BACK TO THE SEA. BARMM environment officials release turtle hatchlings back to the sea during the Adlaw sin Payukan (Day of the Sea Turtle) Festival in Turtle Island in Tawi-Tawi on May 23, 2021, as the Bangsamoro region takes over supervision and care of the sanctuary. The Turtle Islands in Tawi-Tawi is the 11th known marine turtles’ nesting area in the world. (Photo courtesy of MENRE-BARMM)
COTABATO CITY – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Region 9 has turned over the protection, administration, and conservation of marine turtles in Tawi-Tawi to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources, and Energy (MENRE) Forest Management Services Director Abdul-Jalil Umngan said here Friday they are now sustaining the supervision of the Turtle Islands Wildlife Sanctuary (TIWS), a protected area in Tawi-Tawi province.
Umngan said the MENRE-BARMM is mandated to formulate policies, guidelines and implement programs, activities, and projects for the protection and preservation of biological diversity and the endangered flora and fauna in the Bangsamoro region.
“Rest assured that our mission now includes the protection and conservation of the TIWS, its biodiversity, flora and fauna, and the habitat that’s inseparable from the survival of the species relying on the beauty of the islands,” he said.
In a statement, DENR-9 director Crisanta Marlene Rodriguez said her office would always cherish its role in the Turtle Islands.
“Although distance has always been a challenge, it was never regarded as a hindrance to our efforts in environmental protection and biodiversity conservation (in the Turtle Islands),” Rodriguez said.
The TIWS is the 11th major marine turtle nesting area in the world.
It is recognized as primary nesting for two endangered marine turtles - the Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) and the Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata).
The sanctuary is composed of the group of islands of Boan, Lihiman, Langaan, Great Bakkungan, Taganak, and Baguan.
The turnover ceremony was held on the same day Tawi-Tawi was celebrating its 3rd Adlaw sin Payukan or the Day of the Sea Turtle Festival in Taganak Island.
The Turtle Islands has an estimated population of 12,000. (PNA)
