Sir

We welcome your highlighting of conservation problems in the Visayan region in the News story “Conservationists under fire in the Philippines” (Nature 416, 669; 200210.1038/416669a) profiling the work of the Philippine Endemic Species Conservation Project (PESCP). But it is disappointing that the security issues raised were not given appropriate context and explanation.

Your article implied, on the strength of one incident, that Negros Island is unsafe for tropical-forest conservation work. This is not the case. The local opposition to the PESCP on Panay Island that you report may reflect differences in campaigning style, as this is not our experience for non-campaigning organizations on Negros Island. The armed group who confronted the PESCP is likely to belong to the Revolutionary Proletarian Army — Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPA-ABB), whose agenda is political, not conservation-orientated. The incident probably arose from a lack of awareness by both parties.

Coral Cay Conservation has been working on Negros Island for seven years. It has deployed, without opposition, more than 2,000 volunteer field personnel to several areas including, for the past three years, the North Negros Forest Reserve (where the PESCP was located) as part of the community-based Negros Rainforest Conservation Project (NRCP). Personnel often work from satellite camps in the forest and have met no hostility.

Security is an important concern, as the RPA-ABB has members based in and around the North Negros Forest Reserve. Their lack of hostility towards NRCP people probably reflects the fact that they know who we are and what we're doing. The successful and unhindered efforts of the NRCP have been aided by communication at all levels. Coral Cay Conservation liaises closely with the British Embassy and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, but it also works in partnership with a local group, the Negros Forests and Ecological Foundation, engaging all stakeholders (government, non-government and local communities) in the area, including the RPA-ABB.

Local stakeholders are keen to increase conservation activity on Negros Island. So, although it is important to promote the work of PESCP, it is also vital to address security issues in a local context.