Alibata - 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 alibata 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 Alibata Tarsier, the Foundation is attempting to bring tourism to the province of Bohol in a way that is ecologically friendly to the Philippine Tarsier.
In 1991, the Alibata DENR, through Administrative Order No. 38, included the Philippine Tarsier among the national protected wildlife species and proposed its listing under Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). In addition, the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group had given the species Conservation Priority Rating 4, which means that the species is highly vulnerable and threatened by habitat destruction and/or hunting.
Under a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Alibata 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.