ENVIRONMENTAL advocate and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte recently led the release of hatchlings from the very first pawikan (hawksbill turtle) eggs discovered this year at the Aoitiz Cleanergy Park in Davao City.
A total of 169 hatchlings—the largest number released to date—were guided into the ocean to ensure they can grow and thrive properly in the wild and, eventually, return to the Aboitiz Cleanergy Park upon maturity.
Also present during the event were Rodger Velasco, Davao Light EVP and COO; Davao Light and Agua team members; representatives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources; barangay officials; and other advocates.
Located in Punta Dumalag, Davao City, the Aboitiz Cleanergy Park —managed by the Aboitiz Foundation and Davao Light—showcases urban-based habitat conservation and biodiversity management. It is one of the few identified nesting sites of the critically endangered pawikan and is also home to 66 other species.
In addition to being a pawikan sanctuary, the Aboitiz Cleanergy Park is also a haven for various species of trees, birds and fish through a mangrove forest and a coastal forest, a fish sanctuary, seagrass beds and coral reefs. To encourage awareness, it is open to students, researchers, conservationists and other individuals who support environment conservation. Visitors are treated to an outdoor biodiversity learning experience via its mixed natural and built structures, like the turtle viewdeck, mangrove boardwalk, learning center and observatory deck, botanical garden and nursery that will propagate the area’s 29 native tree species.
Private weather information provider WeatherPhilippines Foundation has also installed an automated weather station to add to the park’s multibiodiversity research function.
In 2016 the Aboitiz Foundation stepped up its conservation campaign with “#BetterWorld for the Pawikans”, a drive to raise funds for the protection and preservation of the hawksbill turtle in Punta Dumalag, one of the last few remaining natural habitats for this turtle specie. This fund-raising will not only secure the sanctuary for the hawksbill turtles but also spread greater public awareness on how everyone can help ensure its survival amid climate change and environmental degradation.
As of January 2017, 19 nests and 2,726 eggs have been found, 2,655 eggs have been transferred and 2,045 hatchlings have been released.
As part of its Environment for a #BetterWorld campaign, the Aboitiz Foundation spearheads the implementation of programs that promote environmental conservation and biodiversity enhancement, which, in turn, supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, specifically on Life Below Water (Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development) and Life on Land (Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss).
Aboitiz Foundation Inc. is the corporate foundation of the Aboitiz Group. Established in 1988, it implements corporate social responsibility interventions, especially in communities where Aboitiz companies operate. The foundation focuses its efforts on education, enterprise development, environment, and health and well-being.