In fulfillment of its obligations as one of the contracting parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity signed by 154 nations at the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992, the Philippines undertook an assessment of its biodiversity through a grant from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to the implementing agency, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Based on this comprehensive assessment of the current status of the country's biodiversity, the problems, threats, issues and gaps were identified. These formed the basis for a national strategy and action plan, whose goals are the conservation, sustainable utilization, and equitable sharing of the benefits of biodiversity by all Filipinos, present and future.