PHILIPPINES, Barangay Canipo, Municipality of Magsaysay, Northeastern Palawan (2011) -- Construction of a multi-purpose building in support of the extension of a 37 acre Marine Protected Area for an additional 20 years

 

Left: Barangay Canipo's 37-acre Marine Protected Area (2010). Right: Seacology funded multi-purpose building under construction (2011). Photos courtesy of Ferdinad Marcelo.

Barangay Canipo, with a population of about 1,500, is an isolated island barangay (village) in the Municipality of Magsaysay, Palawan Province.

The Andres Soriano Foundation (ASF, with whom Seacology has partnered before in Barangays Manamoc and Rizal) has been assisting Canipo in protecting and conserving its natural resources. In 2005, the Barangay passed a resolution declaring a 15 hectare (37 acre) portion of its coastal area as a Marine Protected Area (MPA). Since the MPA's establishment, use of destructive fishing methods such as dynamite, sodium cyanide, and fine nets have dramatically declined, and consequently, marine life in the area is on the increase. Villagers who used to engage in dynamite fishing are now raising livestock in the hills of the island.

To strengthen community support for the MPA, the local fisherfolk organization regularly conducts Coastal Resource Management Seminars and alternative livelihood symposia for its members through the Barangay Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council. There is no sheltered place for these meetings to take place. The community needed a venue for its activities and requested Seacology's assistance for the construction of a multipurpose building in support of their commitment to protect the MPA. In return, they pledge to keep protecting the MPA for at least 20 years more. Further project details and photos can be found here.

---

KENYA, Funzi Island (2010) - Construction of a display facility/office for conservation and ecotourism programs in exchange for sea turtle conservation activities for a minimum duration of 10 years.

   

Left: Funzi Island, Kenya (January 2010). Right: Land to be purchased for the display banda, Funzi Island, Kenya (July 2010). Photos courtesy of Dishon Lionel Murage

Funzi Island is located off the Kenyan South Coast and has a population of about 1,500 inhabitants. The island plays host to an array of ecosystem types including undisturbed coastal wetlands, mangrove forests, swaying palms, sandy beaches, creeks, estuary and undisturbed lowland coastal mixed forests. Five sea turtle species - Leatherback, Loggerhead, Green, Hawksbill and Olive ridley turtle - are found foraging or nesting on and around the island. Poaching, habitat degradation, soil erosion, destructive fishing practices, incidental capture and development are threats to these sea turtles.

Working with the Kenya Sea Turtle Conservation Committee (KESCOM), Seacology is funding construction of a display facility which will also serve as an office for the Funzi Turtle Club's activities, as well as support for community based-sea turtle monitoring activities, nest protection and translocation, adoption of tagged nesting turtles and turtle release programs. The community work will also include income generating projects such as developing turtle souvenirs - earrings, doormats and turtle models - from flip flop sandals washed ashore.

Conservation activities will take place in a 15,073-acre area including both terrestrial and marine ecosystems, that serve as important feeding and nesting sites of the five locally-found species of turtles. Further project details and photos can be found here.

---

YAP, Qokaaw and Kadaay (2010) - Watershed rehabilitation, surveillance equipment and a project operation center in exchange for a 46-acre no-take pristine mangrove sanctuary in perpetuity.

   

Left: Men's house, Yap, Micronesia (June 2008). Right: View of mangroves, Yap, Micronesia (June 2008). Photos courtesy of Karen Peterson.

The scenic and culturally pristine villages of Qokaaw and Kadaay are located in Weloy municipality on the West coast of Yap, Federated States of Micronesia. These communities have already taken an active interest in conservation with the establishment of the 192-acre Nimpal Channel Marine Conservation Area (MCA).

The communities are aware that conserving mangrove areas around the Nimpal Channel MCA is key to reducing run-off and providing habitat for juvenile fishes. With this in mind, they are proposing to preserve a 46-acre area of pristine mangrove, adjacent to the MCA. This particular forest survived Typhoon Sudal and contains at least four of the main five genera of mangroves in Yap.

In exchange for setting aside the Qokaaw and Kadaay Mangrove Reserve in perpetuity, Seacology is funding rehabilitation of some areas of the watershed that have become choked with fallen logs and branches; improvement of surveillance of the Nimpal Channel and mangrove reserve areas, including repairs to an existing surveillance platform, construction of a new one and purchase of a kayak to support surveillance efforts in the reserves; and construction of a project operation and storage center on the shore adjacent to the two reserves.

The villages of Qokaaw and Kadaay are steeped in tradition and this project is seen as having important cultural and social benefits for communities who have taken unilateral steps to protect their natural heritage. Further project details and photos can be found here.

---

PHILIPPINES, Palaui Island (2009) -- Solar-Powered Multi-Purpose Hall in Support of 5370 acre Watershed Forest

   

Left: Construction of community building, Palaui Island, Philippines (July 2009). Right: View of the forest reserve from the sea, Palaui Island, Philippines (July 2008).

Palaui Island is located off the northeastern tip of Luzon. The residents are subsistence farmers and fishers due to limited land available for cultivation. Because of the island's isolation, rich natural resources and the presence of a resource-dependent population, Palaui faces both livelihood and resource protection issues. Palaui is legally protected under the National Integrated Protected Area System Act, passed by Congress in 1992. However, illegal logging and "slash and burn" farming occasionally occur because of the lack of agricultural land, decreasing productivity of the soil and increasing the need to produce food crops for the local population.

A community space was needed so that the people could gather, receive and conduct trainings, and carry out livelihood activities. Such a structure had been constructed by the Department of Environment and National Resources (DENR) for the island community in late 1993, but it has not been maintained over the years, and was unusable. In exchange for Seacology funding the renovation of their multi-purpose hall, the Palaui Island community pledges to protect their 5,370-acre forests over the next 20 years. Further project details and photos can be found here.

---

PHILIPPINES, Mindanao Island (2009) -- Micro-Hydro Power Generator and Fruit Tree Nursery in Support of 744 acres of Watershed Forest

   

Left: Micro-hydro power house, Barangay Old Bulatukan, Municipality of Malasila, North Cotabato, Mindanao Island, Philippines (August 2009). Right: View of the watershed near Barangay Old Bulatukan, Mindanao Island, Philippines (July 2008).

Sitio Malumpini of Barangay Old Bulatukan, composed of about 65 Manobo households, is one of the isolated upland communities of Mt. Apo, the tallest mountain in the Philippines at an elevation of over 10,000 feet. The whole of Mt. Apo is already a protected area by virtue of a 1936 edict, but very little enforcement has taken place. The area has some of the highest land-based biological diversity in the Philippines, and is home to many threatened and endangered plant and animal species, including the critically endangered Philippines eagle (monkey-eating eagle). The community relies on kerosene for lighting and fuel wood for cooking. Seacology funded a micro-hydro power and a fruit tree nursery in support of their efforts to protect 744 acres of forest land within their ancestral domain for 30 years.

The project will be administered by YAMOG, a partner organization of Green Empowerment. The fruit tree nursery, to grow highly marketable mangosteens and lanzones, will be planted on existing arable land away from the protected area. YAMOG will also provide technical assistance with the planting, growing and marketing of the crops. Further project details and photos can be found here.