To monitor the forests for illegal activities (timber poaching, wildlife hunting) rangers are being hired.
 

Forest rangers at work	Photos: Sternemann

Objective(s):
The remaining forests of Panay are continually under attack from illegalists that are cutting timber sold to middlemen, and from these, for example to resort owners erecting, e.g., new accommodations. This rampant logging is even devastating the Protected Area of the NW Panay Peninsula. Monitoring of the forests is needed on a large scale yet is restricted for want of more funds to the peninsula and the northern reaches of the Central Panay Mountain Range. At the same time forest monitoring by PanayCon’s Forest Rangers is curbing wildlife poaching.
 

Ranger destroying a trap

Main activities/outputs to achieve objective(s):
Illegally cut timber is handed over to the authorities (DENR, police) for confiscation as are illegally operated chain saws. Forest monitoring helps also to destroy snares put out for wildlife such as the critically endangered Spotted Deer, the world’s rarest deer, Warty Pigs and ground living birds. Flanking these measures is an air gun-for-rice exchange program costing ca. 40 US$ per air gun surrendered.

Average duration per project:
A monitoring mission takes a couple of days depending on the circumstances and/ or the erection of a permanent camp near a cutting site to prevent hauling away of the bounty by the illegalists, usually at night. The camp is being maintained as long as the timber is not given into the custody of the authorities.

Average cost per project:
A Ranger’s salary with insurances included is about 1,400 US$ per year. One monitoring mission costs the allowances for a squad of six when being deployed, i.e. about 50 US$.
 
 

In our page  How you can help  you can find information how to support such projects, and you can download a list of projects in PDF format.