Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS) Inc.

Riparian Forest planned at watershed

DAVAO CITY –   The  Watershed Management Council (WMC) and its member-organizations are planning to set up a riparian forest corridor at the Tamugan- Panigan watershed that will connect the watersheds to the city’s coastal areas. A riparian forest is the area of land and vegetation immediately next to bodies of water such as streams, rivers, or lakes, said Mary Anne Fuertes, head of Interface Development Interventions (IDIS), the non-government organization representative of the project. “Riparian forests help in filtering wastes, they absorb that instead of the runoffs from the uplands going to the river or water supply,” Fuertes said. She added that apart from the ecological development of the watershed, riparian forests also serve as livelihood opportunities for communities in the area who will also be their partners in developing and managing the forest corridor. “Ecotourism can flourish in the forest corridor. There can be barangay parks, picnic areas, and there are species of trees that can be used for livelihood,” added Fuertes. Riparian forest corridors also attract different endemic wildlife, she said, both in the forest areas and the bodies of water they will be connected to, encouraging wildlife diversity. The setting up of the riparian forest corridor project has no schedule yet, she said, but stakeholders from the immediate community  also met yesterday at Lispher Inn in Juna subdivision for the implementation planning. “We want to meet with the schools, barangay leaders, to determine what is feasible for everyone,” she said. The Foundation for the Philippine Environment has set aside P2 million in two years for the project. “This is not solely for the river banks projects. But with that amount, there are plenty of projects that can be started,” Fuertes said. Additionally, Fuertes said there are five “Bantay Bukid” volunteers set for training this year to monitor the areas. The volunteers will be coming from the barangays located around the Tamugan-Panigan Watershed, such as Tambobong, Tamugan, Wangan, and Wines. The volunteers will join the 42 Bantay Bukid personnel trained last year, and Fuertes said they are compensated through provision of insurance, and equipment for their work in the area.  (Salud Isabel Petalcorin, MINDANAO TIMES)

Search on for Lunhaw Awards

THE organizers of Lunhaw Awards announced that they are now accepting entries for the 3rd Lunhaw Awards. The 3rd Lunhaw Awards is co-orgazined by the Davao City Agriculturist Office, City Environment and Natural Resources Office, Davao Association of Catholic Schools, Inc., Davao City Water District, and the Interface Development Interventions, Inc. (Idis). Lunhaw Awards is a city-wide search for good practices contributing to green lifestyle. It aims to recognize individuals and groups that use innovative and sustainable ways of living which protect and nurture the environment. There are seven categories for the 3rd Lunhaw Awards. These are Energy and Water Conservation, Marine Resource Management, Green Building or Architecture and Urban Greening, Forest-based Initiatives, Pollution Control, Organic Agriculture, and Education/Advocacy. Criteria for judging are 25 percent on environmental benefits, 15 percent on economic benefits, 15 percent on use of renewable energy, 15 percent on replicability, 15 percent on sustainability, 10 percent innovation, and 5 percent years of existence or practice. Deadline of submission of entries will be on January 16, 2015 and awarding will be in time for the 2015 Arawng Dabaw. Купите вучне батерије https://batteriesserbia.com/ у Србији. Entry forms may be downloaded from the Lunhaw Awards Facebook page or Idis website:idisphil.org. To submit entries or for further inquiries, email them: lunhawawards@gmail.com or visit the Idis office at Km 11, 2nd Floor Almacen Building, Davao-Bukidnon Road, Catalunan Pequeno. (Reuel John F. Lumawag, SUNSTAR DAVAO)

