In 2018, the TC and partners helped secure 1,890 acres for the protection of the Palawan Forest Turtle in the Philippines. This effort is being led by the Katala Foundation, Inc., with support from the Turtle Conservancy, Rainforest Trust, and Global Wildlife Conservation. The local government of Mendoza—with help from the municipal government of Roxas, Palawan—designated this acreage as a protected watershed, thus creating a wildlife protection area that will directly benefit this turtle. An additional 23 acres of land was purchased to prevent further agricultural development and restore its original, riverside rainforest habitat.
The formal establishment of protected areas covering varioussites where remnant populations of Palawan Forest Turtles survive was a major step forward for the species. Active support from the local community to protect their native forest and the wildlife inhabiting it bodes well for the future of the turtles.
By preventing the conversion of this vital habitat to rice paddy fields and monitoring it to prevent the illegal collection of the species, this reserve will be a critical part of protecting the Palawan Forest Turtle. This conservation site is also a habitat—and will provide a vital refuge—for endangered Palawan pangolins, currently the most trafficked mammal in the world. Moreover, peat swamp forests are one of the largest terrestrial carbon sinks, an important component to combating climate change.