Katala Foundation Honors Wildlife Wardens And Local Partners On Its 10th Year Anniversary

Philippine cockatoo hits the 200 individual mark on Rasa Island after 10 years of conservation work!
 
Dec. 13, 2008 - PRLog -- The Philippine Cockatoo Conservation Program (PCCP) celebrates its 10th year anniversary by honoring its wildlife wardens and local partners for the tenfold increase of wild Philippine cockatoos resident on Rasa Island, Narra, Palawan! On December 12, 2008, 33 wildlife wardens belonging to three tribal communities in Palawan will be presented awards of appreciation and recognition for their steadfast commitment to biodiversity conservation. The celebration will be at Kamarikutan Kape at Galeri, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan at 4:30 in the afternoon.

The PCCP is the main program implemented by the Katala Foundation Inc. (KFI). Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, KFI President will lead the recognition and honors deserved by our Tagbanua, Pala’wan and Cuyunin wildlife wardens from three project sites in the province. Among the local partners we will confer recognition are the Municipalities of Narra, Dumaran, and Rizal, the PNP stations of these three municipalities, CENRO-Narra, Quezon and Roxas, the CIDG, PCSDS and PENRO-Palawan. “The challenges for the past ten years strengthened the determination and commitment amongst staff and local partners particularly the wildlife wardens and it is but apt to give honor to those who have lived KFI’s mission and vision – conserving with people. While we owe this success to our generous donors and supporters, equally we thank our local partners for making things happen”, says Indira Dayang Lacerna-Widmann, PCCP Program Manager.

It was on Rasa Island in Narra, Palawan where the program all started. From 23 birds on Rasa in 1998, the PCCP successfully protected active nests of Philippine cockatoos locally known as Katala hitting a 200 individual mark in July 2008 at the traditional roosting site. Other PCCP project sites are in Dumaran Island, Dumaran, Culasian, Rizal and in Patnanungan in the Polillo Group of Islands in the Luzon Faunal Region.

The Philippine cockatoo Cacatua haematuropygia is endemic to the Philippines and the last stronghold of the species is in Palawan. The species is a lowland specialist and is threatened primarily by poaching for the pet trade, habitat destruction and persecution. Recent studies of KFI estimates a wild population of 1000 left in the wild! It is classified as Critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The programme has indeed moved forward in leaps and bounds and in deep gratitude we offer the success to our principal sponsor Loro Parque Fundacion and funding partners – the Chester Zoological Gardens, UK; Zoologische Gesellschaft für Arten- und Populationsschutz (ZGAP, incl. Fonds Fuer Bedrohte Papageien and Strunden-Papageien-Stiftung), and Conservation des Espèces et Des Populations Animales (CEPA).

A photo exhibit and book launching will also be done during the celebrations at Kamarikutan. Photos will feature wildlife species taken at PCCP project sites by Benedict de Laender, Peter Widmann and Sabine Schoppe.

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The Katala Foundation (KF) implements the Philippine Cockatoo Conservation Program in the Philippines and uses the Philippine cockatoo as its flagship species but employs an ecosystemic and participatory approach for conservation.

The PCCP implements nest protection, livelihood, habitat protection and restoration and conservation education mostly in Palawan and in Polillo Island. We conduct distribution surveys in areas with historical cockatoo records where surviving populations are to be expected. And we also conduct habitat assessments for possible translocation of cockatoos.
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