Natural Resources, Nature Reserves, and Protected Areas. – Subject to the provisions of the Constitution, the Bangsamoro Government shall have the power, authority, and right to explore , develop, and utilize the natural resources, including surface and subsurface rights, inland waters, coastal waters, and renewable and nonrenewable resources in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.
The protection, conservation, rehabilitation, and development of forests, coastal, and marine resources, including the adoption of programs and projects, to ensure the maintenance of ecological balance and biodiversity shall be given priority.
The Bangsamoro Government shall also have the power to declare nature reserves and aquatic parks, forests, watershed reservations, and other protected areas in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.
The Parliament shall pass a law to establish protected areas, the procedure for the declaration and the management thereof, and the role of the Bangsamoro Government and other stakeholders in the process: Provided, That protected areas to be declared within the ancestral domains shall be subject to the free, prior and informed consent of the non-Moro indigenous peoples.
Pending the enactment of such law, the declaration and management of protected areas shall be governed by existing laws rules and regulations. Existing nature reserves and protected areas shall remain as such. These, including those to be declared, shall be managed in accordance with sustainable development and biodiversity conservation policies and principles as contained in international conventions and treaties to which the Philippines is a party.
