ICT boosts biodiversity efforts

MANILA, Philippines - The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE) have partnered with Globe Telecom to improve biodiversity conservation in key protected areas.

The Up-Scaling Forest Restoration project focuses on North Negros Natural Park; Ilog-Hilabangan Watershed Forest Reserve; Nug-as, Dalaguete and Tabunan Critical Forest Habitat; Polillo Group of Islands; Mt. Banahaw-San Cristobal Protected Landscape; Mt. Nacolod Watershed; Panigan-Tanugan & Talomo-Lipadas; and Arakan Valley Forest Corridor.

Through the project, it is expected that further decline and degradation of existing target forest areas covering over 200,000 hectares would be mitigated and that long term mechanisms for conserving and monitoring biodiversity and forest habitats are instituted and sustained.

The team is currently institutionalizing site-based knowledge banks of forest restoration program which will serve as centralized repository of reliable and updated data on the various efforts undertaken. They are also developing a forest co-management plan to explore economic opportunities from forest-based enterprises and built-in safety and protection measures in the target areas.

Fernando Esguerra, director of Globe Corporate Social Responsibility, said: “ICT, particularly mobile technology, proves to be a critical tool to enable indigenous peoples organizations to be actively engaged; for service payment and advisory support to be efficient; and for the program’s over-all monitoring, reporting and evaluation systems to happen in real time. Globe is here to provide the critical enabling technologies to help FPE see through its support mandate to the implementing community-based partners and local stakeholders.”