THE STATE OF THE PHILIPPINES ENVIRONMENT

The Philippines is an archipelago of 7,107 islands with only 300,000 square kilometers of land inhabited by some 80 million people.

What is unique about the Philippines is its 220 million hectares of territorial seas that contain the most biological rich marine life in the world – the Sulawesi Marine Triangle.

What is fantastic about the Philippines is that it is the richest store of fish, corals and other marine life in the world!

Today however the Philippine environment is in a critical state legal and illegal logging threaten its remaining 800,000 hectares of forest cover; unnecessary mining activities are going on; and illegal fishing are done by smart businessmen.

This critical situation inspired the Commission on Science and Technology to undertake the comprehensive audit or inventory of the Philippines environment as quickly as possible.

In the partnership with the department on Environment and Natural Resources which prepared the comprehensive survey form, the Commission sent out 5,000 survey forms to all the DENR regional, provincial and municipal directors; 79 provincial governors’ 115 city mayors; 1,496 municipal mayors; and the members of the three largest women’s organizations of the Philippines – the National Federation of Women’s Clubs of the Philippines, the National Council of Women of the Philippines and the Rural Improvement Clubs of the Philippines. The three groups of respondents are intended to cross-validate one another, thereby getting the most realistic situation.

We can never protect our environment and conserve our natural resources unless we know what we still have and where they are.

Our policies, plans and programs will all be guessing game unless we know where we are starting from there, where we want to go.

Formulating a Strategic plan for ensuring a healthy environment and productive natural resources is the dream of all Filipinos.

An environment audit will map biodiversity hotspots and sensitive bioregions, track down land cover changes due to deforestation and flooding and monitor actual status of fishing grounds and coral reefs.

Actually, increasing population, over-consumption and dubious technology, and greed for money are driving the human impact on our environment.

PRELIMINARY AUDIT

As the reports flow in since May 30, 2003 we learned that while there bad news, there are also good news.

There are significant areas that are intact

For instance, he only existing “pygmy forest” in the Philippines located in the border of Mati and San Isidro, Davao Oriental is in danger. Pygmy forest, which are very rare in the world, are natural prehistoric virgin. “bonsai forests” having predominantly dwarfs trees and plants. This pygmy forest is due to the abundant cobalt under the ground.

This abundant cobalt is now threatening the forest. A foreign mining company and some local officials are moving heaven and earth to mine the forest and to hell with the environment and health of the people.

Another still intact mountains are in the Caraballo Range in Nueva Viscaya. The report says that two foreign companies are fighting tooth and nail with the communities in the mountains to mine gold and copper. The residents would rather continue their citrus plantations.

In Mindanao, too, specifically Maguindanao, communities are busily engaged in fighting off soil erosion by weaving choir mats and placing them on eroding roadsan highways. The communities in Maguindanao are also using vetiver grass to fight erosion. They also have 30,000 hectares of intact wetlands.

In Panay Islands, the communities with the helf of Philippine Endemic Species Conservation Project funded by Germany, are successfully maintaining seed banks for the propagation of indigenous trees.

Batanes and Catanduanes still have their pristine mountains, forest and rivers.

In Tayabas Bay, Quezon the government is transplanting corals after the corals there were destroyed by cyanide fishing.

In the small island of Hingutuan, Bien Unido, Bohol, there are two water tanks run by solar energy. About 3,000 residents are provided water by this solar-induced water reservoir.

In Western Samar, along Maqueda bay, 91 hectares have been planted to mangroves.

Now, for the bad news. Palawan is now in jeopardy.

It is bad enough that parts of Palawan were mined for the 25 years of nickel ore- leaving behind environmental degration and ill-health and poverty to the community, today, a foreign mining company, in conspiracy with some government officials, intend to build hydromentallurgical processing plant. This is an environment disaster waiting to happen. Remember Marcopper in Marinduque?

The damage is greater than the profit. People’s health are non-negotiable.

Just as bad is the situation in Paracale, Camarines Norte. An illegal and unlicensed gold processing plant is merrily engaged in making money to the detriment of the health of the people. This activity has been going on for 10 years. Is the government aware?

Another discover of the audit.

