Section 2Sec./Art. 2

Declaration of Policy. - Considering the unique biological and ecological importance of the Northern Sierra Madre as the widest remaining tropical rainforest in the Island of Luzon; owing to its rich and diverse ecosystems spanning from coral reefs and seagrass beds to mangroves and beach forests, ultramafic forests, forests over limestone, lowland dipterocarps to montane forests; recognizing its status as home to a variety of endemic species of plants and animals such as the rare Philippine Eagle, cloud rat and jade vine, and threatened and endangered species like the pawikan and estuarine crocodile; and because of its aesthetic, historical, cultural and economic importance to the country, it is hereby declared the policy of the State to secure the protection, preservation and rehabilitation of the Northern Sierra Madre Mountain Range within the Province of Isabela, its communities, their culture and their way of life insofar as they are in harmony with nature and do not alter the ecological systems and the magnitude of biological diversity of the area.

In so doing, the State shall ensure the protection and conservation of biodiversity of the NSMNP through sustainable and participatory development, to advance and protect the interests of its legitimate inhabitants and honor customary laws in accordance with Republic Act No. 7586 or the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act of 1992 and Republic Act No. 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997, as well as international conventions to which the Philippines is a signatory.