Time in the forest
Added to website: 12 November 2003
Marija Minic talks about her time as Science Officer on the Negros Rainforest Conservation Project
What is conservation situation within the Negros Region?
At the offices of CCC’s in-country NGO partner, Negros Forests and Ecological Foundation Incorporated (NFEFI), their maps showed how rainforest has been lost on Negros Island. With only 3-4% of primary rainforest left, it is the worst case of deforestation in the country. Forest clearance was done to make way for mono-crop sugarcane plantations. With the cutting down of the forest come serious ecological problems, from the obvious ones of highly endangered plant and animal species, to less obvious ones like human deaths due to severe flooding. Also on the NFEFI premises were cages that house captive bred endangered and threatened animals, such as the Visayan spotted deer (Cervus alfredi), said to be the world’s most endangered mammal), the Visayan warty pig (Sus cebifrons), the bleeding heart dove (Gallicolumba luzonia), Philippine hawk eagle (Spizaetur philippensis), tarictic hornbill (Penelopoides pannini), and Walden’s hornbill (Aceros waldeni). Unfortunately, these animals cannot be released into the wild yet as the threat of hunting for food remains.
What’s a typical week on expedition like?
A typical week consisted of survey work from Tuesday until Friday, camping up in the various locations in single-person hammocks tethered to trees. Saturdays were days off, allowing us to relax and enjoy the company of local villagers. On Sundays “Dagyaws” (community days) took place, where we would repair the roads, help the locals fix fences, or partake in activities such as planting seedlings of native tree species to be replanted. Mondays would involve “recreational trekking”, that is, going somewhere for the sake of pure enjoyment, without any biological survey work to do.
What scientific survey work were you doing?
This involved fruiting and flowering surveys of the already tagged diptocarp trees of the rainforest (the names of the trees being done in the Ilonggo language, so that local guides were able to help us out); butterfly transect and trapping work; bird identification over a set period of time which were compiled into “Mackinnon lists” determining species diversity and abundance; herpetile (reptile and amphibian) searches; small mammal trapping, measuring, and identification; and mist netting of bats in the evenings for the same purpose.
As Science Officer what were your responsibilities?
I was responsible for reporting on what was discovered during the surveys. This included sending a weekly report to CCC in London, and a monthly report to the Philippine Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR). We had three survey sites in order to measure the differences between primary (undisturbed) forest, secondary re-growth forest (following logging that took place decades ago) and recently logged forest. These sites were named Mawa (named after tawa, the Ilonggo word for the hanging bamboo-like vines, plentiful in the area); Aeroplano (named after the remnants of the World War II Japanese war planes that were found there); and the “Dam” (named after the dam which supplies a simple source of hydroelectric power to our base station, and villagers’ homes). Now that I have left the project, further studies are being carried out to include more scientific studies, such as night time reptile and amphibian searches, plus more habitat surveys, such as high elevation forest, mossy forest, etc..
What were some of the high points?
It was fun! From the jokes, to the great sightings of rare species, to being absolutely dumbfounded by the sheer beauty of the rainforest, to swimming in natural pools with village children- it was all awe-inspiring. Also, the excitement that came from climbing to the peak of Mount Makawili (approximately 1500 metres above sea level) in the rain, waking up after sleeping on the “bird hide” (a bamboo platform overlooking the gorgeous drop into the forested valley), playing football in the “Crater” (titled Tinagong Dagat in Ilonggo, an extinct volcanic crater), and just being awed by the spewing sulphur vents of an active volcano (Mount Kanla-on).
What was the key thing you learnt on expedition?
Conservation must always be done in tandem with the economic realities of the local people, or else it will never work. Given that NFEFI has started programmes on environmental education, organic farming, along with medicinal herb and tree sapling cultivation, there is great hope for the amazing North Negros Forest Reserve.
MARIJA MINIC: Science officer on the Negros Rainforest Conservation Project
