The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has urged the public to report illegal poachers and collectors of wildlife amid reports of rampant illegal trade amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

DENR 7 Regional Executive Director Paquito Melicor said cutting, collecting and gathering wild plants in the forest is a violation of Republic Act 9147 or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act.

“We want to remind everyone that collection and trade of threatened species are prohibited unless such acts are covered by a permit issued by the DENR, please help us protect our wildlife by not patronizing and reporting these illegal activities,” he said.

To report wildlife related crimes, please contact the DENR- Community Environment Offices nearest you through the following numbers:

CENRO Cebu City – 254-2565
CENRO Argao – 367-7387
CENRO Tagbilaran City – (038) 412-1026
CENRO Talibon – (038) 416-0156
CENRO Dumaguete City – (035) 422-4367
CENRO Ayungon – (038) 404-0829

Melicor said the effects of the pandemic might have led to community in rural areas to resort to poaching of wild plants as alternative source of income.

“For hunting and trading, the penalty ranges from two to four years of imprisonment and/or fine of P30,000 to P300,000 for hunting and P5,000 to P300,000 for trading of wildlife. For the mere transport of wildlife, the penalty is six months to one-year imprisonment and/or P50,000 to P100,000 fine,” the DENR said. AAC

In response to the limited supply of personal protective equipment (PPEs), a local company in Misamis Oriental decided to make face masks out of abaca.

The transition has not been easy, according to Neil Rafisura, president of Salay Handmade Products Industry, Inc.

It takes numerous and tedious process in order to create a face mask out of abaca. This is a challenge for Neil especially with the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

They are used to creating greeting cards and other similar products. It never crossed their minds before that their company would make any PPEs such as face masks. However, that did not stop them from helping the country’s frontliners in their fight against the COVID-19 virus.

“At first it’s very challenging because ang skills namin ay hindi ready (our skills were not ready), it involved a lot of sewing but then there are a few workers who know how to sew, so tinawag ko sila at nag-experiment kami, (so I called them and we did an experiment),” he said.

Based on initial research abaca face masks are seven times better than cloth face masks. Even though it will not surpass surgical and N95 face masks yet, Neil is optimistic that the abaca face masks would help frontliners and even ordinary citizens against the virus.

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Region 10 said this is a great start for further research. They are also encouraging experts to look into the potential of abaca face massks.

“We are calling researchers kung gusto niyo mag-research about mask (if you want to research about mask) why not study with abaca face mask kasi mayroon na siyang initial study baka maging potential talaga at effective na face mask itong abaca, (because there is already an initial study and abaca face mask might have a potential and might be more effective)” according to DOST-10 Science Research Specialist 1 Julie Ann Baculio.

The abaca face masks is environmental-friendly, reusable and can be hand-washed. It is sold for P90 apiece. AAC (with reports from Weng Fernandez)

Researchers of the Raine Island Recovery Project has captured a drone footage of the largest green turtle gathering in the Great Barrier Reef.

Footage of thousands of green turtles were captured in Raine Island by researchers through unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Raine Island is known as the world’s largest green turtle nesting site.

Green turtles are known to migrate long distances between feeding grounds and the beaches from where they hatched. They are classified as endangered species due to the loss of nesting beaches, hunting, and over-harvesting of their eggs.

Researchers found that using UAVs is a more efficient and accurate way to document the said endangered species.

Great Barrier Reef Foundation Managing Director Anna Marsden said in a media release that more accurate data can contribute in saving marine life and their habitat.

“We’re taking action to improve and rebuild the island’s nesting beaches and building fences to prevent turtle deaths, all working to strengthen the island’s resilience and ensure the survival of our northern green turtles and many other species,” he said.

The Raine Recovery Projects aims to protect and restore the island’s critical habitat. AAC