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
Exec policy on aerial spray ban pushed
ANTI-AERIAL spraying activists, commemorating the 6th anniversary of the passage of the Davao City Anti-Aerial Spraying Ordinance, asked the Aquino administration on Thursday to issue a definite executive policy on the banning of the dangerous agricultural practice in Mindanao’s monocrop plantations. “Since 2010, several national inter-agency meetings have already been conducted to discuss the issue and come up with a unified policy but until now, there is still no official government stand on this controversial issue,” said Mary Ann Fuertes, executive director of Interface Development Interventions (Idis). Idis has been supporting the Mamamayan Ayaw sa Aerial Spraying (Maas) grassroots campaign against aerial spraying in plantations in Southern Mindanao. According to Fuertes, President Benigno Aquino III had instructed the Presidential Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) to take the lead in coming up with recommendations, but until now it has yet to issue its report. “We were told that the PCSD had decided to conduct a cost-benefit study of the aerial spraying practice to aid them in making their policy recommendations. And yet, as of December 2012, there is still no study being conducted since it still lacks funds from the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources),” she said. But for Maas president Dagohoy Magaway, the PCSD’s insistence on the conduct of another study seeks to reduce this issue to a question of economics. “Why is the government focusing on the economic aspects of this case when the real issue here is our right to a clean and healthy environment?” Magaway said. Maas and its supporters are against aerial spraying because the pesticide drift coming from the spray planes often hits the communities situated near monocrop plantations, contaminating the water supply and causing sickness in the local population. Magaway pointed out that even the Department of Health (DOH) has released a study documenting the negative impact of pesticide drift on the health of the residents in the communities. The DOH study was also instrumental in convincing the Commission on Human Rights to also issue their resolution supporting the recommendation to ban aerial spraying in plantations. Both national agencies issued their recommendations during the Arroyo and Aquino administrations but until now, no direct action has been undertaken. “Do not reduce us to merely an economic issue. More than anything, this is an issue of human rights,” Magaway said. “Environmental justice must be served.” Both groups are appealing to President Aquino to issue an executive order for a temporary moratorium while the PCSD impact study is being conducted.
MinDa told: Look into LGU initiatives
THE Interface Development Interventions (Idis) has urged the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) to make sure that the recently created riverway task force will look into the initiatives imposed in local government units (LGUs). MinDa created the Mindanao Riverways Reconstruction Task Force in a bid to assess the actual condition of major river systems after several parts of Mindanao was flooded when rivers overflowed last weekend. But Idis Executive Director Ann Fuertes, in a statement, said: “There is really a need to assess the island’s river systems, particularly from Bukidnon down to Davao in order to come up with an integrated plan for management and rehabilitation.” “However, the integrated plan should also include the community-drawn watershed action plans so that there will be synchronization of the efforts of all stakeholders towards solving this problem,” Fuertes added. She was referring to the Davao Watershed Action Planning Workshop, which was implemented by the Watershed Management Council last October 2012. The workshop gathered representatives from upland barangays and various sectors to draft action plans for the Talomo-Lipadas and Panigan-Tamugan watershed areas, the latter being a sub-catchment of Davao River. Fuertes said among the urgent points in the action plans is the need to establish a buffer zone along the river system to minimize flooding. Antidepressant Meds Relocating informal communities away from riverbanks remains to be a costly but necessary option, Fuertes said. Joan Barrera, Minda’s project development chief, said the task force will be composed of various key agencies of the government, including the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, National Economic and Development Authority, and Department of Interior and Local Government, among others. The project, which will start next month and will run until November this year, will be composed of three phases, with each phase covering specific regions across Mindanao. For the first phase, which will start in February 1, the team will assess 11 rivers in Davao Region, including five pre-identified rivers in Compostela Valley, and three rivers each in Davao Oriental and Davao del Norte. (ARIANNE CARYL N. CASAS, SUNSTAR DAVAO)
Group to Council: Implement, not amend, watershed code
AN ENVIRONMENTALIST group called on the Davao City Council to push for the full implementation of the Watershed Code, instead of approving its proposed amendment. Although the Davao City Council on Tuesday deferred the approval of the proposal amending Article 9 of Ordinance 0310-07, Series of 2007, otherwise known as the “Watershed Protection, Conservation and Management Ordinance,” Interface Development Interventions Inc. (Idis) said it is best to implement the code first before introducing any changes to it. “The most efficient way is that we implement the code first and then learn from the weaknesses that can be seen during its implementation. Only then can we know what specific provisions must be amended,” Mary Ann Fuertes, Idis executive director, said in a statement. She said the Watershed Management Council (WMC) is currently implementing the ground delineation of the areas identified in the code and spearheading the formulation of watershed management plans. “Don’t put the cart before the horse,” Fuertes said. “It’s counter-productive because we haven’t seen yet the extent of what the code can do before suggesting amendments. The code was passed last 2007 but we only started to implement it during the later part of 2011.” The proposed amendment, authored by Councilor Pilar Braga, was approved on second reading during the regular session last January 8 and was supposedly subject for third and final reading on Tuesday, but Majority floor leader Councilor Tomas Monteverde IV moved for the deferment due to some “legal issues.” “We cannot afford to pass an ordinance kung naay mga questions (because there are questions),” Monteverde said. Under the proposed amendment, construction in the