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30 m² of rainforest will be protected for forest turtles in the Philippines

Rainforest – life giver for people and rare turtles Rainforest – life giver for people and rare turtles

30 m² of rainforest will be protected for forest turtles in the Philippines
Day 1
Drinking water supply and species protection in the Philippines

When the severe typhoon Haiyan devastated the Philippines in 2013 and claimed more than 5,000 lives, its effects also reached the village of Dumarao. But even though there was unusually high rainfall here, there were hardly any landslides and no long-lasting flooding. The largely intact rainforest protected the village from the disaster. It stores the water and its roots stabilize the soil. The people in the village of Dumarao know how important the forest is to them. It provides them with drinking water, water for agriculture and is also a habitat for many rare animal species, such as the endangered forest turtle. That is why they voted in a referendum in 2013 to protect 400 hectares of rainforest. To protect their forest, the residents have decided to train five forest rangers.

Drinking water supply and species protection in the Philippines
need
Protection of the drinking water source area for the residents of Dumarao
activity
Local NGO “Katala Foundation” trains forest rangers and supports the village community in designating a drinking water protection area.
Measurable performance
Number of hectares of rainforest that were protected from deforestation
Result
Measurable reduction in the risk of flooding
Systemically relevant impact
Illegal deforestation and the illegal capture of endangered wild species such as forest turtles are prevented in the protected area around the village of Dumarao. The rainforest habitat is preserved for people and animals.
background

Poachers keep coming to the area around the village of Dumarao. On the one hand, they are looking for forest turtles (Siebenrockiella leytensis) to sell them illegally to international pet dealers, and on the other hand, they are illegally felling trees to offer them as construction and furniture wood in the province. Due to the high demand and increasingly scarce resources, illegal timber and wildlife trade in the Philippine province of Palawan has increased steadily in recent years (Anda and Tagangay-Baldera 2004). Due to the massive deforestation of the rainforests by national and international corporations, a deforestation ban was issued in the Philippines in 1989. The local population is not exempt from this deforestation ban. For example, it is prohibited to continue felling certain tree species for personal use, which were primarily used as construction wood due to their strength, durability and termite resistance. However, the Philippine population has grown from around 60 million to more than 100 million over the last 30 years (NSO 2010), which has led to increased construction activity. For this reason, a black market for illegally felled timber has developed over the years (Orbeta 2004). Illegal activities are encouraged by the extreme poverty that is still widespread among large parts of the Philippine population. Around 41.5% of the population lives on less than US$2 a day, most of them in rural areas of the country (data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.2DAY). Very few of them have a regular income, and at the same time they have direct access to natural resources. It is therefore not surprising that it is mainly the rural population itself that exploits its local resources on behalf of illegal timber or zoo animal traders and often resells them at ridiculous prices. In 2012, the Philippine environmental protection organization Katala Foundation, in cooperation with the customs authorities in Hong Kong, was able to track down an illegal turtle trader who had illegally acquired 63 forest turtles in the Philippine province of Palawan (Schoppe et al. 2013). The animals were brought back from Hong Kong to the Philippines and released back into the wild there.

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The good deed

In the village of Dumarao, some residents have also supplemented their income with poaching and the illegal turtle trade. This is where the project comes in. The former poachers and loggers are being trained as forest rangers who will help to protect the rainforest as an intact source of drinking water and a habitat for endangered animals. The first five forest rangers were trained in 2013. In 2015, another five forest rangers are to receive a state certificate. Around the village, 400 hectares of rainforest are to be entered into the environmental authority's register as an official forest conservation area. To do this, it is necessary to record the protected species and put up information signs. The villagers are drawing up a list of rules that specify which uses are permitted in the area. In this way, the forest is protected from illegal activities.

AboutPhilippines
Manila
Manila
Capital city
100321300
100321300
Population
$2,764.58
$2,764.58
Gross domestic product per capita per year
114
114
Human Development Index (Human Development Index)

The Philippines is an island nation with 7107 islands and more than 100 language groups

About the organization and further information

organization

Carpus eV

Carpus does not have a donation seal because annual donations do not exceed 10,000 euros. However, the association finances 80% of its projects from grants from public bodies (e.g. BMZ) and private foundations (e.g. Bread for the World or the North-South Bridges Foundation) and must disclose its finances to donors annually. In this respect, Carpus eV is subject to regular checks by various funding institutions.

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