A grant amounting to USD $100,000 for 5 years will be used by the Haribon Foundation to protect forests on Mount Irid-Angelo. It is also earmarked for the monitoring, research, and conservation of two globally-endangered migratory bird species: a bird whose bill is shaped like a spoon, and a very rare migratory bird “rediscovered” off the coast of China.
Mount Irid-Angelo is the main watershed of Metro Manila where funds earmarked for the conservation of the habitats and species there will be used.
Communication Department
Oct-Nov 2014
Philippine forests, one of the world’s greatest biodiversity areas, gained the attention of the international community with the recent grant by the Arcadia/BirdLife Conservation Partnership that aims to strengthen a dynamic network of high impact self-sustaining conservation non-government organizations (NGOs) who are working effectively with local people, local and national governments and the international community, to better protect key species, sites and habitats in their own countries.
The grant amounting to USD100,000 for 5 years was awarded to Haribon Foundation, the BirdLife partner in the Philippines, which is working under the principles of community empowerment and scientific excellence in protecting biodiversity and our natural resources for over forty years now.
“This project is significant because it supports capacity building and recognizes NGO sustainability is essential to conservation of biodiversity”, said Ms. Maria Belinda E. de la Paz, Haribon’s Chief Operating Officer.
The Arcadia/BirdLife Conservation Partnership project will cover Mount Irid-Angelo, a Forest of Hope site which is one of the biggest expanses of forest in the Philippines, and the main watershed of Metro Manila; and the monitoring, research and conservation of two (2) globally threatened species: Spoon-billed Sandpiper and wintering Chinese Crested Tern.
The distinct Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaea has an extremely small population that is undergoing rapid population reduction.
The Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaea is an attractive little bird with a distinctive spoon-shaped bill; this sandpiper has winter plumage as pretty as its breeding colors. This species is listed as Critically Endangered because it has an extremely small population that is undergoing an extremely rapid population reduction.
Chinese Crested Tern Sterna bernsteini is a poorly-known species, recorded breeding recently at only two sites on the eastern coast of China: Zhejiang and Fujian Provinces and, outside the breeding season, in Indonesia, Sarawak, Malaysia, Taiwan (China), Thailand and the Philippines (BirdLife International 2001). This qualifies as Critically Endangered because it is estimated to have a tiny population, which is in decline owing to egg-collection, disturbance and the loss of coastal wetlands. This species is largish, slender bird has a diagnostic black-tipped yellow bill.
An initial phase of the fund has been operational in ten (10) participating organizations of the BirdLife Partnership since April 2009 and has been very successful in helping protect and conserve important biodiversity and ecosystems throughout the world while improving the capacity for conservation of the 10 participating civil society organizations (BirdLife partners).
In this second phase, the Arcadia/BirdLife Conservation Partnership Fund will support a total of twelve (12) non-government organizations, which include Haribon. The grant shall be used to strengthen capacity and deliver specific conservation outcomes through the preparation of institutional strengthening and conservation action plans. These plans are expected to address targets on conservation impact, NGO sustainability and NGO stability.
Sources:
BirdLife International (2014) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from birdlife.org on 26/09/2014.www.arkive.org
Photos:
http://www.arkive.org/spoon-billed-sandpiper/eurynorhynchus-pygmeus/image-G129695.htmlhttp://www.arkive.org/chinese-crested-tern/sterna-bernsteini/image-G19268.html