Group wants hydropower plant builder to observe watershed code

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 4 June) – Any action on a proposed power generation project should consider its effects on the city’s drinking water supply and environmental laws, an official of an environment group said. Mary Ann Fuentes, Interface Development Interventions (IDIS) executive director, said Monday the proposal of San Lorenzo Builders to construct a 140-megawatt run-of-river hydropower plant should follow the Watershed Code, which prohibits infrastructure in watersheds that serve as sources of drinking water. The plant will be built within the vicinity of the Tamugan River, according to Councilor Louie John Bonguyan, who heads the city council’s committee on energy. “I want to see the design. I want to see if the development will need to divert water to achieve a necessary elevation so that their turbines will work,” Fuentes said. She said the city should consider the effects of the project on drinking water supply along with its aim to help curb the energy shortage in Mindanao. “The developers will also have to contend with the zoning ordinance, which identifies the city’s water resource areas. If you remember, there were some property developments that were disapproved because they were planning to build within [watershed areas],” she added. Asked which alternative energy sources could be tapped to address the shortage, Fuentes said they are pushing for other sources like solar power. She said if this was not possible, hydropower plants should be built in water bodies that don’t serve as sources of drinking water. She said building a hydropower plant along Tamugan River could affect rehabilitation works along the water source, as well as past and present projects by the Davao City Water District. Last week, Vice Mayor Paolo Z. Duterte told reporters the developers would have to convince the committee on energy about the technical details of the project. He added that stakeholders, such as environment groups, would be in the best position to understand and explain the technical details of projects such as hydropower plants. Bonguyan said more committee hearings will be scheduled on the concern raised by IDIS. According to the Comprehensive Land Use Plan for 2013-2022 prepared by the City Planning and Development Office, water-extractive activities should be regulated to prevent over-extraction. It also requires all structures built in water resource areas to have proper sanitation facilities especially for septage and wastewater, and prohibits “highly pollutive” activities. In an earlier presentation to the city council, San Lorenzo Builders president and chief executive officer Oscar Violago said the development site would include Gumalang to Lamanan in Calinan. The timeline includes a feasibility study that would begin this year and, if approved, commercial operations to begin in 2019 depending on the completion of the application process. The topography, hydrology, and geology studies would also begin this year. (MINDANEWS)

Environmental groups: Spare trees along Dakudao Avenue

ENVIRONMENTAL groups opposed the proposed plan to cut down the trees along Dacudao Avenue, the only major thoroughfare in Davao City shaded with mature trees, insisting that the idea is “too extreme and alternative options have not been explored.” In a statement sent to Sun.Star Davao, the Interface Development Interventions (Idis) said such proposal was revealed by City Environment and National Resources Office (Cenro) Forester Chris Asibal during the Rainwater Harvesting Forum organized by the Idis and the Davao City Water District on March 24. The planting of falcata trees that line up Dacudao Avenue was an initiative of a civic organization sometime in the early 1990s. According to Asibal, the City Engineer’s Office (CEO) plans to remove the trees to improve the main drain canal which is situated at the aisle of the road. “They plan to improve the canal so they filed a request to remove the trees. As Cenro technical officer, I recommended not to cut down the trees because the avenue is the heart of the city which gives us fresh oxygen,” Asibal said. He also revealed that the CEO is also planning to replace the trees with other plants. However, he said replacing trees would be “wasteful.” “Once trees reach 10 years or more, their capacity to absorb pollutants and carbon dioxide is increased,” he said. “There is a need to assess the area; they can replace the over-mature and defective trees but not all. The structure of the canal can just be improved so that it can stay and serve longer,” he added. Idis executive director Ann Fuertes also called the CEO to cease its proposal. “Dacudao Avenue is the only major thoroughfare in Davao City shaded with mature trees. It is in stark contrast to the rest of Davao’s major streets which are all concrete and asphalt; all the more we should preserve it,” Fuertes said. “It is extremely short-sighted to sacrifice what little greenery we have at the expense of a little convenience. She said she recommends the CEO that “instead of cutting the trees, they should remove the silt and accumulated waste in the canal so that the run-off will not overflow in the lower lying areas.” Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industries Inc. (DCCCII) former President Sofronio Jucutan, who also attended the forum, pointed out that the main drain canal does not need any improvement because it can sufficiently handle the run-off coming from Bajada and Buhangin. As a matter of fact, he said that when the University of Southeastern Philippines (Usep) sent their engineer to study the problem, he found out that there is no problem with the structure. “There is no issue with the canal; the issue is with the outlet, right after the overpass. So the plan should be reassessed and whenever possible, wag putulin ang kahoy,” Jucutan said. (Arianne Caryl Casas, SUNSTAR DAVAO)

