type environmental industry environmentalism founded april 17 1996 philippines headquarters tagbilaran city & corella bohol philippines key people carlito pizarras jesus alvarez fr . florante s. camacho svd anos fonacier richard uy marlito uy mina gabor products lobbying research consultancy slogan protecting a 45 million year old specie website http www.tarsierfoundation.org the philippine tarsier foundation incorporated ptfi is a non profit non stock corporation based in tagbilaran city bohol philippines established in 1996 to conserve promote research and establish a sanctuary for the philippine tarsier . it is an entirely private sector initiative but has strong support from two leading organizations in conservation and eco tourism namely the department of environment and natural resources denr and the department of tourism dot . to ensure the continued existence of the philippine tarsier the foundation is attempting to bring tourism to the province of bohol in a way that is ecologically friendly to the philippine tarsier . 1 organized by local businessmen in bohol an island of 1.2 million people the foundation runs a 8.4 hectare 20.7 acre sanctuary or forest reservation nestled within a larger protected forest where about a thousand other philippine tarsier are believed to live protected by a permanent logging ban . at the reservation visitors can observe the philippine tarsier in its natural habitat in an enclosure or conduct research at the philippine tarsier research and development center . here researchers fitting temporary radio collars helped establish the animals breeding and eating habits as well as their territorial ranges . 2 contents 1 mission 2 conservation program 3 programs projects and activities 3.1 tarsier research 3.2 tarsier habitat management 3.3 community management 3.4 visitor management 3.5 tarsier trail 4 foundation 4.1 board of trustees and officers 4.2 carlito pizarras 5 references 6 external links mission edit under a memorandum of agreement moa with the denr signed on april 27 1997 the philippine tarsier foundation incorporated has the following missions to establish a forest reserve in the island of bohol which shall serve as the sanctuary of the philippine tarsier ; to protect and manage the tarsier sanctuary through the active participation of local communities ; to establish and maintain a wildlife research laboratory for the study of the ecology and biology of the philippine tarsier ; to establish and maintain visitor facilities for ecotourism and disseminate information material about the philippine tarsier with emphasis on the species protection and conservation . 3 conservation program edit the foundation s four point conservation program include 1 tarsier research to study the tarsier s biology and behavior ; record its population and distribution ; identify habitat and food source ; and develop instructional or educational materials ; 2 tarsier habitat management by defining the perimeter of the sanctuary with its topography surveyed and mapped ; vegetation and wildlife within assessed ; all flora and fauna inventoried and indexed ; appropriate signage installed in strategic places ; and adequate measures taken to ensure the integrity and security of the reservation ; 3 community management by establishing maintaining and continuously updating community profiles in the area ; regularly conducting dialogues and like activities to enlighten local residents on the purposes of the sanctuary and encourage their cooperation and participation toward achieving these ; integrating tarsier conservation into day to day activities ; and envisioning and implementing awareness and income generating projects ; and 4 visitor management which involves the development of an overall site plan ; the design and layout of essential facilities ; the identification of significant areas and potential attractions ; the construction of a visitor complex ; the laying out of ecotours and the training of guides for them ; and the production of tourism related materials . programs projects and activities edit ptfi tarsier research and development center corella bohol tarsier research edit the philippine tarsier foundation undertakes the collection and cataloguing of all available research materials on the philippine tarsier from various institutions and agencies in the country and abroad ; and the production of information and promotional materials . the foundation also runs a tarsier research and development center which serves as a visitor and information center and which also coordinates the conduct of research on the philippine tarsier . researchers fitting temporary radio collars helped establish the animals breeding and eating habits as well as their territorial ranges . among the researches conducted are 1 inventory of the flora and fauna of the philippine tarsier sanctuary conducted by the national museum of the philippines with students of divine word college of tagbilaran now holy name university in 1998 ; 2 home ranges spatial movements and habitat association of the philippine tarsier tarsius syrichta in corella bohol by dr. irene neri arboleda 1999 university of adelaide australia ; 4 3 molecular pyelography of philippine tarsiers implications for biodiversity assessment and conservation to be conducted by dr. irene neri arboleda ; and 5 4 introducing an innovative semi captive environment for the philippine tarsier tarsius syrichta 2004 by david s. jachowski and carlito pizarras . 6 tarsier habitat management edit in terms of habitat management the foundation conducted a series of environmental topographic photographic and social surveys of the tarsier sanctuary and its vicinity . it also undertook the commission of a comprehensive site plan including the architectural design of the planned visitor complex and other support facilities and amenities . the foundation has designated approximately 134 hectares as public domain . with the environment department playing an oversight role the tarsier foundation has asked other bohol towns with tarsier populations to donate 20 hectares 49.4 acres of forestland for conservation . 