A private park in Davao City is now being flocked by a diverse species of birds. Thanks to the trees that cover the park, the birds that add to the aesthetic beauty of the surroundings may stay there for good.
A recent bird count revealed 36 bird species of native and migratory birds could be found perching at the trees within the 8-hectare Aboitiz Cleanergy Park.
This reinforces the park’s status as a thriving outdoor biodiversity preserve.
Six kilometers away from Davao City’s bustling central business district, the park is in Sitio Punta Dumalag in the coastal barangay of Matina-Aplaya.
Punta Dumalag is one of the country’s few remaining nesting sites for the critically endangered hawksbill turtles, one of seven marine-turtle species in the planet, and on the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The park, which is adjacent to the 37-hectare Matina-Aplaya Marine Protected Area was conceptualized to be an outdoor biodiversity learning center by the Aboitiz Group of Cos. as part of its biodiversity conservation campaign.
Bird count
The first to be conducted in the area, the bird count was done with the help of the Davao Wild Bird Photographers and the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), following the Philippine Eagle Week celebration held annually from June 4 to 12.
According to the park’s managers from Davao Light, two prominent species—the endangered spotted imperial pigeon (Ducula carola) and the brown noddy (Anos stolidus)—were sighted in the park.
The spotted imperial pigeon is said to be endemic or native to the Philippines, while the brown noddy has never been spotted in Davao City before.
All 36 species have been properly identified and validated with the assistance of PEF, according to Sonny Carpio, EVP and COO of Aboitiz Foundation.
Among the species observed during the bird count are the Pacific reef heron (Egretta sacra); striated heron (Butorides striata); black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax); brahminy kite (Haliastur indus); brown noddy (Anous stolidus); little tern (Sternula albifrons); red turtle dove (Streptopelia tranquebarica); spotted dove (Streptopelia chinensis); common emerald dove (Chalcophaps indica); zebra dove (Geopelia striata); white-eared brown dove (Phapitreron leucotis); Pink-necked green pigeon (Treron vernans); yellow-breasted fruit dove (Ptilinopus occipitalis); spotted imperial pigeon (Ducula carola); little bronze cuckoo (Chrysococcyx minutillus); glossy swiftlet (Collocalia esculenta); ameline swiftlet (Aerodramus amelis); collared kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris); golden-bellied gerygone (Gerygone sulphurea); pied triller (Lalage nigra); black-naped oriole (Oriolus chinensis); Philippine pied fantail (Rhipidura nigritorquis); large-billed crow (Corvus macrorhynchos);
Barn swallow (Hirundo rustica); Pacific swallow (Hirundo tahitica); yellow-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier); tawny grassbird (Megalurus timoriensis); zitting cisticola (Cisticola juncidis); golden-headed cisticola (Cisticola exilis); Philippine magpie-robin (Copsychus mindanensis); Asian glossy starling (Aplonis panayensis); red-keeled flowerpecker (Dicaeum australe); purple-throated sunbird (Leptocoma sperata); olive-backed sunbird (Cinnyris jugularis); Eurasian tree sparrow (Passer montanus); and chestnut munia (Lonchura atricapilla).
Seed dispersers
Birds are nature’s “tree farmers.” As they eat fruits, birds consume the seed and disperse them by pooping as they fly miles away in search for food and a suitable nesting ground during migration.
Director Theresa Mundita S. Lim of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB) said birds, especially waterfowls that travel halfway across the globe, are also ecosystem indicators.
The birds stay in areas where there is plenty of food and help fertilize the soil with their poop, allowing plants to grow healthier, in turn, providing animals with food to survive.
According to BirdLife International, 569 bird species can be found in the Philippines, 226 of which are country-endemic, or can only be found in the Philippines, while 89 are globally threatened.
The Philippines also has 106 important bird areas and 10 endemic bird areas.
The Philippines is a known staging ground of wintering migratory bird species, which shows that the country’s ecosystem, particularly its wetlands, are healthy and in good condition.
PPP for biodiversity
The Aboitiz Cleanergy Park is a joint BetterWorld initiative of the Aboitiz Foundation and Davao Light, the country’s second-largest private electric-distribution utility in terms of land area. The park’s establishment is in partnership with the DENR and the local government of Davao City
Other partners in the development of the park are Barangay Matina-Aplaya, DENR-BMB, researchers from University of the Philippines and University of Southeastern Philippines.
The park showcases urban-based habitat conservation and biodiversity management. Situated in Punta Dumalag, the park is home to 66 other species of mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
Lim said the private sector’s help and support in the protection of the country’s environment and conservation of its rich biodiversity is a welcome development.
“We appreciate the effort of the private sector to support biodiversity conservation as part of their corporate social responsibility. Because of limited resources, we encourage the private sector to assist us in our effort. It will be much better if the initiatives are resource-based,” she said. It was Aboitiz that informed the DENR-BMB about the existence of the marine-turtle nests in the area, Lim said.
She, however, cautioned that biodiversity-conservation initiatives should be properly guided. She said reforestation should ensure that the local biodiversity would not be adversely affected.
According to Lim, on site conservation is a much-better option, as proponents would be able to monitor development and ensure sustainability of the program.
Lim said reforestation efforts, whether to rehabilitate the forest or coastal areas that are degraded, nevertheless, would help address biodiversity loss, as long as it is “science-based.”
She added the DENR-BMB is partnering with various stakeholders—or a public-private partnership (PPP)—to boost its campaign to protect the country’s protected areas, which represent some of the country’s key biodiversity area that hosts the country’s threatened wildlife species.
Work in progress
Fermin P. Edillon, community relations manager for Davao Light and Power Co. Inc., said the development of the park, which started in April last year, supports the environmental protection and biodiversity conservation effort of the local government of Davao City and the DENR.
“Basically, it is a work in progress; we are still developing the park. We are coordinating with people in the community and planning to launch a livelihood program as part of our campaign to promote biodiversity conservation,” he said.
According to Edillon, the objective is to make the park a model of habitat conservation and biodiversity management in an urban setting considering that it is closest to Davao City’s bustling commercial district.
The park is one of the flagship projects under the Aboitiz’s group-wide sustainability agenda, he said.
Addressing habitat loss
“As early as 1990s, we have been partnering with the government to help save the critically endangered pawikan. The No. 1 threat to its survival is habitat loss that results from coastal development and human settlement,” Edillon said.
Edillon added that the construction materials used in the park were recycled materials from “scraps” being disposed by the Aboitiz Group of Cos.
With its initial funding of P5 million for a five-year development plan, the park now has a Turtle Sanctuary View Deck, a Mangrove Boardwalk, a Weather Station and Learning Center and a Seedling Nursery and Botanical Garden. It is open to students, researchers, nature lovers, conservationists and people in the community for free. But visits should be coordinated with the Davao Light, which is managing the park.
The Weather Station and Learning Center is where young children could learn more about the environment and the importance of biodiversity conservation.
“Ultimately, we are preserving these rich natural resources for the benefit of future generations. The best way is to educate the present generation to be responsible stewards of the natural resources,” he said.
Tree planting
Edillon said the Aboitiz group would continue its tree planting in the area, including at the adjacent mangrove sites at the Matina-Aplaya Marine Protected Area.
“We are consulting our local experts on the tree species that should be planted,” he said.
The tree nursery, established by the Davao Light within the park, he said, produces native tree species endemic to the site.
“Our effort to reforest portions of the park, including coastal areas, will be a continuing effort,” he said.
With the help of the people in the area, he said they hope to make the park a model biodiversity-conservation area, where trees and wildlife—particularly birds—could thrive.
Image credits: Brenda Milan, Fermin Edillon