Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) — Filipino forest rangers from the Masungi Georeserve received recognition and cash prizes for being among the 12 winners in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) 2022 International Ranger Awards.
Kuhkan Maas, John Paul Magana, and Monica Inonog of the Bayog Ranger Station were lauded on Wednesday for their resilience in the face of serious risks in performing their duties amid violence and harassment from environmental offenders and organized criminals in the past few years.
Maas was among those who were shot in July 2021 while guarding the reforestation site in Sitio San Roque in Baras, Rizal.
IUCN announced that the Masungi team and 11 other winners will receive US$10,000 (roughly P563,000) to support the protected and conserved areas where they work.
The Masungi Georeserve was created in 1996 to restore the sanctuary’s forest spaces. In 2015, the Masungi Georeserve Foundation was formed to sustain these conservation efforts.
