Climate Change/Environment

MAASIM, Sarangani  – Environment officials here have rescued a young juvenile “Crested Serpent Eagle” (Spilomis cheela) which was captured by local hunter and displayed on his social media account, an act that worried officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-12).

The endangered bird is now safe in the hands of the Community Environment and Natural Resources of Kiamba (CENRO-Kiamba).

KORONADAL CITY – A concerned citizen in this city has found an “Eastern Grass-owl” (Tyto longimembris) and turned it over to the officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Region 12 who eventually released the species back to its natural habitat.

Dr. Rosalinda B. Cortez, chief of the DENR-12 conservation and development division, said the owl was found on Sunday morning, April 5, by Peter Francisco Biñas, Sr. while taking some vegetables in a rice field in Robredo Street.

Biñas said the owl was entangled by a thread of suspected kite.

COTABATO CITY  – Two more “Tarsiers” (Tarsius syrichta) have been rescued in North Cotabato and were sent back to the wild, environment officials today said.

CENR Officer Badjury H. Mustapha, Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer (CENRO), said the two primates were found by Nasrudin Angkong, a resident of Barangay Langayen, Pikit, North Cotabato.

Angkong told environment officials that he found the two primates while he was clearing his farm lot last Sunday.

COTABATO CITY – A juvenile Pinsker's Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus pinskeri) is under the care and monitoring of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 12 (Soccsksargen) following its rescue in the fields of Magpet, North Cotabato.

A concerned citizen, Louige Allan Tutor of Barangay Magkaalam, Magpet, posted online on Monday a photo of the rescued raptor, asking the DENR regional office to help secure the endangered bird species.

The department's station in Magpet took the feeble raptor under its care.

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Region 12 together with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Protect Wildlife Project and partner stakeholders has stepped up efforts to protect the Sarangani Bay through the conduct of the two-day first enforcement summit on Tuesday, March 3, this city.

MAITUM, Sarangani province - The Department of Environment and National Resources (DENR) XII through the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) of Kiamba, Sarangani province and the Local Government Unit of Maitum have identified some 3,000 hectares of forest lands to be declared as “critical habitat” to ensure safety of several species in Barangay Batian here.

This was the statement of one of the street sweepers General Santos City during a conversation Wednesday afternoon with some personnel of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 12, undergoing training on information dissemination.

Allan Fernandez, administrative aide of the city government and assigned to maintain cleanliness in some parts of the city’s public market, said that the people in GenSan are now more disciplined in managing their wastes compared to previous years.

GENERAL SANTOS CITY -  To celebrate Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape (SBPS) Week in March, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Protected Area Management Board (PAMB-SBPS) and partners underscored activities through a press conference at Veranza Mall here.

The press conference was one of the highlights of the upcoming SBPS Week in March which also happens to be the commemoration of the SBPS 24th Anniversary.

MAITUM, SARANGANI PROVINCE – A female Olive Ridley Sea Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) commonly known as "Pawikan" returned to its natural habitat after it was released recently in Sarangani Bay by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 12 and its partners.

Kiamba Community ENR Officer Dr. Ali M. Hadjinasser together with Maitum Mayor Alexander Bryan Reganit, partner stakeholders, some personnel of the DENR and local government unit of Maitum witnessed the releasing of the marine species at the coastal waters of Sitio Saub, Maitum town on February 3.

TACURONG CITY – Thousands of various waterbird species were sighted at Lake Buluan in Lutayan, Sultan Kudarat during the recently conducted annual Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) activity of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 12.

The AWC activity was spearheaded by Tacurong City Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) last January 22 to 23 to provide basis for estimates of waterbird population, determine changes in their numbers and improve knowledge of little-known waterbird species and wetland sites.