CSOs call on the national Fertilizer and Pesticides Authority (FPA) agency to stop aerial spraying in the Philippines
DAVAO CITY- Ninety-five (95) local and international civil society organizations (CSOs) and institutions have petitioned the Fertilizer and Pesticides Authority (FPA) to ban aerial spraying in banana plantations in the Philippines. In a position paper drafted by the lead CSO, the Interface Development Interventions (IDIS) , the group highlighted the dangers of using aerial spraying as a method to apply fungicide because it contaminates nearby communities and water resources indiscriminately. “In the communities adjacent or inside banana plantations, incidents of animals and plants dying due to hazardous chemical exposure have been reported. This is because the chemicals used in aerial spraying, when released, are airborne and spread randomly, reaching areas which do not even have banana crops! These aerial drifts are also easily affected by wind speed, terrain plane size, wing span, nozzle orientation, nozzle type, droplet size and swath and spray volume.”
LUNHAW AWARDS 2013 expands search to include more categories
Davao City – This year’s search for green initiatives has been expanded to include more categories, according to the co-organizers of the Lunhaw Award. Launched last Friday during the Araw ng Dabaw festivities, the search for this year’s best green initiatives will run the whole year and culminate in the city’s foundation day in 2014. The Interface Development Interventions, one of the Award co-organizers, said that the change meant more initiatives in Davao City can be recognized. “Organic farming practitioners comprised most of the awardees for 2012. This year, we hope that green initiatives from other sectors will be recognized and highlighted in the next batch of Lunhaw Awardees.”, said IDIS Executive Director Ann Fuertes. For 2013, the search will now include initiatives coming from the areas of Education/Advocacy, Waste Management, Pollution Control, Energy ,and Forest-based Initiatives. “The inclusion of the new categories underscore our support for Davao City’s thrust to provide an environment which is healthy and sustainable for its residents. Davao is a trailblazer in terms of the number of environmental ordinances passed; this Award serves to strengthen the current policy direction by highlighting the successful green practices of its citizens.”, Fuertes said. Organized by the City Agriculturist’s Office (CAO), the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO), Davao Association of Catholic Schools (DACS), Davao City Water District (DCWD) and IDIS last 2012, the Lunhaw Award seeks to recognize initiatives by individuals or groups which use innovative and sustainable practices to protect the environment. The contest is open to initiatives which have been practiced in the city for a minimum of two years. Entries are judged according to the following criteria: Environmental and Economic Benefits, Use of Renewable Energy, Replicability, Sustainability and Innovation. The winners will be announced next year during the 2014Araw ng Dabaw celebrations. Each Lunhaw Awardee will be receive P5,000.00, a trophy and a bag of organic goodies. Nomination forms can be obtained from the offices of the organizers or downloaded at https://idisphil.org/lunhaw-awards. (#)
Watersheds, our treasures
THAT our city can still boast of biodiversity that other cities have long lost is a pride our generation and the future generations can hold dear, but only for as long as each preceding generation takes care of it for the next generation to enjoy. This is apparent in the biodiversity found in the Talomo-Lipadas and Panigan-Tamugan watersheds in a study conducted by the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) as commissioned by the Interface Development Interventions Inc. last year. A draft of the report has already been made although the final copy will still be launched on March 23 in time for the Watershed Summit initiated by Idis in Davao City. The study, a Resource and Socio-Economic Assessment (RSEA) of the two major watersheds, saw biologists and student volunteers living in the forests for weeks on end to trap and inventory bats, birds, frogs, and rodents, the key indicators of an area’s biodiversity. As gleaned from past and the most field studies, the watersheds have at least 124 species of birds at Mt. Talomo and Panigan between 1997-2012. “Sixty six (or 53 percent) of these birds are Philippine endemic, which is 40 percent of the country’s total for endemic birds (169 species). However, if we consider only the Mindanao Island’s share of Phil endemic species (94), the watersheds contain an impressive 70 percent of these. Also, over half (24) of the 45 Mindanao endemic species are living in the watersheds,” the draft report reads. The same diversity is observed in mammals, particularly rodents and bats. As the report said, six out of the nine Mindanao endemic mammals at Mt. Sicao still in the Talomo-Lipadas watershed are rats and squirrels. A total of eight species in two families of bats were found –Pteropodidae (fruit-eating bats) and the Rhinolopidae (insect-eating bats). Of these, seven Genera were documented. “All except one (bats) are Philippine endemic, with a single species restricted only to Mindanao. Called Mindanao fruit bat Megaerops wetmorei,” the draft report reads. “It is the most common species captured in nets (6 individuals) at the Dipterocarp Forest next to the Short-nose fruit bat Cynopterus brachyotis (8). The Mindanao fruit bat is the only IUCN threatened bat species sampled at Sicao. It is classified under the vulnerable category mainly because its preferred habitat, the Dipterocarp Forest, is slowly disappearing. The disappearing forest is what distresses PEF Executive Director Dennis