An Asian palm civet cat (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) locally known as “Singgarong” and a Philippine water monitor lizard or Marbled monitor lizard (Varanus marmoratus) which is called “Halo” in vernacular, were rescued in Capiz province.

Through the joint effort of the Community ENR Office of Mambusao - Protected Area Management and Biodiversity Conservation Unit (PAMBCU) and Monitoring and Enforcement Section (MES) under the Provincial ENR Office in Capiz, a rescue operation was conducted on August 17, 2021 with information that the said animals are located in Brgy. Malocloc Norte, Ivisan, Capiz. Upon arrival at Sitio Ilaya of the said barangay, the rescuers saw the two animals caught in an indigenous trap known as “kisiw”. After a thorough physical examination, it was found out that the civet cat has a leg injury due to long hours of being trapped in the “kisiw” prior to its retrieval.

The monitor lizard was released back to its natural habitat at Sitio Aglangit in Brgy. Santa Ana, Tapaz, Capiz the next day. Unfortunately, the civet cat died and was immediately buried.

“All wild animals and plants have a role in our diverse forest ecosystem, with one needing the other. They are always in symbiotic relationship the same way humans are dependent on such ecosystem balance,” said DENR 6 Regional Executive Director Livino B. Duran.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Region 6 are strengthening communities both in urban and upland areas to inform proper authorities should they found wild plants and animals that need to be turned-over or released to its natural habitat.

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Published: 10 September 2021

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 6 in collaboration with the AC Energy in encouraging the public to participate and involve themselves in supporting the mandate of the Department to protect and conserve the natural resources in their community and the region as a whole.

Thus, through its Provincial ENR Office in Guimaras, the DENR assisted the AC Energy with the establishment of its 27-hectares arboretum project where almost 6,000 trees have been planted. At the present, the plantation has attained a 100% survival rate, based on sampling conducted. The validation also highlighted the good quality of the plantation and its potential to enrich the biodiversity in the area.

The wind farm is also a collaborative project with the local community of Tanglad, Sibunag, Guimaras with the AC Energy, which supports DENR’s flagship reforestation program –the Enhance National Greening Program (ENGP).

Named as Guimaras Wind Farm, the plantation is developed as the “learning forest” for the public to interact in a natural space with different flora and fauna. This will also help young and old alike to have a better understanding of the importance of nature and become pro-active stewards of the environment.

“This wind farm will not only help thousands of households with their electricity but will also boost the eco-tourism in the area. But that will be limited yet due to this pandemic. However, let us all keep in mind that we still need to protect it and sustain our environment,” said DENR 6 Regional Executive Director Livino B. Duran.

The ENGP is one of the ten priority programs of DENR Secretary Roy A. Cimatu. The program aims to reduce poverty especially in the hinterlands, to implement sustainable management of natural resources through resource conservation, protection, and productivity enhancement, and to provide food, goods and services such as timber, fiber, non-timber forest products, aesthetic values, air enhancement values, water regulation values, and mitigate climate change by expanding forest cover that serve as carbon sink, to mention a few.

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Published: 01 September 2021

Green sea turtles hatchlings happily crawled their way back home to the vast ocean in the province of Antique.

A total of eighty-four (84) Green sea turtle hatchlings were released by the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) Culasi on a fine morning of June 27, 2021 at Brgy. San Francisco Norte, Tibiao, Antique.

The Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) is considered endangered (EN) species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List.

They are carnivorous from hatchling until juvenile stage and shift to an herbivorous diet as their serrated jaws adapts for most vegetarian diet of sea grasses and algaes.

Ninety-nine (99) eggs were found by a fisherman the night before its release and immediately reported to their local government unit. For the record, thirteen (13) eggs remains unhatched while two (2) were found dead during the release.

The province of Antique has a strong implementation of the Turtle Conservation Program, with local folks actively supporting the protection and conservation of these marine animals.

These marine reptiles migrate thousands of miles over their lifetime to feed, breed and lay eggs. They have an internal global positioning system (GPS) using the earth’s magnetic field pinpointing specific coastlines based on their magnetic signature. Female turtles were able to return to the exact place where they were born to lay their eggs.

