Record number of pawikans released at Aboitiz Cleanergy Park
Environmental advocate and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte led the releasing of hatchlings from the very first pawikan eggs discovered this year at the park in Davao City recently. A total of 169 hatchlings—the largest number released to date—were released into the ocean to l ensure they can grow and thrive properly in the wild and eventually return to the Aboitiz Cleanergy Park upon maturity. This event was also witnessed by Rodger Velasco, Davao Light EVP & COO; Davao Light & APO Agua team members, Department of Environment and Natural Resources representatives and barangay officials, and other guests.
Located in Punta Dumalag, Davao City, the Aboitiz Cleanergy Park—managed by the Aboitiz Foundation and Davao Light–showcases urban-based habitat conservation and biodiversity management. It is one of the few identified nesting sites of the critically endangered hawksbill turtle (pawikan), and is also home to 66 other species.
In addition to being a pawikan sanctuary, the Aboitiz Cleanergy Park is also a haven for various species of trees, birds and fish through a mangrove forest and a coastal forest, a fish sanctuary, seagrass beds and coral reefs. To encourage awareness, it is open to students, researchers, conservationists and other individuals who support environment conservation. Visitors are treated to an outdoor biodiversity learning experience via its mixed natural and built structures like the turtle viewdeck, mangrove boardwalk, learning center and observatory deck, botanical garden and nursery that will propagate the area’s 29 native tree species. Private weather information provider WeatherPhilippines Foundation has also installed an automated weather station to add to the park’s multi-biodiversity research function.
In 2016, the Aboitiz Foundation stepped up its conservation campaign with “#BetterWorld for the Pawikans,” a drive to raise funds for the protection and preservation of the hawksbill turtle in Punta Dumalag, one of the last few remaining natural habitats for this turtle specie. This fundraising will not only secure the sanctuary for the hawksbill turtles but also spread greater public awareness on how everyone can help ensure its survival amid climate change and environmental degradation. As of January 2017, 19 nests and 2,726 eggs have been found, 2,655 eggs have been transferred, and 2,045 hatchlings have been released.
As part of its Environment for a #BetterWorld campaign, the Aboitiz Foundation spearheads the implementation of programs that promote environmental conservation and biodiversity enhancement, which in turn supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, specifically on Life Below Water (Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development) and Life on Land (Protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss).
