Alternative livelihood set for kaingineros, illegal loggers

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources-8 and the Leyte provincial government have initiated measures to arrest the forest degradation in Leyte Island.

DENR-8 Regional Director Leonardo Sibbaluca said the findings of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) satellite imagery survey showed about 15 percent or 41,060 hectares of forest cover in Leyte Island has been damaged in recent years.

Among the areas direly affected are the forest covers along the Mahagnao Volcano and National Park in the towns of Burauen and La Paz, within the Leyte's forests geothermal reservation area.

The major cause of the forest degradation is the slash-and-burn or kaingin farming and timber poaching or illegal logging, he said.

As such, Sibbaluca said that in stopping kaingineros and timber poachers in their illegal activities, the DENR-8 have come up with measures to provide them with alternative sources of income by letting them participate in income-generating activities, such as eco-tourism.

Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla, in separate interview, said his office had also intensified efforts to stop forest degradation in his province, by increasing police patrols in these areas, in coordination with affected local government units. (FREEMAN)