'Conservation heroes': Masungi rangers honored at International Ranger Awards
MANILA, Philippines — Rangers of the Masungi Georeserve Foundation who protect the Upper Marikina Watershed from illegal encroachment and destruction were among the winners of the second International Ranger Awards.
Kuhkan Maas, John Paul Magana, and Monica Inonog of the Bayog Ranger Station were lauded for their courage and determination to protect the essential watershed from illegal activities.
Maas was one the forest rangers who were shot in July 2021 while guarding the reforestation initiative of Masungi Georeserve Foundation in Sitio San Roque, Barangay Pinugay in Baras, Rizal.
The award presented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and World Commission on Protected Areas aims to recognize the work of rangers globally and improve their abilities, and raise awareness of the vital role they play in taking care of protected landscapes.
Seven individual rangers and three ranger teams from ten countries in Asia, Africa, Australasia, and Latin America were recognized.
“The world’s rangers are the unsung heroes and heroines of conservation. We rely on their perseverance and dedication to maintain a healthy planet for wildlife and for people,” said Madhu Rao, chair of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas.
Masungi Georeserve Foundation is restoring 2,700 hectares of severely degraded watershed areas around the Masungi limestones.
NewsX: Pools, ‘plunderers’ make Upper Marikina watershed conservation a hard and perilous task
Protection from danger
Inonog is hoping the recognition will raise awareness of the plight of environment defenders not only in Masungi but also in the Philippines.
“We ask the new DENR Secretary Ma. Antonia ‘Toni’ Yulo-Loyzaga to help protect us from continuing danger and finally remove the destructive quarry interests and illegal structures in the watershed,” she said.
In May, the DENR suspended mineral sharing production agreements within the Upper Marikina Watershed that had been granted to three quarry firms. Environment groups, however, asked authorities to cancel, not merely suspend, quarrying agreements within the 26,126-hectare protected area.
Establishments such as resorts were also built in the area.
Inoog also asked the police and the local government to support Masungi in “defeating organized crimes inside the Masungi landscape and the surrounding watershed.”
In mid-February, Masungi’s forest rangers, including Inonog and Maganda, were mauled by people suspected to be working for resorts inside the watershed.
The Philippines has been consistently identified as one of the most dangerous places in the world for land and environment defenders.
“Because of the lack of enforcement, negligence, or even connivance of certain officials, we are always put in the line of danger. Many times we feel alone. Instead of helping us, some of those in positions of authority are in effect helping incompatible interests like quarries and illegal structures prosper,” Inonog said.
The health of the Upper Marikina Watershed is critical to the disaster resilience of many communities, including cities in Metro Manila. But its integrity has been degraded by decades of illegal logging, quarrying and mining activities, and construction of establishments such as resorts.
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