In its Philippine Eagle project, Haribon — the Philippines’ pioneer environmental organization — was both studying the little known ecology of the Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) and looking for the most effective way to conserve one of the world’s most magnificent birds of prey. The Philippine Eagle is locally called "Haring Ibon".

The Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi), formerly called monkey-eating eagle, is endemic to forests in the Philippines. It is a highly unusual member of the Accipitridae family and the largest extant eagle in terms of length and wing surface (albeit at 4-8 kg somewhat lighter than Steller's sea eagle and the Harpy eagle).

This species, the apex hunter in the Philippine forests, preys primarily on Philippine flying lemurs. However, primary prey species vary from island to island depending on availability. The Philippine Eagle requires a vast home range to successfully raise a chick, making it extremely vulnerable to habitat loss coming with the rampant deforestation in much of its range. The Philippine Eagle was declared national bird of the Philippines.

Hatched in 1972, Haribon and the individuals it trained and nurtured were instrumental in the formation of other environmental organizations in the country, giving birth to the Philippine environmental movement as a whole. Haribon was established as a birdwatching society inspired by the Philippine Eagle, critically endangered already in the early 1970s.

Haribon later expanded its conservation work beyond "Haring Ibon" (Philippine Eagle) to include other species and natural areas in the country, and changed its name from The Haribon Society to the Haribon Foundation for the Conservation of Natural Resources. In 2005 it started the "Rainforestation Organizations and Advocates" or "ROAD to 2020" Campaign, an environmental conservation movement to restore 1 million hectares of our rainforests using native tree species by year 2020.