By Alanah Torralba
NORZAGARAY, Philippines, Oct 24 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – In battling the timber poachers who roam the thick Sierra Madre forests near his home, Larry Garaes has found a new ally: solar panels.
With solar chargers, the radios he and other forest rangers rely on no longer run out of power on multi-day operations in the mountains, he said.
“Communication between rangers is a lot better. Now, we can catch the poachers while they are in the act because we can coordinate our moves quietly without resorting to shouting at the next ranger – unlike before,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Access to clean energy is bringing a range of unexpected benefits around the world. On the longest mountain range in the Philippines, those benefits include better forest protection – and power for tribal people who once lacked it.
