Definition of Terms Mining Laws

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.

Endemic Species

refers to the species or subspecies of flora and fauna which arc naturally occurring and found within specific areas in the country;

Exotic Species

refers to the species or subspecies of flora and fauna which do not naturally occur within the protected area at present or i11 historical time;

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

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 may be allowed to the extent prescribed in the protected area management plan;

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;

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

Natural Park

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

Protected Area

a refers to identified portions of land and/or water set aside by reason of their unique physical and biological significance, managed to enhance biological diversity and protected against destructive human exploitation;

Protected landscapes and or seascapes

refers to areas of national significance which arc characterized by the harmonious interaction of man and land and water while providing opportunities for public enjoyment through recreation, tourism, and other economic activities

Protected species

refers to plants or animals declared protected under Philippine laws, rules, and regulations

Threatened species

refers to species or subspecies considered critically endangered, vulnerable, or other accepted categories of wildlife whose population is at risk of extinction;

Wetlands

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

Wildlife

refers to the wild forms and varieties of flora and fauna, ill all developmental stages, including those which arc in captivity or arc being bred, fed, or propagated;

Wildlife Sanctuary

refers to all area which assures the natural conditions necessary to protect nationally significant species, groups of species, biotic communities or physical features of the environment which may require specific human manipulations for the perpetuation

Areas of anthropological significance

refers to places that arc of outstanding cultural value from the archaeological, historical, ethnological, and aesthetic points of view such as contiguous areas with relatively preserved fossil and artifact evidences of early human habitation, burial caves and prehistoric cemeteries, ruins or remains of pre-colonial settlements and fortification, places and monuments, sacred grounds of IPs, places with preserved indigenous architecture, scenic landscapes and places with surviving traditional arts and crafts;

Protected Arca Management Board

refers to the PAMB ;

Special Use Agreement in Protected Areas (SAPA)

refers to a binding instrument between the DENR, as the first party, and the project proponent as the second party, relating to the use and/or development of land, resources or facilities within protected areas, pursuant to the NIPAS Act, as amended;

Strict Protection Zones

refers to portions within protected areas that arc closed to human activities by virtue of their significant biodiversity value, high susceptibility to geohazard, and identification as permanently dangerous. These areas may also include habitats of threatened species, or degraded areas that arc designated for restoration and subsequent protection, regardless of their stages of regeneration;