Youth hands-on biodiversity conservation and management
Cebu province faces severe deforestation, with only five percent forest cover. Agricultural expansion and resource overuse are key factors driving biodiversity loss. This IKI Small Grants project improves local biodiversity awareness in Cebu by creating biodiversity reserves in schools and in their surrounding communities. The project involves students, principals, and teachers in practical conservation activities. Cebu Technological University offers training in identifying flora and fauna. The project also includes extensive tree planting and the use of simple greenhouses in selected schools. Its impact is expanded by working with the Department of Education to replicate the initiative on the provincial, regional, or national level. Integrating the project into the formal school system ensures its long-term sustainability.
CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT
IKI Small Grants supports Soil and Water Conservation Foundation, Inc (SWCFI) in their organisational capacity development through:
- Two trainings in carbon accounting methods
- The development of the organisational 5-year sustainability plan
- The development of a foundation website
ABOUT THE ORGANISATION
Soil and Water Conservation Foundation, Inc. is a non-stock, non-profit organisation registered in 1988 and located in Cebu city. It promotes sustainable development through participatory, collaborative, and community-building activities, projects, and programmes. Between 2010 and 2014, the organisation worked with the Department of Education in the Philippines on a precursor to the IKI Small Grants project, setting up reserves at 45 schools and establishing a teachers’ organisation. The project integrated biodiversity examples into the curriculum for primary and secondary schools. The foundation was involved in two projects funded by Misereor between 2018 and 2021, including the establishment of biodiversity reserves. Soil and Water Conservation Foundation, Inc. also supported developing schools in the Central Cebu Protected Landscape located in or near the protected area.