“These endangered sea creatures thrive in warmer temperatures of the waters in Antique to lay their eggs. More sightings of sea turtle hatch also indicate a healthy ocean ecosystem. We are thankful to the fishermen, our partners and guardians of the environment in saving our marine wildlife species,” said regional executive director Livino B. Duran.

Enhanced Biodiversity Conservation is among the top priority of Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu.

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Published: 21 July 2021

Two Chinese egrets  were monitored by the joint team of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Region 6 and PhilBio sometime from December 2019 until February 2020 with a tracker on their backs in Brgy. Tibsoc, San Enrique in Negros Occidental province.

This may be an alien thing to many. But the tracking of migratory birds served an important purpose, not only for wildlife biology, but more so on how human activities are impacting the movement of the birds.

Migratory birds provide humans with important ecosystem benefits such as pest control, pollination of plants and they also serve as food sources for other wildlife. Many wetland areas in the world have become ecotourism sites and places of recreation with migratory birds as its main attraction. Thus, tracking their migration pattern has become essential in determining the locations they visit and the protection of those areas as well.

What then, is the ecological significance of migration? “It enables fast-moving animals to exploit fluctuating resources and to settle in areas where life would not be tenable for animals incapable of rapid travel. On the other hand, peaks of food production would be unexploited without the periodic presence of migratory populations,” said britannica.com website.

“Many of us have enjoyed seeing the unique migratory birds. Nonetheless, let us not forget that their presence serves as indicator of a good ecological condition where they still have food to eat. We therefore should protect our wetlands in this region where they love to visit,” said DENR 6 regional executive director Francisco E. Milla, Jr.

The Philippines is part of the East Asian/Australasian Flyway (EAAF) that received annual visits from thousands of migratory bird species from China, Japan, Siberia and other parts of the world.

In Western Visayas, the Negros Occidental Coastal Wetland Conservation Area (NOCWCA) is a wetland of international importance or the 7^th Ramsar site. It is host to thousands of migratory birds every year.

DENR Secretary Roy A. Cimatu is eagerly pursuing the Enhanced Biodioversity Conservation as one of his ten priority programs which aims to attain sustainable development for the Filipino people.

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Published: 01 June 2021

A juvenile Olive ridley sea turtle was released in the sandy shores of Puka Beach in Boracay Islandrecently.

It was kept in captivity for more than a year since its hatchling stage according to the investigation made by the team from Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) Boracay.

The Protected Area Management and Biodiversity Conservation (PAMBCU)/Coastal Unit of DENR CENRO Boracay assisted in the release of the sea turtle.

It wasmeasured and has a curved carapace length of 32 centimeters and a curved carapace width of 34 centimeter. It weighs an estimated less than 3 kilograms.

The marine turtle was released on the main stretch of Puka Beach and was recorded as the first incident of turtle species to nest and release in the area since the Hawksbill sea turtle and Green sea turtle were the two species recorded by the office in the past years.

Moreover, an Information Education and Communication (IEC) Campaign on Green Fins Approach, specifically in the conservation of endangered marine wildlife was conducted to the community who witness the activity to educate and increase awareness about the importance of wildlife conservation and protection.

This activity was also in line with the celebration of the “Month of the Ocean” held every month of May and supports the Thematic Area 3: Rehabilitation and Recovery of Ecosystems.

Wildlife species such as sea turtles were being conserved and protected by the country as well as their habitats for sustainability under the Republic Act (RA) 9147 or the Wildlife Resource Conservation and Protection Act.

“The best way to conserve and protect our wildlife species especially the sea turtles is to let them live in their natural habitat. Boracay Island is indeed a turtle haven prior to the recorded nesting and hatchlings release from the past years until now. Its ongoing rehabilitation also monitors its water quality, resulting to a more clean sea habitat for the different marine species in the island,” said Francisco E. Milla, Jr.

Enhanced Biodiversity Conservation is among the top ten priority programs and project of the DENR Secretary Roy A. Cimatu./DENR6

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Published: 18 May 2021