Eagle Week focuses on conservation

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The continued effort to conserve the country’s national bird, the endangered Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi), is the focus of the celebration of Philippine Eagle Week.

According to Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) executive director Dennis Salvador, activities lined up for the Philippine Eagle Week are geared toward increasing the public’s awareness of the importance of protecting the environment.

Then President Joseph Estrada issued on Feb. 24, 1999 Presidential Proclamation No. 79 declaring June 4 to 10 of every year as Philippine Eagle Week.

Salvador estimates the population of existing Philippine eagles at 500 pairs, including the 30 eagles kept at the Philippine Eagle Center in Malagos, Calinan district in this city.

The PEF, which has been at the forefront of efforts to conserve the remaining population of the Philippine eagle, has been engaged over the last 20 years in comprehensive actions to save the endangered giant raptor from extinction.

“We have to work harder to conserve the Philippine Eagle. It involves community effort. It involves everyone,” Salvador said, adding that the dwindling population of the Philippine Eagle sounds the alarm over the general state of the environment.

The PEF runs the Malagos eagle center which has so far produced 22 captive-bred eagles, including Pag-asa and Pagkakaisa, the first products of the center’s captive breeding program in the early 1990s.

The Malagos eagle center was able to establish a gene pool of the eagles which has been the main source of its captive breeding program.

“We are likewise at the forefront of efforts to ensure that the remaining forests of the country are thriving and that we are able to strike a healthy balance in our environment and at the same time improve the quality of life of Filipinos, especially those residing in the vicinity of the areas considered to be the habitat of the eagle,” Salvador said.

He explained that the PEF partners with upland communities to convince the villagers of the need to protect the over 300,000 hectares of remaining forest cover.

Salvador said the PEF also assists the said upland communities through livelihood and development projects, particularly in forest areas in Luzon, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao where eagle populations and nests have been monitored.

“We hope to be able to bring to the consciousness of the people the importance of the Philippine Eagle to our environment. The moment we do not have any forest cover left, it means our Philippine Eagles would also lose their natural habitat and it would spell disaster,” Salvador added.

The PEF director stressed that with the onset of the global financial crisis, it is also imperative that Filipinos take into consideration the need to bring about sustainable development of the country’s rich natural resources.

Salvador further said this year’s theme of the Philippine Eagle Week celebration – “Kaligtasan ng Agila at Kalikasan, Kasaganaan ng Sambayanan” (Saving the eagle and the environment is the people’s wealth), aptly points out that while addressing the effects of the global financial crisis, it is also equally important to properly manage the country’s natural resources and environment.