Aboitiz Cleanergy Park discovers 3rd pawikan nest, eggs expected to hatch in February

MINERVA BC NEWMAN

CEBU CITY -- The Aboitiz Cleanergy Park in Punta Dumalag, Davao City has discovered a third pawikan nest whose eggs are expected to hatch on the second or third week of February 2021, reaffirming the park’s status as a sustainable environmental haven conducive to a variety of wildlife.

The Park found the third pawikan on December 20, 2020 following the discovery of the first and second pawikan nests with to-be-hatched eggs on November 26 and December 3 respectively.

The Aboitiz Cleanergy Park is an eight-hectare ecological preserve located in Punta Dumalag, Davao City operated by AboitizPower utility and subsidiary Davao Light & Power Company and the Aboitiz Foundation.

The Park is Known as an urban-based biodiversity conservation site which is home to the critically endangered Hawksbill turtle, almost 100 endemic and migratory bird species, and marine species.

"Pawikans are already endangered and initiating conservation efforts that will make them stay for the future generations is one of the things we value the most as we contribute to keep the balance of nature for a more sustainable environment, Davao Light President and Chief Operating Officer, Rodger Velasco said.

Velasco added that Davao Light in partnership with Aboitiz Foundation, DENR, and the local government unit (LGU) of Davao City will continue the conservation efforts to build a better world for the pawikans.

Since its launch in 2014, the Aboitiz Cleanergy Park has released 4,811 hatchlings from 40 discovered nests within the area and at present five rescued pawikans are in the park’s repository; three Hawksbill turtles, one Green Sea turtle, and one Olive Ridley turtle.

During the ongoing community quarantine brought about by the current pandemic, Davao Light and the Aboitiz Foundation continued the rehabilitation of the park’s facilities that were destroyed by waves from last year’s “habagat.”

Fermin Edillon of Davao Light assisted a veterinary team last year after a Hawksbill turtle was discovered in a fishing accident. 

New repositories were also built to provide rescued pawikans with a better place to recuperate from their injuries while waiting for the best time for their release back to the sea, Park officials said.

Davao Light, the Aboitiz Foundation, DENR and the Davao City LGU previously entered into an agreement for pawikan conservation efforts and identified the Aboitiz Cleanergy Park as Pawikan Rescue Center, in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14--Life Below Water.  

It aims to address the dangers of poaching and the impacts of other human activities on the pawikan species.  Any rescued pawikans are turned over by DENR to the park for proper care and assessment prior to releasing them back to the wild.  

According to the regional executive director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-X1) Bagani Evasco that what Aboitiz Foundation is doing is very commendable considering that Hawksbill turtles are considered as critically-endangered among the five marine turtle species in the Philippines.

"We commend the Aboitiz Foundation and the Davao Light and Power Company for their unending efforts in protecting the nesting sites of marine turtles as well as their conservation initiatives in order to increase the pawikan population in the area,” Evasco said.

He added that the partnership forged with the Aboitiz Foundation has come to fruition in protecting and conserving marine turtles in the middle of the city.

The nest’s discovery was unforeseen as pawikan nests are not expected to be discovered this year.  They are usually discovered every other year, Park officials said.

The park’s environmentally-sound and protected status coupled with decreased activity in the area brought about by the city’s community quarantine may have attracted nesting pawikans to lay eggs in the area, Park officials added. (Photos: Aboitiz Equity Ventures,Inc/Thet Mesia & Pete Simpson)