The Philippine Cockatoo Conservation Program (PCCP) pushed for the declaration of Rasa Island Wildlife Sanctuary (RIWS) in Narra, Palawan as a national protected area, being the world’s most important habitat for the critically endangered Philippine Cockatoo (Cacatua haematuropygia) locally known as Katala.
Since 2024, the proposed legislative measure, the Rasa Island Wildlife Sanctuary Act is pending at the House of Representatives.
“The legislative action is underway to elevate RIWS from a proclamation-based site to a national protected area through an act of Congress, the Rasa Island Wildlife Sanctuary Act. This step is vital to securing long-term protection for the habitat that sustains one of the country’s most endangered birds. The success of conservation education programs has galvanized the Narra, Palawan community in support of advancing the act, demonstrating shared stewardship responsibility to protect the Katalas and their habitat,” the PCCP said in a statement.
The Presidential Proclamation No. 1000 series of 2006 has established RIWS as a wildlife sanctuary on February 15, 2006, pursuant to the National Integrated Protected Area System (NIPAS) Act of 1992. Since then, it has been the pilot site of PCCP. Rasa island’s mangrove ecosystem is critical to the Katala’s survival, providing nesting sites for a species that relies on mature trees and stable wetlands for breeding.
“For 20 years, Rasa Island Wildlife Sanctuary (RIWS) has stood as a proclaimed protected area (since 2006) and has been the pilot site of the Philippine Cockatoo Conservation Program since 1998. From near collapse to about 400 birds strong, it reflects the power of sustained conservation and community partnership. We now push forward, advancing legislation to secure its future as a national protected area,” the PCCP said.
But the efforts to protect and manage RIWS did not start twenty years ago, because as early as 1998 that PCCP has grown hand in hand with RIWS, the communities and municipal government of Narra, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and other stakeholders achieving major gains through intensive management, community partnership, and innovative conservation tools.
“Once numbering fewer than 30, the population of Philippine Cockatoos or Katala has now grown to around 400 individuals, forming the largest managed population globally. Protecting the Katala also entails safeguarding the health and stability of its habitats. Over time, these conservation efforts have benefitted people as well, providing ecosystem services such as increased fish production and coastal protection,” PCCP said.
Katala Foundation, a non-government organization underscores that increasing Katala’s population reflects the health of our biodiversity.
“Every step forward in protecting and increasing the populations of Philippine cockatoos marks a monumental change in the health of the country’s biodiversity,” Indira Widmann, Chief Operations Officer (COO) of Katala Foundation said.
Protecting the Philippine cockatoo or Katala is important for the conservation of lowland forests and mangrove ecosystems in the country. As a Critically Endangered species, with only an estimated of more than 400mature individuals left in the wild, its survival directly reflects the health of its habitat, which provides essential services to both nature and local communities.