conservation and agroforestry/agricultural non-tillage areas will be allowed if the project aims to harness renewable energy and has been granted an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) by the local Department of Energy and Natural Resources (DENR). Monteverde said the amendment came about after Hedcor proposed to put up an 11.5-megawatt (MW) Tamugan run-of-river hydro project in upper Tamugan, which is a part of the identified critical environmental areas in the Watershed Code. “Gi-prove man nila na safe daw didto, pero para ma-operate nila didto kinahanglan among ma-amend. I-exempt namo sila (They approved that it’s safe there, but before they can operate, we have to amend first. We will exempt them),” he said. “The development has raised concerns among local environmentalists who fear that the future water supply will be affected as the hydropower’s operations will curtail the river flow and reduce the water content in the aquifers,” Idis said. It added that Tamugan River has been identified in the terrain analysis study as a high groundwater recharge area. “This is one of the reasons why, in its original form, the Watershed Code has defined Tamugan River as a conservation area, hence prohibiting any commercial development in the area.” Fuertes called on Hedcor to present the project in a public forum so that stakeholders, including the Watershed Management Council, will be informed on the details and impact of the proposed renewable energy project. “Dabawenyos need to be reassured that the Hedcor project will not have an adverse impact on the aquifers. In the interests of transparency and public participation, Hedcor needs to address the public’s concern on this issue,” Fuertes said. (Arianne Caryl Casas, SUNSTAR DAVAO)
Envi groups look forward to continued engagement with DENR on envi issues
DAVAO CITY – A month after the former Regional Executive Director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources was replaced, local environmentalists are eager to continue their engagement with the agency under its new Executive Director, Joselin Marcus Fragada. Interface Development Interventions, Inc. (IDIS) Executive Director Ann Fuertes said that the series of discussions begun by DENR earlier in the year should be continued so that the issues and concerns which were identified by environmental civil society organizations (CSOs) would be monitored with regards to their resolution. “Understandably, the regional DENR is in transition , following the assumption of the new Regional Director. But we look forward to the immediate resumption of DENR’s Interfacing Dialogue with CSOs so that we can follow up the agreements previously agreed upon so that we can track if these have been resolved.”, said Fuertes. Last January, the DENR XI had begun an interfacing activity with various environmental CSOs to find ways of collaboration among stakeholders for the management and protection of the natural resources in the region. The output of those discussions was the adoption of a matrix of issues and concerns , with their corresponding action points, which was constantly updated at every interfacing meeting. “There was a positive vibe coming off from that activity because it allowed us CSOs to thresh out and clarify issues with the DENR in a participative and collaborative manner.”, recalled Fuertes. “More importantly, it provided an opportunity for a convergence of activities from both sides, all for the goal of protecting the environment.” Among the issues identified for resolution in the matrix were qualified CSO representation in the Multipartite Monitoring Team (MMT) for banana plantations in Region 11 and access of CSOs to MMT reports submitted to the regional Environmental Management Bureau (EMB-XI) in the past five years. Also in the matrix is a commitment from DENR XI to take care of the remaining budget needed for the Watershed Management Council (WMC) activity of delineating the city’s watershed areas. “With the implementation of the Watershed Code already underway, it is imperative that the delineation of the areas protected by law should begin. Now that the City Government has already provided its own fund counterpart, it is about time that we follow up on the DENR’s commitment to provide its own share of technical and financial support as agreed upon during the discussions.”, said Fuertes.(#)
Indigenous trees help save the watershed, says envi org
DAVAO CITY – With more and more corporate social responsibility initiatives focusing on tree planting activities, the Interface Development Interventions, Inc. (IDIS) is calling to prioritize the use of indigenous species of trees in reforestation projects. “The use of indigenous trees takes into account that the local ecology is more conducive for native trees.”, said IDIS Executive Director Ann Fuertes. “If the goal of every reforestation activity is to recreate the forest ecosystem as close as possible to the original state of the forest, what better way to do this than by using native trees.” Until recently, reforestation efforts in the Philippines were undertaken using exotic species like gmelina and falcatta because they were easy to germinate and fast growing. But environmentalists contend that the use of exotic species leads to a negative impact on the local ecology because these are usually invasive and dominant over native species. “For instance, gmelinas are voracious nutrient absorbers. They deplete the environment of water and other nutrients that other plants need.”, Fuertes pointed out. “This is why conventional reforestation efforts failed in the past. The use of exotic species failed to ensure forest biodiversity , leading to the failure of forest habitat restoration.” The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has also embraced this paradigm shift with the emphasis of its National Greening Program on planting indigenous trees. By partnering with CSOs like IDIS, the DENR ensures the establishment of nurseries which will nurture indigenous tree saplings to meet the project demand. Through the NGP , DENR hopes to plant 1.5 billion trees in around 1.5 million hectares of public land for six years, starting from 2011 to 2016. In one such nursery established in Brgy Tawantawan, members of IDIS’s partner people organization, the Mt. Tipolog Bantay Kinaiyahan Association (MTBKA), care for various saplings of apitong, almaciga, lawaan and narra .These saplings will later be used as part of the rehabilitation efforts along the slopes of Mt. Tipolog. “More important, is that the use of indigenous tree species allows us to protect the watershed ecosystem. Since these trees have already adapted to the local soil and climate and generally require less water and fertilizer, the water in the underground aquifers will remain healthy and sufficient for generations of Dabawenyos.”, Fuertes said. (#)