USAID Philippines Mission Director Ryan Washburn and USAID Washington-Asia Bureau Chief Kathryn Booker-Veloz visited Palawan in 2023 to discuss the status of wildlife trafficking in the province. (Palawan News file photo)
The United States government has pledged an additional $500,000, or P28 million, to support law enforcement initiatives combating environmental crimes in Palawan, the US Embassy in Manila said on Tuesday, January 23.
As part of their continued collaboration initiated in 2019, the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) of the US Department of State delivered three Starlink satellite internet terminals to the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD). The collaboration initially received an allocation of $28 million to combat environmental crimes in Palawan.
“The continuity of this environmental justice project will allow INL to provide more equipment and capacity-building assistance to PCSD and its partners, including technical exchanges between local environmental law enforcement officials and officials from the US Forest Service,” the US Embassy said in a statement.
Under this collaboration, the PCSD has implemented new evidence management policies related to environmental crimes with guidance from the US agency.
Luke Bruns, Deputy Director of the INL, expressed optimism about the collaboration.
“We believe that through our shared experiences and resources, we can make significant advances in preserving our natural environment for future generations,” he said.
In June last year, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Sustainable Interventions for Biodiversity, Oceans, and Landscapes (SIBOL) project and the National Prosecution Service (NPS) of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in the Philippines signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to enhance the prosecution of offenses related to natural resource management and biodiversity conservation.
Also, the PCSDS has received training for cybersecurity and digital forensics, and officers from USAID paid a visit to Palawan and met with local environmental law enforcement agencies to discuss ways to address environmental crimes in Palawan and the West Philippine Sea.
