Villagers to help save-eagle plan

DAVAO CITY — Villagers in forested communities known to be nesting sites of the Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) will be tapped to protect the endangered species in the wild.

The Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) is eyeing the help of residents in the Pulangi watershed in Bukidnon and Barangay Ganatan in the Arakan Valley to preserve the eagles’ habitat.

The Pulangi watershed is said to be the country’s second largest, with an area of 1.8 million hectares.

The PEF estimates there are at least 500 Philippine eagles in the wild. Twenty-one eagles are being held captive at the Philippine Eagle Center in Malagos, Calinan district here, and two others at the University of the Philippines Los Baños.

"We recognize the importance of getting villagers involved in the whole process of protecting the Philippine eagle. They have to feel responsible themselves, that is why we are coming up with a mechanism that will also help them in their livelihood," said Dennis Salvador, PEF executive director.

PEF’s community projects, Salvador added, aim to address the alarming rate at which the country is losing its biological resources due to rapid deforestation.

The 11-month, P1.5-million community-based resource management project in Pulangi, which the PEF kicks off tomorrow, will cover six barangays near the upland forest where the eagles are known to nest. — Edith Regalado