7 to date the foundation has acquired 8.4 hectares of land in canapnapan corella bohol for the sanctuary . within the sanctuary tarsiers roam freely and visitors can only go to a spot where they can be seen but not touched . existing in the area now is a spacious net enclosure where 100 philippine tarsiers are kept safe from predators as well as for feeding breeding and display . the 100 tarsiers in the enclosure have gotten used to a 7 foot high 2.1 m fence that circumscribes the territory . at night they can be seen climbing out of the fence to forage for food farther into the forest . they return again before daybreak as if observing a curfew . 8 carlito pizarras serves as the field supervisor of the sanctuary 9 as employee of the foundation assuming responsibility for the maintenance of the net enclosure and its inmates . because they are extremely shy and nervous tarsiers can only be handled by an experienced keeper . the foundation further coordinates the conduct of reforestation projects and other related activities or initiatives . community management edit in bohol the foundation has also encouraged the formation of the friends of tarsier an association composed of local professionals religious and civic leaders media practitioners businessmen government executives and workers and students committed to tarsier conservation effort in particular and environmental protection and preservation in general . the foundation also made appeals for both financial and technical assistance from various organizations corporations and individuals public and private filipino as well as foreign which have shown themselves to be similarly minded and are past and present contributors to such causes . the first to respond to these solicitations has been the department of tourism which has released to the foundation a generous grant earmarked for projects and activities in the ecotourism field . through its supporting the philippine tarsier conservation program first gen donated php2 million to the philippine tarsier foundation to help fund the philippine tarsier conservation program which is focused on preventing the extinction of the indigenous philippine tarsier . a portion first gen s donation was used to fund research on the implications for biodiversity assessment and conservation in the provinces of visayas and mindanao where tarsiers have been found to live . additional amounts to be disbursed in 2005 and 2006 will be used for organizing communities towards the protection of the tarsier and the promotion of eco tourism within the sanctuary area in corella bohol . 10 scarce government funding however leaves the preservation effort primarily in the hands of the private sector . the foundation also conducted individual and corporate membership campaigns aimed at allowing as many local residents as possible to actively support and participate in the philippine tarsier foundation . this is in the firm belief that no undertaking of such a nature can flourish without a strong community base . subsequently the campaign will be extended to the rest of the country and abroad with environmentally involved or aware institutions agencies companies and persons foremost in mind . while for the moment the foundation is focusing its efforts in bohol it hopes eventually to link up with groups similarly engaged in nature conservancy elsewhere in the philippines with whom it may jointly develop projects toward protecting the tarsier other endangered protected and rare fauna and flora species and their natural habitats . in addition plans to expand and replicate the program in other areas with philippine tarsier populations like mindanao leyte and samar are also envisioned . visitor management edit the tarsier research and development center about 14 km outside the provincial capital tagbilaran city in the town of corella bohol also serves as visitor center . 11 the center has a reception and souvenir counter an exhibit area an audio visual room restrooms and administration offices . outside is a lounge deck and nearby a parking lot beyond which no vehicles will be allowed . visitors can choose to either see and observe the philippine tarsier in the net enclosure or in their nature habitat through the tarsier trail . as mentioned earlier the net enclosure has a seven foot fence where 100 philippine tarsiers are kept for feeding breeding and display . here visitors can get up close and personal with the species or take pictures but are urged to do so quietly and not to handle them so as not to put stress on the animals who are asleep during daytime . the tarsier trail is a pathway that meanders through the gently rolling terrain of the interior towns of corella sikatuna and loboc of bohol . over a distance of roughly 15 kilometers it traverses the natural habitat of the philippine tarsier offering numerous vantage points from which to catch a glimpse of the philippine tarsier in the wild and become acquainted with a wide variety of local flora and fauna . tarsier trail edit the tarsier trail begins at the tarsier research and development center in barangay canapnapan corella bohol . while there the trekkers are oriented to the unique characteristics and habits of the philippine tarsier through multimedia presentations such as a photographic display and an audio visual presentation . in small groups they are conducted by trained volunteer guides mostly college students from tagbilaran city through the 134 hectare forested area that has been set aside as the tarsier sanctuary populated by an estimated 500 of the species divided into mini colonies of no more than three to 10 adults and offspring each . along the way they see mature secondary growths of mahogany teak and ficus trees and reminded that up to the last century bohol was a main source of hardwood used in the construction of sea vessels churches houses and for furniture throughout the central visayas region . they are also introduced to the many varieties of palm fern bamboo and other greenery growing in profusion on both sides of the philippine tarsier trail . as they proceed farther they are alerted to the fauna these parts are home to the most common among them being the serpent eagle brahmini kite woodpecker rocky tailed blue headed parrot grass owl scoop owl bubock pigeon water cock parakeets and reel . monkeys monitor lizards and snakes like the python and the cobra still abound and on a good day