51 bird species thrive in adopted site

CEBU, Philippines - A total of 51 bird species-11 of which can only be found in the Philippines-thrive in the Mananga Watershed, the adopted site of the Visayan Electric Company's (VECO) Reforestation Park Project.

This was shown in the baseline study conducted last April and May by wildlife biologist and researcher Sherry Ramayla in barangays Tabunan and Sibugay.

Some of the birds found in the site are the Yellow-vented Bulbul, Philippine Bulbul, Everett's White Eye, Lemon throated warbler, Black-naped Monarch and White-vented Whistler.

 "From these results, it is empirical to conclude that the VECO reforestation sites have a good potential for bird habitat. The number of species of birds may increase per site if the number of forested site be increased or conserved," said Ramayla, who is currently teaching at Philippine Science High School-Argao Campus.

VECO Chief Operating Officer Sebastian Lacson said this is a testament to the company's commitment to contribute in environmental preservation and sustainable development of the Central Cebu Protected Landscape (CCPL), Metro Cebu's primary source of water.

CCPL or Cebu Hillylands covers more than 28,000 hectares of protected forests and five watersheds and national parks.

"The study shows that we are strategically helping preserve a part of our heritage that could have been lost because of destructive and illegal practices. We hope to contribute more to the efforts of conserving our environment and we are looking forward to continuously helping the community with progressive projects like this," said Lacson.

The baseline study conducted by Ramayla is part of Veco's Reforestation Park Project which started in March 2010 with the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP). The five-year project will run until March 2014. 

Specifically, the surveys were conducted in sitios San Miguel and Sayaw of barangay Tabunan; and sitios Biasong and Pung-ol in barangay Sibugay.

Ramayla, who previously worked with Haribon Foundation, noted that sitio Sayaw was found to have the most number of endemic species among the four sitios surveyed. Endemic means that these species are unique and can only be found in a particular geographic location.

Ramayla said the site might have the most number of endemic species because of its proximity to the Tabunan Forest Corridor," which is the remaining secondary forest and also known to be home to endemic birds and wildlife in central Cebu. 

Ramayla said majority of the species observed were uncommon in the area, while there are only eight species that were frequently observed.

Maria Luisa Largo, PBSP program coordinator of Metro Cebu Poverty Reduction Project, which includes environmental initiatives in the CCPL, said the VECO project goes beyond treeplanting.

Largo said what happens after treeplanting is a series of activities (including strip brushing, ring weeding, staking, hole digging, replanting and fertilizer application) which ensures that the trees planted grow to serve this purpose.

To date, a total of 911, 740 seedlings were planted in the 540-hectare site adopted by VECO in the Mananga Watershed. PBSP also set up an arboretum that serves as nursery and home to 21 Philippine endemic tree species such as kaningag or the Cebu cinnamon tree.

"On top of the environmental efforts done under the project, VECO also involves the establishment of central nursery which gave livelihood to people's organizations. The farmers also earn from maintenance activities," said Largo.

In the study, Ramayla recommended continuous, extensive awareness program in the area to ensure full cooperation among community members in any nature conservation program.