GMA declares small island in Palawan as wildlife sanctuary
The Rasa Island in barangay Panacan, Narra, Palawan, home of the critically endangered red-vented Philippine cockatoo, was declared as wildlife sanctuary by President Gloria Mapacagal Arroyo.
President Arroyo signed Presidential Proclamation 1000 declaring Rasa Island as wildlife sanctuary pursuant to Republic Act 7586, otherwise know as the National Integrated Protected Area System (NIPAS) to ensure the survival of Philippine Cockatoo (Cacatua haematuropygia) in the wild and threatened species.
Rasa Island, which has a total area of 1,983 hectares, is situated in the Sulu Sea, offshore the coast of Narra, some 80 kilometers south of this city.
Peter Widmann, Program Leader of the Philippine Cockatoo Conservation Program (PCCP) said the PP1000 is a milestone for the conservation of the species and the local authorities and communities will be highly motivated to intensify their efforts to conserve the species.
The island is a pilot site of the PCCP for eight years since it was proposed to become a protected area.
Known locally as the “Katala”, the cockatoo serves as the flagship species of the PCCP.
The world population of Philippine cockatoo was earlier estimated between 1,000 to 4,000 surviving in the wild.
Though no official figures, Rasa holds the highest population density of the said species that remains in the wild, making the island a high priority for the protection on a global scale.
The island has also a high number of globally threatened bird and plant species which included blue-headed racquet tait, Chinese egret, grey imperial pigeon, mantanani scops owl, hawks-bill turtle, green turtle, dugong and ipil.
Endemic in the Philippines, Katala species were widely distributed all over the archipelago in the 50 years.
Now, it is restricted to the Sulu and Palawan areas.
The cockatoo’s survival has been jeopardized by the demanding pet trade and the rapid deforestation of lowland forest—its primary habitat.
This parrot species is extreme lowland specialist, sharing the coastal plains where most of the people live, such as coastal, riparian, swamp and lowland dipterocarp forests.
Poaching for the pet trade is a major threat to the survival of the species.
The domestic demand for cockatoos are high enough to put the remaining cockatoo populations at acute risk.
Widmann said the PCCP uses an ecosystem and participatory approach for conservation where people are greatly involved in the process.
In Rasa, he added, former poachers have been successfully recruited to serve as active deputized wildlife wardens.
The wardening scheme proves very efficient and effective for protecting nest trees, particularly during breeding season and patrolling against illegal activities, Widmann further said.
He said most of the wardens belong to the indigenous group, Tagbanua in the area.
The conservation, likewise, invokes the active involvement of the local government through an organized protected area management committee where issues and concerns are regularly deliberated.
With the presence of the Philippine cockatoos and other globally threatened species living in the island, eco-tourists, local and foreign alike, are attracted to the intrinsic beauty of the little haven for wildlife.