The country's largest province is a refuge for more than 100 threatened species on land and sea, including the Philippine cockatoo and several marine turtles. Often called the "last biodiversity frontier," Palawan has retained roughly half its original forest cover, and indigenous ethnic groups manage much of the natural resources under their Ancestral Domain Claims. 

As part of an overall conservation strategy, we are providing financial and technical support to numerous government, NGO, and community organizations to help establish or strengthen the protected areas based on the critical sites our partners have identified. In the Mt. Mantalingahan forest range, home to a critical watershed and a majority of Palawan's threatened birds, we are conducting biodiversity surveys, resource assessments, and community consultations with the aim of creating a 130,000 hectare protected area.

In the Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, we helped triple the size of this magnificent marine protected area. Now we’re trying to strengthen the park's long-term management by improving monitoring and enforcement against illegal fishing and by developing sustainable financial plans.