Joseph I. Salvador the most. After all, their work to conserve the Philippine Eagle requires that the whole ecosystem is conserved to sustain the life cycle of eagles. But moreso, the PEF has reapeatedly said, the Philippine Eagle is but the barometer of the sustainability of our environment, as it requires lush green forests that are home to healthy forest creatures to survive in the wild. In the same way that everyone requires a lush, green watershed to continue providing the clean and clear water Dabawenyos continue to enjoy straight out of their faucets. “If water is life, a watershed is the vault (or safe or treasure chest) that holds this very valuable resource together and keeps it from being wasted. It is an asset passed on to us by our parents and which we need to pass on to our children as capital for their future – that’s what a watershed is,” Salvador said when asked to define the importance of watersheds to Davao City. Watch UK online porn https://mat6tube.com/ Diana Dali, Patty Michova, Alina Henessy, Kira Queen etc. That is why both Salvador and IDIS executive director Ann Fuertes are relieved that the Talomo-Lipadas and Panigan-Tamugan watersheds are still healthy although threatened. “Guapo pud nga daghan na makita na endemic species (It’s also heartening to know that there are many endemic species thriving there),” Fuertes told Sun.Star Davao. Davao’s Watersheds Davao City has eight watershed areas straddled by its major rivers aside from the biggest of them all, the Davao River. These are: Sibulan River, Lipadas River, Talomo River, Tamugan River, Cugan River, Suawawan River, Matina River, and Bunawan River. The Tamugan-Lipadas and Tamugan-Panigan are of prime importance because these have been identified as Davao’s main water sources and comprises the first phase of watershed delineation by the city government. Thus, the focus on the two watersheds. As described, Talomo-Lipadas include two catchment rivers covering a total land area 38,300 hectares made up of 45 of the city’s 182 barangays. The highest peak is Mt. Talomo, which is at the northeastern region of Mt. Apo Natural Park. Predominantly volcanic rocks, the watershed has slopes and ravines and vegetation are primary and secondary forest, but only in the headwaters. Lowland dipterocarp forests are now relegated to ravines and riverways after the long decades of logging. There are no more forest stands in the lowland areas as there have already been converted to plantations and agriculture. On the other hand, Tamugan-Panigan has several catchment areas although the only large water basin here is the Tamugan River. The Tamugan River and the other tributaries all drain directly to the Davao River. The Tamugan-Panigan covers 18,830 hectares. It’s highest elevation is at the headwaters of Laling Creek at 1,889 meters above sea level (masl), while its most prominent peak is Mt. Tipolog, with 1,340 m elevation. Threatened But as the report says, the biodiversity is threatened because Dipterocarp Forests are slowly disappearing. Along with it, Davao’s water. “We have very clean and abundant water supply in Davao because of our aquifers and watersheds have retained their integrity and quality. The Talomo and Tamugan watersheds, for instance, still harbors a good number of different threatened species. These watersheds exhibit a very high degree of species endemism: 82 percent for mammals, 68 percent for reptiles and amphibians, and 53 percent for birds,” Salvador said. “Some of the frogs we found in a recent study commissioned by IDIS were ‘undescribed’ and may even be new species. Frogs are excellent indicators of environmental health as they are highly localized and very sensitive to changes in their environments. But the integrity
Groups launch the 2012 Lunhaw Awards for Davao’s best green initiatives
DAVAO CITY – The Interface Development Interventions, Inc. (IDIS), the Davao Association of Colleges and Schools (DACS), City Agriculturist’s Office (CAO), the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) and the Davao City Water District (DCWD) are launching a citywide search to recognize outstanding practices in organic farming and environment-friendly initiatives. Named after the Cebuano word for ‘green’, the Lunhaw Awards seeks to recognize individuals, groups or communities which use innovative and sustainable ways of living which protect and nurture the environment. “This award seeks to recognize and honor the initiatives of the ordinary Dabawenyo, who believes in the vision of Green Davao, and thus finds ways to make the vision a reality.”, said Mary Ann Fuertes, IDIS Executive Director. A maximum of fifteen (15) awards will be given. Winners will be selected from three categories: individual household categorys (small), community-based/association (medium), and institutions/malls/hotels (large). Winning entries will be judged according to the following criteria: environmental benefits, economic benefits, use of renewable energy, replicability, durability and continuity, and innovation. The contest is open to Dabawenyos currently living in Davao City. Candidates may nominate their own green practices or else submit other entries which fit the search criteria. “We will award the winners during the citywide celebration of Organic Day in December 2012.”, said Fuertes. “The winners will receive P5,000.00 and a trophy, plus their stories will be promoted as green initiatives worth replicating in the City.” “We hope to sustain this as a yearly activity. In time, we hope to create a Davao City’s Hall of Fame for Best Practitioners in Environmentally Sound/ Sustainable Lifestyles where consecutive winners of the Lunhaw Awards will be enshrined.”, she added. “This will underscore the fact that Green Davao goes beyond the buzzwords and is actually a city of best green practices.” (#)