World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Philippines) announced its partnership with Smart, which started in 2011, to contribute to WWF’s biodiversity conservation programs using mobile phones.
The Philippines is home to an unparalleled variety of marine life – and the dugong is among this. Malita, a seaside community in Davao Del Sur, has become a sanctuary for these marine mammals, which keep seagrass beds healthy through their constant browsing. Food fish such as samaral and danggit inhabit seagrass beds.
Also known as sea cows, dugongs were once common throughout the country, until destructive fishing and coastal development destroyed the vital seagrass beds they needed to thrive. By the 1990s the gentle animals became rare sights.
Dugongs are among the flagship species protected by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Philippines) and are classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as vulnerable. The fate of the country’s dugongs lie in the hands of seaside communities like Malita.
In 2011, Smart Communications, PLDT’s wireless unit, partnered with WWF-Philippines to encourage citizens to help save dugongs and other creatures in the Davao Gulf, which includes Malita. Smart implemented its Text-to-Donate service, an SMS-based donation platform that empowers over 46 Million Smart and Talk ‘N Text subscribers to contribute to WWF’s biodiversity conservation programs using their mobile phones.
Funds raised through this platform were used to conduct environmental education (EE) sessions for students, parents and community members in Malita. Project Connect highlights the connection between people and nature – and how caring for the sea ensures fish for all, forever.
“Apart from helping increase environmental awareness, we hope to be able to urge communities to take action and do their part as stewards of the environment through our Project Connect learning sessions,” says Smart public affairs group head Ramon Isberto.
WWF-Philippines already taught 600 students from the Mariano Peralta National High School and Fishing Village National High School about endangered species last 23 February. The session focused on the uniqueness of marine species like dugongs, whale sharks, sea turtles and dolphins; the species’ vulnerabilities to human actions; and the responsibility of humans in conserving our shared home. The students were also taught the importance of technology in research and conservation, information dissemination, as well as in rescuing stranded species.
Community members of Barangay Fishing Village were also treated to a lesson last 22 April to celebrate Earth Day. The session trained the community to respond properly to marine mammal strandings, which cause the deaths of thousands of whales, dolphins and dugongs yearly.
