Christmas Gift Idea 3: Spend Time Outdoors!
While gifts may be nice, quality time this holiday may also be what our loved ones need. This Christmas why not try some outdoor activities that are not only good bonding activities with family or friends, they are also good for your health and for our environment. Check out public parks here in Davao that you may visit. Visit Shrine Hills for bird watching and other garden and nature resorts in Davao.
New Butterfly Record in Davao City, Need Connector Parks to Support Urban Biodiversity
Two new species of butterflies were recorded here in Davao City according to a study presented at the first Sustainable Davao Research Symposium held on October 10, 2018.
Youth Offer Sustainable Solutions for Davao’s Environmental Problems
Young researchers from Davao City high schools and universities convened to give their share of solutions to the city’s environmental problems including pollution in Davao river and crop loss in banana plantations. Hannah Sheen Lopez of Davao City National High School introduced acommon plant-based organic flocculant made from saluyot leaf extract that she found to have successfully reduced the coliforms and E. coli in the turbid water of Davao river. The solution is cheap and readily accessible to the public, she said, so that water can be treated for household and farm use, especially in a time when water supply can be limited.
Open Letter on Shrine Hills
We would like to clarify that contrary to the media report, it was actually the Davao City Local Zoning Review Committee, not IDIS, who submitted the proposed amendments on the Urban Ecological Enhancement Sub-Zone (UEESZ) provision in the Davao City Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for second reading at the City Council. The Local Zoning Review Committee (LZRC) is a recommendatory body created under the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance 2013. IDIS, along with Ecoteneo, represent Davao City environmental NGOs as members in the committee and support the proposed amendments. The 25% recommendation was a decision of the LZRC, a collegial body, so to say that the 25% is solely recommended by IDIS is erroneous and is an insult to the discretion and authority of the committee.
Shrine Hills is Davao’s Urban Center Bird Refuge
As many as 72 species of birds have been documented in Davao City’s Shrine Hills. Twenty of these recorded birds are found only in the Philippines. The area is seen as an urban forest, a much needed green space in the urban district and hailed as the city’s last potential large-tier park based on the public parks study in Davao by New York University. Environmental groups are advocating for Shrine Hills’ continued protection and are proposing the privately-owned publicly open spaces (POPOS) concept as a win-win solution for land owners who want to develop their properties for business. “We managed an impressive 26 species on the day and the total species recorded in the Shrine Hills area now numbers 72, 20 of which are endemic,” said Pete Simpson, Wild Bird Club of the Philippines, who has been making records of birds for Jacks Ridge and other areas in Shrine Hills.
Make Shrine Hills Publicly Accessible Open Space
Davao City — Environmental groups are pushing for a win-win solution to protect Shrine Hills while providing private developers returns for their investments through the adoption of the privately-owned publicly open spaces (POPOS) concept in the City’s Zoning Ordinance. Ecoteneo and Interface Development Interventions (IDIS), NGO members of the Local Zoning Review Committee, along with Davao Shrine Hills Advocates (DSHA) and members of the Sustainable Davao Movement, have proposed amendments to the Urban Ecological Enhancement Sub-Zone provision of the city’s Zoning Ordinance. The proposal endorsed was due for plenary presentation in the City Council session last March 9 but was reverted back to the committee level with the directive to ensure attendance of Shrine Hills land developers who were no-shows during the last hearings. The committee hearing with Shrine Hills land developers has been moved to April 11, 2018 Wednesday at the SP Session Hall.