THE TASK of protecting Sierra Madre, the country’s longest mountain range, is an uphill battle and 30 people recently accepted the challenge and joined the Wildlife Enforcement Officer (WEO) training program on June 3-5 in the town of Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija province.
The training program seeks to equip volunteer forest guards with basic knowledge on environment laws and strategies on environmental protection.
It seeks to bring in volunteers, in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the local government of Gabaldon, to monitor and protect forests in Sierra Madre and wildlife, like the Philippine eagle.
Volunteers—farmers, tricycle drivers, vendors, loggers and bulldozer operators—have agreed to protect the forests of Mt. Mingan, which is part of Sierra Madre.
The Gab-e, or Gabaldon eagle, a juvenile Philippine eagle, was last seen in Mt. Mingan in 2014.
The program was made possible by the German International Cooperation in partnership with the DENR, the local government of Gabaldon, Birdlife International, Toyota, Zoological Society of London-Edge Program and Haribon Foundation.
For information on how to make donations, call 421-1213, 421-1209 or 911-6088; text 0922-8151942 or 0922-8152045; log on to www.haribon.org.ph.; or e-mail act@haribon.org.ph.