MANILA, Philippines - Globe Telecom and its partner Huawei Philippines have turned over P500,000 to the Philippine Eagle Conservation Program Foundation to help improve the lives of marginalized families involved in the reforestation of the Arakan Valley.
Part of the donated funds came from proceeds of the recently-concluded Globe Arakan XC, a 55-kilometer biking activity which began at the Philippine Eagle Center in Malagos, Davao City and ended in Arakan Valley, North Cotabato.
“We realized that there are component parts of the five-year Arakan Forest Corridor Development Program (AFCDP) that still needs private sector support such as livelihood training and capacity building, seed capital for agro-forestry, and education incentives to elementary children. So we decided to hold an event that will not just increase the profile of the program but also raise funds to support these activities not funded by the USAID (United States Agency of International Development),” said Rob Nazal, head of Globe Corporate Social Responsibility.
To help prevent further ecological meltdown and alleviate poverty, AFCDP envisions the conservation of Mt. Sinaka, Mt. Mahuson and KABIKU (Kabalantian-Binoongan-Kulaman) with forest islands linked by a 30-km long and 1-km wide forest corridor covering 10 barangays and three ancestral domains.
Forest corridors are linear patches of trees, either natural or man-made. Though small, the forest islands are nesting territories of the Philippine Eagle and are also critical watersheds and habitats to a substantial number of unique and threatened flora and fauna.
“PEF and FPE are doing very important work which is forest corridoring, the only corridoring work in the Philippines. This is not just about the Philippine Eagle but also about biodiversity conservation. There are species in the soft patch of the forest that they are trying to connect and which will benefit from the program,” Nazal said.
AFCDP is an initiative of the Philippine Eagle Foundation and the Foundation for Philippine Environment to test a community-based landscape approach to biodiversity conservation. Using the Philippine Eagle as a conservation flagship, AFCDP is working on building new eagle habitats while empowering indigenous and non-indigenous villages towards sustainable development.
Partner communities handle the planting of seedlings, nursery upkeep, and other reforestation activities. In return, they receive incentives in the form of basic services such as water systems, health or education services, and livelihood projects.