CEBU CITY, Dec. 6 (PIA) — The once held captive and maltreated tarsiers or Tarsius Syrichta in Bohol are now back in their natural habitat in the towns of Corella and Sikatuna, Bohol.

The consultations were triggered by a report from the Tarsius Project of the Czech Republic, presented by Dr. Milada Petru.

Petru is a field zoologist from the Decin Zoo in the Czech Republic, who conducted a study on the tarsiers in Bohol, made possible thru a grant from the Czech Republic in 2009.

She pointed out how the shy, nocturnal animals that thrive in Bohol island are allegedly abused and cruelly mishandled.

The study found that tarsiers were living in appalling conditions with no space to hide and rest, poorly planted, noisy and open, and the behavioral rules on the proper handling and care of the animals were not followed.

DENR-7 Regional Executive Director Maximo Dichoso said the tarsiers are subjected to stress since many visitors or tourists want to interact with them by day, disrupting their nocturnal lifestyle.

This contact alters their biological processes making them weak and vulnerable to diseases, he said.

Results of Petru’s study on the condition of Bohol’s tarsiers were submitted to Environment Secretary Ramon JP Paje who promptly ordered a moratorium on the issuance of wildlife farm permits (WFP) late last year.

Bohol Gov. Edgar Chatt and the local chief executives in the province, along with members of the Bohol Tourism Association, reportedly concurred and supported the findings of Dr. Petru.

After the consultations, an association by all Tarsier Centers was created, during which stakeholders agreed to transfer all the captive tarsiers into a 167-hectare Tarsier Conservation in Bohol.

The conservation site is manned by German Palapar of the Tarsier Centers Association with DENR-7 providing technical assistance.

According to Dichoso, tarsiers are classified as “near threatened” in the International Union on the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) List of Threatened Species, requiring adequate protection and conservation.

Prohibited acts include hunting, killing, wounding, collecting or possessing of Tarsier for commercial purposes and the destruction of its habitat.

“However, possession of the same for educational, scientific or conservation research may be allowed with DENR clearance or approval,” he said.

The Philippine Tarsier’s habitat is the second growth, secondary forest, and primary forest from sea level to 700 m (2,300 ft).

Its habitat also includes tropical rainforest with dense vegetation and trees that offer it protection like tall grasses, bushes and bamboo shoots.

Tarsiers prefer dense, low-level vegetation in secondary forests, with perching sites averaging 2 meters above the ground.

It is the smallest primate in the world and can be found in Bohol, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao.

Meanwhile, a memorandum of agreement (MOA) was signed between DENR-7 represented by Dichoso and the Wings of Serenity, Inc. on November 21, 2011, for the establishment of a Tarsier breeding and research center in Bilar, Bohol.

Cemex Philippines and Conservation International also signed a MOA with DENR-7 to conduct research on Tarsiers within and outside Bohol.

With the transfer of Tarsiers, the conservation area has been collecting a daily income of P50,000 per day and tourists are now limited to observing and taking pictures. (PIA-7/HFG/RMN/DENR-7)

DUMAGUETE CITY, July 20 (PIA) — The village that grows the most number of trees under the pocket forest program conceived by Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo will receive P1 million from the provincial government.

This was disclosed by Gov. Degamo during the recent launching of the National Greening Program (NGP) and the 87th township anniversary in Ayungon, this province.

The cash prize is aimed at further motivating communities to see to it that the planted trees are grown. “The cash award will also be used to implement environmental projects in the barangay,” said Capitol Information Officer Adrian Sedillo in a statement.

Early this year, the governor has allocated around P5.5 million for the creation of pocket forests in all 557 barangays across the province, with each village given P10,000 to undertake the project.

The mini-forest project is spurred by the governor’s aim of to protect and improve the environment in the province and as a local counterpart to the national government’s greening program. (RMN/PIA Negros Oriental)

ROXAS CITY, Capiz, June 18 (PIA) – More than 300,000 trees are expected to be planted and grown in Capiz this year.

Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Dionisio Molina, Jr. said that with the 176,000 target trees to be planted in the 235 hectares of land in Capiz for the National Greening Program, they expect to double said number as many local government units and private groups have planned to do the same.

Molina stressed that they are set to launch in the province the National Greening Program on June 29 through a gathering of top local officials here including the different sectors from the national government agencies, private organizations, schools and other civic organizations.

He revealed that Western Visayas DENR Regional Director Julian Amador will grace said occasion here with Capiz Governor Victor Tanco and other dignitaries.

Immediately after the program and ceremonial tree planting at the Villareal Stadium here, the group composed will proceed to Catao Dam in Cudian, Ivisan town for the planting of about 2,000 trees.

Molina said that they are expecting more than 200 participants for said launching activity in the province.

Recently, President Benigno S. Aquino III led the launching of the National Greening Program in Manila to regain the country’s depleting forest areas and ensure self-sufficiency in its timber needs.

The program consolidates all reforestation efforts by the government and would be carried out by the DENR as the lead agency, in close coordination with the Department of Agriculture and Department of Agrarian Reform.

Under said program, the government is targeting to plant and grow 1.5 billion trees covering about 1.5 million hectares of lands in public domain from 2011 to 2016.

Areas that will be covered under the program include forest lands, mangrove and protected areas, ancestral domains, civil and military reservations, urban areas and abandoned mine sites. (JCM/JBG/PIA6-Capiz)

This way Yu, who owns the Leyte Home Depot, hit two birds with one stone. He gave livelihood to the families of his employees and promoted the concept of “green shopping.”

His effort did not go unnoticed during the Earth Day celebrations this year, as the business exemplified the theme “Earth Day Everyday.”

Department of Environment and Natural Resources Regional Executive Director Primitivo Galinato expressed hope that other entrepreneurs in Eastern Visayas will follow the example of Mr. Yu.

Green shopping

Here are some tips to help save the environment.

Green shopping means buying smart. Shop with the environment in mind. This means buying products that help conserve natural resources, save energy, and prevent waste.

It can also mean not buying things one doesn’t need. By educating oneself about the products he or she buys, one can make a difference in protecting the environment.

Look for the yellow ENERGY STAR® logo when buying electronics such as TVs, CD players, DVD players, and computers. ENERGY STAR is a program designed to identify and promote energy-efficient products.

Buy recycled. Buying items made with recycled-content materials means that fewer natural resources, such as trees, were used to produce the products. Products made from recycled paper, plastic, and other materials are usually easy to recognize in the store—just read the labels.

Try starting with school supplies. Many stores carry recycled notebooks, pens, and other products. For every 42 notebooks made with 100 percent recycled paper, one tree is saved. (PIA

The project will be locally called as “Parenting a Tree” which will cover river banks, mangrove areas, government land belonging to the integrated socialized forestry, and vacant lots of the Republic of the Philippines.

Japan International Cooperation Agency will be extending two million pesos assistance to the technical cooperation for grassroots projects on watershed reforestation and environmental education programs ? introduction of ecotourism.

The groups involved in the project are boy scouts, girl scouts, mangrove planters, ISF holders, students, barangay residents and environment groups.

Ver Pacete, tourism officer of Silay and Leo Canson, IKAW-AKO chairman in Silay, have been tasked to promote the area through ecotourism program which include sentimental journeys, nature camping, valley trekking, star gazing and horseback riding. (PIA/cad)

Roxas City (20 October) — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) office in Capiz has noted an increase on the request for climate change and global warming orientations in the province.

“We have been in schools and barangays since January this year in response to requests for briefings,” said DENR – Capiz Forest Management Specialist and climate change resource speaker Edwin Borja.

