KITCHARAO, Agusan del Norte, Philippines – Taking the cue of Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Ramon Paje’s directive on the expansion of the country’s terrestrial protected areas, in an effort to enhance the national protected areas system while addressing biodiversity loss, the DENR Region-13 office is already on the move to implement programs that will protect the majestic and towering 220,000-hectare Mount Hilong-Hilong in the Caraga Region.

The Protected Areas and Wildlife and Coastal Zone Management Service of the DENR-13 started a series of consultation with local government units (LGUs) and indigenous people (IP) in the area.

Mount Hilong-Hilong is bounded by the municipalities of: Kitcharao, Tubay, Santiago, Cabadbaran, RTR, and Jabonga, all of Agusan del Norte; Carrascal, Madrid, Cantilan, Lanuza, and Carmen, all of Surigao del Sur; and Claver, Gigaquit, Placer, and Alegria, all of Surigao del Norte.

Because of the vast area, the DENR, initially, will focus in the area at the foot of the Mount Hilong-Hilong where the municipalities of Alegria, in Surigao del Norte, and the municipalities of Kitcharao, Santiago, Tubay, and Jabong, of Agusan del Norte, are located.

The K-biodiversity program that will be implemented in the said areas will be handed over by the Surigao Economic Development, Inc., a non-government organization (NGO).

In an interview on Tuesday, DENR-13 Regional Executive Director Leonardo Sibbaluca and Regional Technical Director Mario Eludo for Protected Areas and Wildlife and Coastal Zone Management Service said a series of meeting and consultation with the tribal leaders of the Mamanwa tribe in an effort to also observe their traditions.

“The role of IPs here is very vital, as partner in conservation, and we are initially eyeing 120,000 hectares as protected areas of Mount Hilong-Hilong,” said Eludo.

“This is really a gigantic task because of the wide areas of Mount Hilong-Hilong,” he said.

Eludo said the projects in Mount Hilong-Hilong will also be submitted to the Regional Development Council (RDC) headed by Surigao del Norte Gov. Sol F. Matugas for further additional programs, in line with the government’s conservation and protection projects.

It was learned that Surigao del Norte 1st District Rep. Francisco T. Matugas, chairman of the Committee on Environment in the House of Representatives, and Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Guillermo Romarate Jr. are all out in supporting the project in Mount Hilong-Hilong.

The New Conservation Areas in the Philippines Project (NEWCAPP), seeks not only to increase the terrestrial protected areas of Mount Hilong-Hilong but also to capacitate the LGUs, IPs, civil society groups (CSGs), and local communities in the effective management of protected areas, he added.

Only two key biodiversity areas in Mindanao have already been selected as pilot areas for the project – the Mount Hilong-Hilong in the Caraga Region, and the island-province of Tawi-Tawi in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The project will be implemented by the DENR for five years, through its PAWB, with support coming from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and Global Environmental Facility (GEF).

“This forest biodiversity program is very vital in protecting and preserving our environment, after all, NEWCAPP is not only for this generation but also for the future generation. We hope that all concerned stakeholders will give their full support,” also said Sibbaluca.