The San Roque Dam in San Manuel, Pangasinan is in operation. However, there are howls of. Protest from invironmentalist.

And with reason. Small dams are less disaster-prone.

Big dams like Aswan Dam in Egypt and Three Georges in China created havoc on the environment.

Experts around the world opine that while gigantic dams have brought benefits in water supply, the social and environment costs have been high. More the 80 million people have been displaced globally, mostly tribal communities. San Roque dam displaced the Ibaloys.

Large dams damage aquatic habitats as in Aswan Dam, and blocked migration routes for spawning species.

The Casecnan Dam in Nueva Ecija is a disappointment.

Another bad news is the illegal logging going on in the Bislig Forest, Surigao, as well as in Quezon where the forest rangers of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources were withdrawn for fear of their lives from the illegal loggers.

As well as the unbelievable marine poaching in the South China Sea and Batanes. But the foreign marine poachers in Batanes who were released after being caught by the local government takes the cake. The poachers were released on the ground that the “rights of the poachers as recognized by the international conventions and reflected in our Constitution are superior to the interest of the Ivatans”. Astounding and breath-taking!!!!

Well, so much for the bad news.

This wealth of information (environment audit) will be submitted to the national government, the economic planners and decision makers, businessmen and of course environment scientist for remedial measures.

Then and only then, will the Philippine government will be able to CORRECTLY plan to forest denuded forests, stop unnecessary mining, clean the rivers and lakes, prevent over-fishing and destruction of corals.

Then and only then will be biospheres of the Philippines be protected and conserved.

We invite the world to help the Philippines preserve the most biologically rich marine life in the world.

PRELIMINARY VICTORIES

1. Along with 191 other countries, the Philippines committed in late 2000 to pursue all efforts to promote environment sustainability, among other seven goals, in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.by a stroke of fate, the UNESCO Philippines undertook the audit or inventory of the Philippine environment January 2003 to the present, with the full cooperation of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

2. Recently, the new Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in the Philippines, Deborah Landy announced that the united Nation will collaborate with Philippines in environment sustainability.

3. The other day also, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding for the protection and conservation of the Sularnesi Marine Triangle which is shared by the three countries. Do you know that the largest portion is under the sovereignty of the Philippines? In other words, the Philippines has the largest store of marine life in the world!!!!

4. The other day, he Supreme Court made a landmark decision and declared that Republic Act 7942 which gives all rights and privileges to 100% foreign-owned mining companies violates the 1987 Constitution. We trust that the national government will come to its senses and realize that the mining industry, since its proliferation in the 1950’s after World War II, never made our country rich. The industry siphoned its profits to their respective countries and paid our government and the Filipino miners a measly sum. The notion that mining investments cone in the billions of dollars is dubious because the investors bring in second-hand equipments and barrow from our local banks other expenses. Analysts opine that health costs and social costs are tremendous compared with the so-called returns from foreign investment. Period.

5. The recent creation of an Ombudsman of the environment is a manna from heaven. Henceforth, erring officials may be sued in the Ombudsman of the Environment.

6. The brave and courageous governor of Nueva Viscaya, Rodolfo Agbayani (we are totally behind you Sir) announced that after the exploration permits of the mining companies in Kasibu, Nueva Viscaya expire, NO MINING operation will be allowed in the entire province. Amen.

7. The environment committee of the integrated Bar of the Philippines headed by lawyer Tony Oposa, is now carefully monitoring the destructive fishing activities now going on in Batayan Island, Cebu.

8. The DENR cancelled the logging permit of a company that is now engaged in cutting trees on a 34,000 hectares of land in General Nakar, Quezon. It is about time, DENR.

9. The DENR is feverishly planting trees in Panaon Island, Southern Leyte. Remember the disaster early 2004?

10. There is a massive tree planting going on Central Luzon, especially along the O’Donnell River bank in Capas, Tarlac by local communities.

11. Philex Mining has already planted thousands of trees in the mined areas in Tuba, Benguet.

12. The Visayan Sea Coastal Resources and Fisheries Management Project of five Provincial governments and 22 municipal mayors with political will, banded together to atop destructive fishing practices and evolved an environment-friendly plan to ensure income for affective communities.