The requests also included the Philippine Information Agency’s (PIA) briefing on climate change and global warming for Capiz Association of Government Public Information Officers, Inc. (CAGPIO) members, government owned and controlled corporations (GOCC) and local government unit (LGU) information officers.

The LGUs will be the frontline agencies in the formulation, planning and implementation of climate change action plans in their respective areas based on the Climate Change Act of 2009 that President Gloria Macapagal–Arroyo is set to sign on October 30.

The law, the first of its kind in Southeast Asia, aims to mainstream climate change into policy formulation, development panning, and poverty reduction programs. It also creates a Climate Change Commission (CCC) to coordinate, monitor, and evaluate the programs and action plans of government relating to climate change.

The CCC will be headed by the President. It will be composed of three Commissioners, one of whom shall be the vice-chairperson.

The Commission is mandated to formulate “a framework strategy on climate change,” which will serve as the basis for a program for climate change planning, research and development, extension, and monitoring of activities to protect vulnerable communities. (PIA)

Provincial Environment and Management Officer (PEMO) and Lawyer Edwin Banal said warnings are up for possible rise in skin cancers, cataracts and other related diseases due to the continuing heating up of the planet.

Speaking on climate change during the opening of the Journalism Seminar-Workshop of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) at the Grand Regal Hotel, Abanil said extreme weather- flooding and drought should be expected as the environment reacts to natural and man-made destructions made on the environment. The training runs September 8 to 10.

Global warming he said is the rise in temperature brought about by the greenhouse gasses as a result, partly, by man’s excessive use of fossil fuel or gasoline that emits carbon dioxide.

Because of this, scientists have seen a rise in the global temperature of.74 Celsius from 1906 to 2005 while rise in the surface temperature was place at.6 Celcius during 20th century according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The country is most especially vulnerable to the rise is sea level because it is an archipelagic island, he told the 185 campus writers participating in the training.

Malaria, dengue, yellow fever incidents are feared to grow as food shortage becomes a global threat especially in the third world countries.

Many areas of the world will contend with heavy flood while vast tracks of land will be rendered unproductive because of drought.

At the moment the government is doing all it can to mitigate the anticipated challenges of climate change but it can only do so much.

“We need the cooperation of our leaders and the people to meet the desired solutions needed,” he said.

Alarmed by these grave consequences President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Executive Order 774 reorganizing the Presidential Task Force on climate change to make the set-up relevant and effective.

At the provincial level the “Task Force Ilahas” is enforcing environmental laws to track down and prosecute violators as massive tree planting activities are held province wide.

He urged school paper organizations to help in educating the community and school on climate change through the press and by whatever means they could effectively spread the dangers the world is facing. (PIA-LOL)

Maasin City (September 7) — Visayas State University (VSU), formerly ViSCA, located in Baybay, Leyte, took a central role in crafting a comprehensive measure that attempts to connect the people’s need for sustainable livelihood and a functional scheme for environmental restoration.

Dr. Jose Bacusmo, VSU President, discussed the salient framework of the proposal that has the twin objective of caring for the environment while at the same time instituting livelihood for concerned sectors, during the 58th birthday celebration of Cong. Roger Mercado held last week at barangay Bogo, this city.

The program, titled “Restoration and Good Government (RGM) for the Environment and Livelihood of Southern Leyte,” aims to mobilize some twelve implementing agencies and the support of eleven cooperating agencies to undertake a massive “restoration of Southern Leyte’s environment and building-up of environment-based livelihood opportunities through genuine community participation,” according to the program’s stated goal.

Among the implementing agencies, which also serves as the RGM Core Group, included the Office of Cong. Roger Mercado, the Institute of Environmental Governance, VSU, ACIAR Q-Seedling Project, VSU, Department of Agroforestry, VSU; DENR 8-CENRO/PENRO So. Leyte, Department of Education, Bogo Women’s Association, Southern Leyte Provincial Jail; Philippine Red Cross Volunteer, GTZ, Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, and the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Management Office.

