Business sector, NGOs urged to "adopt" endangered wildlife species

CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is urging the business sector and environmentally-inclined non-government organizations to take a more active role in saving the country’s endangered wildlife species from extinction through adoption.

Manuel Gerochi, DENR Undersecretary for Staff Bureaus and Project Management, said the campaign is in line with the DENR’s Adopt-a-Wildlife Species Program (AAWSP). 

The AAWSP is embodied in DENR Administrative Order (DAO) No. 2010-16 to encourage organizations, groups or individuals interested in helping preserve the country’s wildlife and their habitat. In a statement, Gerochi said economic activities cannot be sustained without the ecological services that animals and plants provide.

Under DAO, interested parties shall formalize the “adoption” by signing a Memorandum of Agreement with DENR.

“Adoptors” can help support the conservation of priority species found in terrestrial and wetland areas that are under the jurisdiction of the DENR. These include 21 insects, 53 amphibians, 27 reptiles, 137 birds, 86 mammals and 873 plant species, as listed in the administrative order.

The AAWSP is ideal for entities or individuals who have enough financial resources to support the program. 

Aside from the ecological benefits, donations made directly to the DENR are 100 percent tax-deductible, as prescribed under Republic Act 9147, or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, and the National Internal Revenue Code.

The Philippines, although hailed as one of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world, has also been considered one of the “hottest of hotspots” in biodiversity, with several species under threat of near extinction.   - (THE FREEMAN)