13. The DENR agreed to have a moratorium of logging activities in Central Mindanao and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

14. The DENR signed an agreement with local communities in the Davao Region for a forestry management scheme that will balanced forest health and livelihood and the logging industry.

15. We now know the hotspots in the Philippine biodiversity, thanks to the DENR, Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau and the University, of the Philippine Center for Integrative and Development Studies. In the next few months we shall come up with remedial measures, thanks to the brilliant minds of the Filipino volunteers. And best of all news, the latest satellite imageries indicate an increase in vegetative cover of our forest lands. Now, we must strike a balance between economic growth and stewardship of the natural resources, between benefits and impact.

The environment and the economy are powerfully linked to each other. A healthy environment make for economic stability. What good is money if you can’t breathe the air?

That’s ecological suicide.
Let us now consider the rehabilitation of denuded areas; abandoned mining sites and abandoned tailing dams; and destroyed fishing grounds.

Let us consider the toll on human health before anything else.

Remember Mahatma Gandhi when he said: what good is money if people are dead?

THE HOTSPOTS
(State of the Philippines Environment Part IV)

The Philippines, according to studies by the University of the Philippines Center for Integrative and Development Studies., is the hottest of the environment hotspots severely endangered and identified in the 25 regions of the world.

The Philippines has 206 conservation priority areas but 17 are extremely critical and urgent a matter of life or death.

The elite list of priorities are:

1. The Sierra Madre Ranges along Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Aurora and Quezon. Legal and illegal logging has been going on since the 1950’s. Although the government reduce the number of logging concessions since a few years ago. The legal and illegal loggers are still at it.

2. Taal Lake in Batangas is adying lake just like Laguna Lake. Both are heavily polluted with chemical and human wastes plus garbage.

3. Pansipit River nearby is so polluted, Marine life is almost nil.

4. Mt. Isarog in Camarines Sur was declared a National park and yet its denudation continues.

5. Lake Bata in both Camarines Sur and Albay is in an extremely critical state of destruction.

6. The San Vicente-Taytay-Roxas forest in Palawan is no longer a forest.

7. The Northwest Peninsula of Panay Aklan and Antique.

8. The Central Panay mountains of Madjaas-Baloi complex,

9. The Northwestern Panay or Gigantes.

10. The Olangui River in Lanao del Norte.

11. Mt. Apo Range in Lanao del Sur, North Cotabato and Davao del Sur.

12. Mt. Busa in Kiamba, Sarangani and South Cotabato.

13. Mt. Kitangland in Bukidnon.

14. Mt. Matutum in North Cotabato, Davao del Sur, Sarangani, South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat.

15. Lake Duminagat in Misamis Occidental.

16. Mt. Malindang and Lake Duminagat in Misamis Occidental and Zamboanga del Norte.

17. Basilan in Mindanao.

All of the endangered forests, mountains and bodies of water are victims of man’s desire for money.

Without question, logging and mining are the most damaging practices. As late as 1945, the Philippine forest and mountains were pristine and abundant with nature’s bounty.

However, after World War II when the Philippines was given the so-called war damage reparations by Japan, in 1950, the degradation begun.

Thus, the Philippine environment suffered – and is still suffering.

There are 3 hotspots everyone should know:

1. The nickel processing plant in Palawan which promises to pollute the water there.

2. The FMC Colloids Corporation, seaweed processing plant in Cebu which has been polluting the Strait of Mactan since 20 years ago.

3. The quarry activities in Rodriguez, Rizal and San Mateo, Rizal which have reduced the mountains to flat land, almost, that is. Just watch the next giant typhoon comes to Rizal.

But do not despair.

There are rays of sunshine at the end of the long, gloomy tunnel of destruction, that hope and sunshine are not Filipinos.

Now is your chance to make a difference.

Let us all embark on massive education campaign.

It would be a life time work!!!!
The Unesco Commission on Science and Technology and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources will lead the education campaign, starting with the provinces where the critical areas are located.

We already contacted the HAS club in Bataan which will plat trees in the denuded mountains as soon as the rains come.

We shall go around the country on a tree-planting spree.