The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Eastern Visayas has reactivated a regional task force to lead in the fight against deforestation and protect the region’s vital forests and wildlife species.

The regional anti-illegal logging task force is composed of officials and personnel from the Philippine National Police, the Aviation Security Unit, Philippine Coast Guard, Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Offices and Community Environment and Natural Resources Office.

The DENR gathered them on Wednesday in this city to orient them on their role to conserve the region’s remaining forest cover in the face of climate change, various environmental laws, and the current status of the region’s forests and wildlife resources.

“We are thankful because our partners in law enforcement have been helping the DENR. It’s time for us to work together as one, because we cannot do it alone. Help us strengthen our advocacy on anti-illegal logging,” DENR Eastern Visayas Regional Executive Director Lormelyn Claudio said during the meeting.

The task force will initially focus on establishing 24-hour, seven-day-a-week checkpoints manned by DENR and law enforcement personnel, developing a comprehensive database to support anti-illegal logging initiatives, and equipping the task force with the necessary resources to carry out its mission.

The 2022 report from Forest Foundation Philippines revealed that Eastern Visayas region has a total forest cover of 505,796 hectares, the majority of which are found in Samar.

Samar has the largest unfragmented tracts of lowland rainforest in the Philippines, making it a natural home for many species.

According to the report, over half of its biodiversity is unique to the region, which includes 38 species of mammals, 215 species of birds, 51 species of reptiles, and 26 species of amphibians. The forests also serve as a habitat to over 1,000 species of plants, 53 percent of which are endemic. (PNA)