Section 4 of Republic Act No. 7586 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 4. Definition of Terms. - For purpose of this Act, the following terms shall be defined as follows:

"(a) Biological diversity or biodiversity refers to the variability among the living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems;

"(b) Bioprospecting refers to the research, collection, and utilization of biological and genetic resources for purposes of applying the knowledge derived therefrom solely for commercial purposes;

"(c) Buffer zones refers to identified areas outside the boundaries of and immediately adjacent to designated protected areas that need special development control in order to avoid or minimize harm to the protected area;

"(d) By-products or Derivatives refers to parts taken or substances extracted from wildlife, in raw or in processed form;

"(e) Collecting refers to the act of gathering or harvesting wildlife and its by-products or derivatives;

"(f) Conveyance refers to every kind of vessel, including motorized or nonmotorized vehicles, nondisplacement crafts and seaplanes that are used or may be used as a means of transportation on land or water. It shall include everything found therein except personal effects;

"(g) Delineation refers to the actual ground survey of the boundaries of protected areas and their buffer zones and management and management zones using the global positioning system (GPS) or other applicable survey instruments and technologies, with the intention of producing a map of the area;

"(h) Demarcation refers to the establishment of the boundaries of protected areas and their buffer zones using visible markers, monuments, buoys in case of marine areas, and known natural features and landmarks, among others, as a result of the actual ground delineation;

"(i) Ecosystem goods and services refers to the multitude of material and nonmaterial provisions and benefits from healthy ecosystems necessary for human sustenance, well-being, and survival including support processes, provisioning and environment regulating services, and cultural resource preservation services;

"(j) Endemic species refers to the species or subspecies of flora and fauna which are naturally occurring and found within specific areas in the country;

"(k) Exotic species refer to the species or subspecies of flora and fauna which do not naturally occur within the protected area at present or in historical time;

"(l) Exploration refers to the act of searching or prospecting for mineral resources, as defines by law, by geological, geochemical or geophysical surveys, remote sensing, test pitting, trenching, drilling, shaft sinking, tunneling, or any other means, for the purpose of determining the existence, extent, quantity, and quality of resources in an area, and the feasibility of utilizing these resources for profit;

"(m) Gear refers to any instrument or device and its accessories utilized in taking, catching gathering , killing, hunting, destroying, disturbing, removing, or possessing resources within the protected area;

"(n) Genitically modified organism (GMO) refers to any living organism that possesses a novel combination of genetic material through the use of modern biotechnology;

"(o) Hunting refers to the killing or catching of wild fauna for food and recreational purposes, with the use of weapons such as guns, bow and arrow, spears, traps and snares, and the like;

"(p) Indigenous Cultural Community (ICC)/Indigenous People (IP) refers to a group of people sharing common bonds of language, customs traditions, and other distinctive cultural traits, and who have, since time immemorial occupied, possessed and utilized a territory;

"(q) Integrated Protected Area Fund (IPAF) refers to the special account established for the purpose of financing projects of the NIPAS and individual protected areas;

"(r) Invasive alien species refers to species introduced deliberately or unintentionally outside their natural habitats where they have the ability to establish themselves, invade, outcompete native species, and take over the new environment;

"(s) Kaingin refers to the slash-and-burn cultivation of vegetated land in a protected area, whether occupied or not, shifting and permanent with little or no provision to prevent soil erosion;

"(t) Multiple-use zone refers to the area where settlement, traditional and sustainable land use including agriculture, agroforestry, extraction activities, and income generating or livelihood activities, and may be allowed to the extent prescribed in the protected area management plan;

"(u) National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) refers to the classification and administration of all designated protected areas to maintain essential ecological processes and life-support systems, to preserve genetic diversity, to ensure sustainable use of resources found therein, and to maintain their natural conditions to the greatest extent possible;

"(v) National park refers to the lands of the public domain classified as such in the Constitution which include all areas under the NIPAS pursuant to this Act, primarily designated for the conservation of native plants and animals, their associated habitats and cultural diversity;

"(w) Natural biotic area refers to an area set aside to allow the way of life of societies living in harmony with the environment to adapt to modern technology at their pace;

