The Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Negros Oriental pledged May 7 to strengthen coordination among law enforcement agencies and stakeholders to better protect wildlife in the province following the discovery of two dead marine animals this week.
The commitment came after a pregnant melon-headed whale and a green sea turtle were found dead in waters near the Pantawan People’s Park along Rizal Boulevard in Dumaguete City May 6 and yesterday, respectively.
PENR officer Jimmy Panebio told the Philippine News Agency that authorities are intensifying efforts to protect marine life and other wildlife species through stronger collaboration with local communities and partner agencies.
“We have recently concluded the training of deputized environment and natural resources officer (DENRO) and wildlife enforcement officer (WEO) in Manjuyod town, and we will be doing the same in other areas,” he said in Cebuano and English.
Panebio said the DENR recently completed similar trainings in Ayungon, Bindoy, and Tayasan this week. Additional training activities are scheduled next week in Bais City, Amlan, Tanjay City, San Jose, and Sibulan.
He also commended the swift response of government agencies and civilian groups during Wednesday’s marine mammal stranding incident near the Pantawan area.
Responders included the Philippine Coast Guard, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Philippine Marine Mammal Stranding Network, Silliman University marine laboratory, and the DENR-PENRO.
The melon-headed whale (Peponocephala electra) was brought to the BFAR office in Dumaguete for a necropsy to determine the cause of death.
During the examination, responders discovered a fully developed fetus inside the adult whale. Both were later buried at Mangnao Beach.
Yesterday morning, Coast Guard personnel reported and recovered a dead female green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) near Pantawan Park in Barangay Tinago. The marine animal was brought to the PENRO office for examination, where a tumor was found on its body.
The turtle was later transferred to the PENRO nursery in Barangay Camanjac for burial.
Panebio added that another sea turtle stranding had also been reported earlier this week in Bindoy town. ||
