How do you save the Philippine eagles? First, empower the communities

The Philippine Eagle Foundation receives this year's Eduardo Aboitiz Award for Outstanding Institution for its collaboration with indigenous peoples in saving the endangered national bird

Mara Cepeda

Published 10:00 AM, October 01, 2018

MANILA, Philippines – Protecting the mighty Philippine eagle is no easy feat, but a decades-old foundation based in Davao City has been on a mission to provide sanctuaries for the critically-endangered national bird.

The Philippine Eagle Foundation has turned an 8.4-hectare lush forest at the foothills of Mt Apo into a sanctuary for the Philippine eagles as well as other birds, mammals, and reptiles.

The Philippine Eagle Center is a conservation breeding facility that also serves as a crucial tourist destination for Davao City, where thousands of guests learn about the conservation of the environment.

Outside of its breeding facility, the foundation also works hand-in-hand with 37 communities in the region in protecting Philippine eagles that live out in the wild. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has listed the Philippine eagle as critically endangered, with only around 400 pairs remaining in the wild.

For these initiatives, the foundation was given the prestigious Eduardo Aboitiz Award for Outstanding Institution this year.

The success behind the Philippine Eagle Foundation’s efforts all these years may be perhaps due to its culture-based approach in conservation.

Jason Ibañez, Philippine Eagle Foundation director for research and conservation, told Rappler that they are focused on working directly with indigenous peoples (IPs), who become forest guards for the eagles.

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