Representatives from the Talarak Foundation Inc., International Union for the Conservation of Nature-Species Survival Commission Conservation Planning Specialist Group, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Negros Occidental provincial government recently participated in the Western Visayas Conservation Workshop, which sought to develop a multispecies conservation strategy for the region.
Among the species named in the study include those endemic, or native, to Negros Occidental, namely, the Visayan Warty Pig, Visayan Spotted Dear, Walden’s Hornbill, Visayan Hornbill, and Negros Bleeding Heart Pigeon, all of which are considered critically endangered, which means they face a high-risk of extinction.
Talarak Foundation President Fernando Guttierez blamed the endangered status of these species on poaching, hunting, destruction of natural habitats, and failure by law enforcement.
He said there are plans to meet with the local officials from areas within the Northern Negros Natural Park to discuss local conservation and protection efforts.
Last month, an online campaign was launched in response to plans to transfer the Negros Forest Park, formerly known as the Negros Forest and Ecological Foundation-Biodiversity Conservation Center, from the Negros Occidental Provincial Government complex to the Panaad Park and Stadium in Bacolod City’s Barangay Mansilingan.
According to the petition, the park is “pegged to be demolished for the sake of progress.”
“The provincial government has plans to re-purpose the area and forego the importance of green spaces in the city,” the petition noted. “This park is not your regular green space.”
“This park is home to Negros’ endemic tree and wildlife species, with successful births of our critically endangered wildlife—you can not put a price tag on its importance,” the document added. “This move will disrupt an already thriving habitat for these animals and the current barren relocation site will take decades to replicate what is already there.”
Among the endemic wildlife found at the Negros Forest Park include the Visayan warty pig; Visayan spotted deer; Philippine sailfin lizard; Negros boobook, or bukaw; pink-bellied imperial pigeon; buff-eared brown dove; bleeding heart pigeon; and white-bellied woodpecker.
Then-Negros Occidental Provincial Board Member Salvador Escalante, Jr., called the site where the wildlife sanctuary sits “prime property.”/WDJ