The cooperating agencies were the local government units, Non-Government Organizations, Church and other Religious Organizations, People’s organizations; Private Sector, the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine Information Agency/KBP-Southern Leyte Chapter; Local Water Utilities Authority (LWUA), Department of Trade and Industry, and TESDA.

The program has a duration of six years, from August 1, 2009 until December 31, 2015, and the project sites included Maasin City, Sogod, Hinundayan, and Liloan municipalities.

In an interview, Dr. Bacusmo told PIA the concept that he outlined still needed more brainstorming and fine adjustments so as to concretize the next steps to be undertaken. (PIA-Southern Leyte)

Although focused on the coastal sector the plan, according to Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Dionisio Molina, Jr. will take into account the interrelationships between aqua-marine environment and resources and those of the inland and upland areas.

A two-day orientation-workshop for this purpose was held recently at the Pag-ulikid Training Center at the Governor’s Mansion compound at Barangay Lanot here. Various stakeholder groups and representatives participated in the activity.

The orientation-workshop was organized by the provincial government headed by Gov. Victor Tanco and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) through its Coastal and Marine Management Office.

The provincial government and DENR through its provincial office here will continue to collaborate with each other in putting together the components of the framework plan that would benefit present and future generations of Capiceños.

Local government and environment officials here said Capiz has vast and rich aqua-marine areas but which need to be properly explored and protected from destructive activities. (PIA)

Witnesses during the ceremonies were Ms. Josette G. Doctor, Provincial Tourism Officer of the Province of Northern Samar, the Municipal Council members of Las Navas and the Barangay Council of Barangay San Isidro.

DENR Regional Executive Director Regidor M. De Leon disclosed that pursuant to the said MOA, the DENR and LGU Las Navas shall jointly allocate, protect, develop and manage the Pinipisakan Falls and Ginagatusan Caves, and its surrounding ecosystem for recreational and ecotourism purposes.

It was Honorable Emil Ong, the representative of the 2nd District of Northern Samar, who first introduced the Pinipisakan Falls and Ginagatusan Caves to this writer.

Two days before the Presidential Visit in Las Navas town on July 16, the good Congressman was with a television crew, navigating the Catubig River, which traverses the entire municipality of Las Navas, on their way to shoot the awesome Pinipisakan Falls, his way of promoting the scintillating secret ecotourism destinations in his district.

With the use of a motorized banca, navigating the Catubig River is the primary thoroughfare for traveling in Las Navas. The same leads to the province’s best-kept secrets, Km 3, a subterranean natural pool, the Ginagatusan Caves and Pinipisakan Falls, a multi-layered cascading attraction.

At the upper most stream, the Pinipisakan Falls, a series of starlike waterfalls, a multi-layered cascading attraction, located 15 kilometers away from the town of Las Navas, Km 3, a subterranean natural pool, and the Ginagatusan Caves are the main attractions of the area and are only accessible by motor boats.

To get to these spots, take an hour-long boat ride and then enjoy a “short walk”, as the local guides describe it. This short walk, as one will discover, is actually a 3 kilometer trek that involves negotiating very steep upward and downward slopes as well as narrow dirt roads — a group will have to walk single-file, one person at a time.

Once one has found what he has set out searching for, he will surely forget how difficult it was to get there, as the waters shimmer in an inviting shade of aquamarine, all that one will hear are the sounds of the currents and wonder at the magnificence of the Pinipisakan Falls.

Congressman Ong’s advocacy to promote the best-kept secret wonders of Northern Samar, was given a great boost, recently, as the local government of Las Navas thru Mayor Arlito A. Tan and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Regional Executive Director Regidor M. De Leon inked a memorandum of agreement to take the responsibility of overseeing the development, management and maintenance of the Pinipisakan Falls and the Ginagatusan (unexplored) Caves at Barangay San Isidro. (PIA 8/DENR