Leading telecommunications company Globe Telecom has joined the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) in its efforts to save the Philippine Eagle which is in danger of extinction due to continuous denudation of its habitat.
Globe, through its Corporate Social Responsibility arm Globe Bridging Communities, has partnered with PEF on its forest corridor development program in Arakan to restore wildlife habitats. Arakan is a valley situated at the northeastern tip of North Cotabato and bounded in the east by Davao City.
Rob I. Nazal, Globe CSR head said: “Globe is committed to the protection, preservation, and conservation of our environment. That is why we conduct the annual Globe Cordillera Challenge to help preserve the Cordillera mountain ecosystem as well as the Globe Adventure Taal for Clean Water, a drive to save Taal Lake from water pollution. We continue to look for similar environmentally critical areas to support and found it in Arakan, the home of the Philippine Eagle.”
“PEF firmly believes that the fate of our vanishing Philippine Eagle, the health of our environment, and the quality of Philippine life are inextricably linked. We are, therefore, committed to promote the survival of the Philippine Eagle, the biodiversity it represents, and the sustainable use of our forest resources for future generations to enjoy,” said Dennis Salvador, PEF Executive Director.
While protecting the remaining forest fragments, forest corridoring also aims to re-establish forest on grasslands along the forest corridor between the mountains of Mahuson, Sinaka, and Kabalantiian-Binoongan-Kulaman (KABIKU), rehabilitate degraded lands close to habitats of threatened wildlife and critical watersheds, provide incentives to both indigenous and non-indigenous community partners, and participate in carbon markets to generate supplementary income for upland communities who restore degraded habitats.
Due to over five decades of commercial logging and agricultural expansion, what is left of the forest cover of Arakan are only isolated forest fragments in the mountain ranges of Mahuson, Sinaka and KABIKU. These forest fragments prove to be biologically and ecologically important as these have been home to the Philippine eagle. Sinaka and Mahuson are where two wild pairs of Philippine eagles have been breeding at lease since 1992.
Likewise, Sinaka is regarded as one of the world’s important bird areas due to the relatively high proportion of unique threatened birds it contains. Mahuson also has a unique mammalian assemblage as exemplified by the existence of the Philippine large-headed fruit bat.
The Globe Arakan XC event is being supported by leading global ICT solutions provider Huawei, Gerry’s Grill and the Ayala Business Club – Davao composed of about 30 members including Ayala Land, Avida, and Bank of the Philippine Islands.
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