PHILIPPINES, Palaui Island - June 2008
Renovation of Multi-Purpose Hall in exchange for the establishment of a 5,369-acre forest reserve for a duration of 20 years
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Palaui Island is located off the northeastern tip of Luzon. The residents are subsistence farmers and fishers due to limited land available for cultivation. Because of the island's isolation, rich natural resources and the presence of a resource-dependent population, Palaui faces both livelihood and resource protection issues. Palaui is legally protected under the National Integrated Protected Area System Act, passed by Congress in 1992. However, illegal logging and "slash and burn" farming occasionally occur because of the lack of agricultural land, decreasing productivity of the soil and increasing the need to produce food crops for the local population. A community space is needed so that the people can gather, receive and conduct trainings, and carry out livelihood activities. Such a structure had been constructed by the Department of Environment and National Resources (DENR) for the island community in late 1993, but it has not been maintained over the years, and is presently unusable. In exchange for Seacology funding the renovation of their multi-purpose hall, the Palaui Island community pledges to protect their 5,370-acre forests over the next 20 years.
