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GENERAL SANTOS CITY--The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Region 12 has linked up with three universities to enhance research and development initiatives for biodiversity conservation in the region.

Reynulfo Juan, DENR Region 12 director, said Wednesday the partnership is part of the ongoing implementation of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-supported Protect Wildlife Project in key biodiversity sites in the area.

He said the three institutions are the Mindanao State University-General Santos, Notre Dame of Marbel University and Notre Dame of Dadiangas University.

The official said they tapped the expertise of the universities to help local project implementers and stakeholders "in making better decisions through science and research and innovation."

These include local government units (LGUs) and Protected Area Management Boards (PAMBs) in the region, he said.

Juan said the partnership mainly expands their continuing engagements with the academe in in the protection and conservation initiatives of our protected areas in Region 12.

He said the project, through the USAID, had signed a memorandum of understanding with the three institutions.

"This is a strategy of strengthening responsive research and development that is responsive to the needs of the LGUs, civil society organizations, regulatory and enforcement bodies and communities, particularly in wildlife protection and enforcement," he said.

Juan said the joint partnership included interventions that engaged the universities in biodiversity conservation research and education to solve the most pressing conservation challenges.

It would push for the development of sustainable practices and technologies for environmental and natural resources-based livelihood in local communities, he said.

"We recognize that effective conservation is not the job of a single organization. It is the result of intensive and creative collaboration among stakeholders in the government, the private sector, communities, among others," he noted.

DENR and USAID had identified the provinces of South Cotabato and Sarangani as pilot areas for the Protect Wildlife Project.

The identified sites are the Mt. Matutum Protected Landscape and Allah Valley Watershed Reservation in South Cotabato and the Sarangani Bay Seascape and Busa Mountain Range in Sarangani.

Protect Wildlife, which was launched in March, is a five-year, P1.2-billion project that seeks to address biodiversity loss and rampant wildlife trafficking in the Philippines.

Mt. Matutum, South Cotabato’s highest peak, and the Allah Valley Watershed Reservation are home to various wildlife species, among them the tarsiers, as well as rare flora and fauna.

These areas were known habitats of the Philippine deer, tarsiers, civets, bats, among others. (PNA) DECEMBER 2017

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