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FPE Approves Quick-Assistance Grant in Response to Mount Apo and Mount Kitanglad Forest Fires

Posted on April 15, 2016

The Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE) has approved a Php 200,000 responsive grant to assist in community initiatives intended to address the recent forest fire incidents in Mount Apo (Davao and Cotabato regions) and Mount Kitanglad (Lanao del Norte). The grant is coursed through the Philippine Eagle Conservation Program Foundation, Inc. (PEFI) as the legal holder and implementer of the quick-response efforts on the ground.

The separate forest fires, which started in late March in Mount Apo, has ravaged over 350 hectares through the first half of April. Meanwhile, five fires on Mount Kitanglad have caused significant damage to some 850 hectares of forest and grassland. The Mount Apo fire affected Sitio Kabagagayan, within the ancestral domain of the Indigenous Bagobo Klata of Sibulan, Davao City. Sitio Kabagagayan is closest to the oldest recorded nest site of the Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi).

A satellite image showing the area affected by the weeks-long forest fire in Mount Apo. (FPE file photo)

The grant is intended to support efforts of local officials, forest guards, and volunteers to contain and/or exterminate the forest fires. Split evenly between the two affected sites, the fund will cover costs of critical equipment and gear which include:

1. Water pumps and hoses to draw water from the closest river
2. Knapsack sprayers to extinguish smaller fires
3. Shovels, hoes, piko, lagaraws, for fuel break establishment
4. Safety gear for volunteers (masks, high visibility vests, whistles, safety gloves, boots, etc.)

The grant will also be used to assess the impact and extent of the damage caused by the incidents. These assessments will be used to inform FPE’s strategic responses in support of the restoration of the damaged forests moving forward.