Contained within the new policy is a mandate for the management and protection of Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) as critical habitats under the Philippine Wildlife Act. This is a momentous conservation success, given that KBAs are, by definition, sites of global significance for biodiversity conservation. The order also introduces a biodiversity impact assessment process for development and industry activities (thereby increasing the stringency of the more general environmental impact assessments). Finally, it calls for the creation of marine protected areas within the spectacular Verde passage, which was identified through a 2004 study by Old Dominion University, the Smithsonian Institute, and Conservation International (CI) as the heart of the Coral Triangle, with perhaps the highest concentration of marine biodiversity on earth.

To further highlight the urgent need to safeguard key sites for biodiversity, CI-Philippines hosted a launch of the KBAs in Manila on November 10th. The launch was the culmination of two years of work by CI-Philippines, in collaboration with the Haribon Foundation and the Philippines government's Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau to identify and map KBAs for the entire hotspot. The team identified 128 KBAs for 209 globally threatened and 419 endemic species of freshwater fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, as well as for 62 species of congregatory birds. The KBAs cover approximately 20% of the total land area of the Philippines. Currently, only 35% of KBAs have been formally established as protected areas under the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act. While many others will likely be declared protected areas in the future, the rapid rate of habitat conversion in the Philippines means that the need to safeguard the remaining sites is urgent. Gaining governmental recognition of the full set of KBAs is an important first step towards this goal.

The new forestry policy is aimed at addressing these problems to bring the Liberian forestry sector back in line with international commitments and standards. The policy emphasizes the importance of good governance. Its objective is to give more equitable access to forest resources to reduce the potential for future conflict. With technical assistance from the Environmental Law Institute, this law lays the foundations for increasing transparency, accountability and better governance in the forestry sector which will be a key partner in conserving biodiversity in Liberia. While the law is an historic achievement itself, it will only be as effective as the individuals on the ground implementing, monitoring and participating in a revived democratic forest sector.

The ancestors of this group originated 80 million years ago on Gondwanaland and have since evolved into an array of endemic species. Powelliphanta species are slow to mature, living for up to 20 years, and have low productivity. Most species are naturally restricted to small areas in either lowland or montane forests, or in tussock grasslands just at the bushline. They require moist surroundings to prevent dessication, as their shells and those of their eggs are very permeable. To prevent moisture loss they are nocturnal and only occupy wetter western parts of New Zealand. They are carnivorous, eating mostly earthworms and occasionally slugs, filling an ecological niche occupied elsewhere in the world by small mammals. Though they are unique and beguiling, many Powelliphanta species are also threatened, not only by habitat loss, but also by invasive predators against which they have few defences.