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World Land Trust

An Opportunity For Positive Action

Danjugan Island Support Fund

(formerly the Philippine Reef and Rainforest Project)

All loans for the purchase of the tropical island of Danjugan have now been paid. We are now accepting donations towards the Danjugan Island Support Fund which are required for the work that continues there. For recent updates to this project please see past Newsletters.

Project Background

Welcome to the Philippine Reef & Rainforest Project which was launched by David Bellamy OBE. This, the third projects of the WLT, which gave everyone an unique opportunity to become a 'founder owner' of the tropical paradise island of Danjugan.

Known as the Green Necklace of the Pacific, the Philippine Islands are facing immense pressure from commercial and industrial development. And while many Filipinos themselves are intent upon preserving their "jewel" there is no question that the country is changing at an incredible pace.

The Philippines are made up of over 7,000 islands, which lie between latitude 21 deg N and latitude 5 deg N, on the westernmost rim of the Pacific Ocean, they are actually a series of half-drowned mountain ranges -part of the chain which extend from Indonesia to Japan. The country stretches 1,840 km from north to south, and spans 1,104km at its widest point. The two largest island, Luzon and Mindanao, account for 65 percent of the total land area and contain 60 percent of the country's population, estimated at just under 65 million. The land mass of the archipelago is slightly larger than the British Isles, and with so many islands dotted across such a vast expanse of water it is not surprising that the Philippine coastline is double that of the United States.

The 7,000+ islands which make up the Philippines are being cleared of their tropical forests at an alarming rate and very few still have their forests intact and one of these islands which came to the attention of the WLT, was Danjugan Island.

Danjugan is an extremely important island for several reasons. It is one of the few islands in the area which still has its original tropical forests, and these are literally teeming with wildlife. It is also a critical 'stopping off' place for migratory birds including swallows, waders and kingfishers. Additionally, the island is surrounded by a beautiful coral reef which is urgent need of protection. Phase Two of the project will include a reafforestation programme on the adjacent mainland.

To save the island from destruction, the WLT took out a bank loan and by mid 1997 all of this loan had been paid off. We could not have done this without the generous help of our supporters.

Why Danjugan Island
Danjugan is a small island, 1.5km long and 0.5km at its widest point (1 mile x one-third mile). It lies in the Sulu Sea, 3km west of Negros Island, in the Visayan Island Group, and is surrounded by coral reef. Unlike the majority of smaller islands in the Philippines it still has almost all of its original forest cover. It has several caves which provide important roosting habitats for flourising colonies of bats and it is surrounded by a coral reef. The only human inhabitants on the islands are two small families of subsistence fishermen; altough the reef has been damaged in the past, it is showing good signs of recovery.

Reef And Rainforest
Conservation Hand In Hand
Between them, tropical forests and coral reefs contain the world's richest and most diverse environments, but both have suffered from a wide range of destructive human activities. Forests are threatened by clearence for timber, agriculture and development and coral reefs by pollution, quarrying, over-fishing and exploitive tourism. The mangroves, which form a barrier between land and sea, are nutrient-rich breeding grounds for fish, birds and other wildlife, as well as providing vital 'shock absorbers' for hurricanes. They too are threatened by extensive cutting to produce charcoal, for fish farming and infill development.

Little is known about the wildlife of Danjugan but as the project progresses species lists will be produced. An initial birds list carried out in 1993 shows that the island is an important resting place for migratory birds, such as swallows, swifts and several species of kingfisher. Sea eagles, fishing eagles, mangroves heron and night heron frequence the magrove swamps and the forests are alive with warblers, flycatchers, bulbuls, weaverbirds and sunbirds. Two species of marine turtle are present: the green turtle and the hawksbill turtle. Both species are endangered and numbers continue to decline due to illegal collecting for eggs, meat and, in the case of the hawksbill, its shell.

Island communities are particularly fragile and vulnerable to disturbance - another reason why Philippine Reef & Rainforest Project has been a priority.

A local conservationist has already established a small field station on the island to provide educational facilities for local students, and Coral Cay Conservation, the UK based group, with whom the WLT has worked closely in Belize, has carried out an initial survey. At all times the Philippine Reef & Rainforest Project will be working and liaising with local non-government organisations.

The Philippine Reef & Rainforest Project is an imaginative concept which will harness the WLT's expertise in managing tropical forest projects and CCC's extensive experience of coral reefs and their conservation. The WLT will provide the umbrella for fund raising and management within the UK and CCC will play an active role in developing the management of the marine environment.

The Purchase of Danjugan
The owners of Danjugan island had been seeking to sell, and developers were waiting in the wings to move in and begin clearence. This really was a 'Window of Opportunity' - and in order to purchase and start to protect Danjugan and save its natural resources from inappropriate development, the WLT had to raise £250,000 when the project again. Thankfully all this money was raised and the island was saved -through your generous support.

The Facts
All too often people believe that they, as individuals are powerless to do anything that will really count, believing that the threats to the world are of such magnitude that their efforts would be meaningless. The fact is that what you decide to do, or otherwise, can have a tremendous effect on what happens to the world in the future. We urge companies to take an initiative of conscience, teachers to instill an enthusiasm and responsiblity amongst their pupils and individuals to rise to the urgency of the call. Ours is not a disposable planet, and although in the future the 1990s may be referred to as the decade of scientific and environmental enlightment, still we are allowing an estimated average of five plant or animal species to become extinct every day through tropical forest destruction. And at various stages in the disintegration of the forest life chain, human beings most definitely suffer. For instance, 50 percent of all medicines we use are derived from plants, and 25 per cent of all prescribed drugs have their origins in tropical forests. If you feel you cannot affored to support conservation, think again - CAN YOU AFFORED NOT TO ?

Danjugan Island's coral reefs really are as diverse as the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. Coral Cay Conservation Volunteers have been surveying a 40 hectare (2km) area of coral reef and have already identified 190 species and 73 genera of corals. The Great Barrier Reef, stretching some 1,600 km, is known to contain approximately 80 genera of corals and it is truly astounding that the Danjugan Reefs contain, in small areas surveyed, as much diversity as the whole of the Great Barrier Reef. Surveying around Danjugan is still in its infancy and hopes are high that very many more species will be identified.