"(x) Natural monument refers to a relatively small area focused on the protection of small features to protect or preserve nationally significant natural features on account of their special interest or unique characteristics;

"(y) Natural park refers to a relatively large area not materially altered by human activity where extractive resources uses not allowed and is maintained to protect outstanding natural and scenic areas of national or international significance for scientific, educational, recreational use;

"(z) Occupying refers to a continuous stay of individuals or groups within a protected area, whether residing or engaging in the cultivation of land or fishing for more that twenty-four (24) hours;

"(aa) Poaching refers to gathering, collecting, or possessing products or natural resources from the protected area by any individual person, corporation or entity whether local or foreign; in the case of marine protected areas, operating any foreign fishing vessels by any person, corporation , or entity without a permit;

"(bb) Protected area refers to identified portions of land and/or water set aside by reason of their unique physical and biological diversity and protected against destructive human exploitation;

"(cc) Protected Area Occupants refers to persons who are residing, utilizing, and cultivating areas within the protected area.1wphi1 These include private owners, IPs, tenured migrants and informal settlers;

"(dd) Protected Area Retained Income Account refers to the trust fund maintained by any protected area and administered by the respective Protected Area Management Boards (PAMB) created pursuant to this Act representing the seventy-five percent (75%) of revenues generated from the protected area to sipport its operation and management;

"(ee) Protected landscapes and/or seascapes refer to areas of national significance which are charactertized by the harmanonious interaction of man and land and water while providing opportunities for public enjoyment through recreation, tourism, and other economic activities;

"(ff) Protected species refers to plants or animals declared protected under Philippine laws, rules, and regulations. These shall include all species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and all its Annexes, the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS), those specified under the red-list categories of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (DENR), PAMB or any government agency may deem necessary for conservation and preservation in the protected area;

"(gg) Quarrying refers to the process of extracting, removing, and disposing sand gravel, guano, limestone, and all other resources used as building and construction materials that are found within the protected area;

"(hh) Resource reserve refers to an extensive, relatively isolated, and uninhabited area which is difficult to access and is designated to protect the natural resources of the area for future use and prevent or contain development activities that could affect the resources, pending the establishment of sustainable resources utilization goals which are based upon appropriate information and planning;

"(ii) Special Account in the General Fund (SAGF) refers to the trust fund deposited in the national treasury representing the twenty-five percent (25%) of the revenues generated from the operation of individual protected area and earmarked to support the NIPAS;

"(jj) Strict nature reserve refers to an area possessing some outstanding ecosystem, features, and species of flora and fauna of national scientific importance that should be maintained to protect and to preserve nature in its undisturbed state and to preserve nature in its undisturbed state and to preserve ecologically representative examples of the natural environment to ensure their availability for scientific study, environmental to ensure their availability for scientific study, environmental monitoring, education, and for the for the maintenance of genetic resources in a dynamic and evolutionary state;

"(kk) Tenure migrants refer to protected area occupants who have been actually, continuously and presently occupants who have been actually, continuously and presently occupying a portion of the protected area for five (5) years before the proclamation or law establishing the same as a protected area, and are solely dependent therein for subsistence;

"(ll) Threatened species refer to species or subspecies considered critically endangered, vulnerable, or other accepted categories of wildlife whose population is at risk of extinction;

"(mm) Wetlands refers to wide variety of inland habitats such as marshes, peatlands, floodplains, rivers and lakes, and coastal areas such as saltmarshes, mangroves, intertidal mudfats and seagrass beds, and also coral reefs and other marine areas no deeper than six (6) meters at low, as well as human-made wetlands such as dams, reservoirs, rice paddies and wastewater treatment ponds and lagoons;

"(nn) Wildlife refers to the wild forms and varieties of flora and fauna, in all developmental stages, including those who which are in capacity or are being bred, fed, or propagated; and

"(oo) Wildlife Sanctuary. - refers to an area which assures the natural conditions necessary to protect nationally significant species, group of species, biotic communities or physical features of the environment which may require specific human manipulations for their perpetuation."