Organic farmers: Stop GMO Rice Commercialization

DAVAO CITY—Mindanao organic farmers are calling for a stop to the proposed commercialization of genetically modified golden rice in the country as they celebrated Earth Day on Tuesday, saying its undetermined risks to health far outweigh its promised benefits. “The golden rice is a major threat not only to the livelihood of organic farmers but also to the health of millions of Asian consumers who depend upon rice as their staple,” said Geonathan Barro, advocacy officer of Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Pag unlad ng Agrikultura (Masipag)-Mindanao, a network of over 36,000 farmers and scientists nationwide. “It really puts the health of people at risk,” he said in a forum on Tuesday. Thousands of farmers in Mindanao signed a petition opposing the proposed commercialization of genetically modified rice during an international Earth Day forum here on Tuesday, said Ann Fuertes, executive director of the environment group Interface for Development Intervention. Fuertes said they were going to submit the petition to the Department of Agriculture office soon. If commercialization pushes through, golden rice would first be tested on Filipinos, “making us the world’s virtual guinea pig for the genetically modified golden rice,” Barro said. Barro said even the argument for golden rice could not stand on its own. Propagating genetically modified rice as an answer to Vitamin A deficiency is totally impractical and unnecessary because farmers and children can get Vitamin A everywhere, just by growing yellow and green and leafy vegetables in their backyard. He showed studies indicating how the betacarotene content of the genetically modified rice is much lower compared to the betacarotene content of vegetables like carrots, malunggay and squash. “There are so many sources of betacarotene around us that are for free,” he said. But instead of promoting vegetable planting in schools, big agrocompanies are promoting genetically modified rice, he said. “But why? They’re the same companies engaged in big seed business,” he said. He also cited studies showing how betacarotene content declines by 50 percent after cooking. Barro said there has been no consensus among scientists worldwide that genetically modified rice has been proven safe. “At least, 300 scientists around the world agree that GMOs have not yet been proven to be safe,” Barro said. Farmers in Pili, Camarines Sur, uprooted the golden rice in its field testing site in August last year, in the same way that farmers also uprooted Bt Corn in the field testing site in Tampakan, South Cotabato, in 2001 and the Bt Talong in the UP Mindanao field testing site in Davao City in 2011. Lawyer Lee Aruelo, associate of the Third World Network, said the process to commercialize the golden rice would take a lot longer, since the law requires the proponents to conduct a series of tests to prove that they are safe for humans. Dagohoy Magaway, a member of Go Organic Davao City, said commercialization would mean they would be planted in the country, which means there would be a very high risk that genes of the genetically modified rice would cross over the indigenous varieties diligently grown by organic farmers. “This will destroy the purity of organic rice varieties,” Magaway said during the forum intended to educate the public and generate public outcry against golden rice.  (Germelina Lacorte, INQUIRER MINDANAO)

No to ‘Golden Rice’

DAVAO CITY — Organic food advocates in Mindanao are asking the Department of Agriculture (DA) to stop the production and commercialization of genetically modified ‘Golden Rice’ citing alleged dangers it poses to health and environment amid lack of proper bio-safety regulating mechanisms in the country. The beta carotene-containing Golden Rice, which is being eyed as a global dietary solution for people who suffer from Vitamin A deficiency, is undergoing field testing at the department’s regional field unit in Pili, Camarines Sur as well as in the provinces of Isabela, Ilocos Norte and Nueva Ecija. “Golden Rice is touted to address Vitamin A deficiency, but is this what we really need considering our main problem is landlessness?” Fr. Joy B. Pelino, Go Organic Mindanao coordinator of the Social Action Center Diocese of Marbel in South Cotabato, said in an interview. Go Organic Mindanao, which is composed of different organizations, conducted a forum on Golden Rice at the Ateneo de Davao University on Tuesday, April 22, in celebration of the International Earth Day and for the purpose of gathering commitments from various sectors to oppose the commercialization of Golden Rice. The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has continued with the testing of the Golden Rice despite an improvement in the number of Vitamin A-deficient children aged six months to five years in the country, which according to the 2008 Food and Nutrition Research Institute’s 7th National Nutrition Survey went down from 40% in 2003 to 15.2% in 2008. Vitamin A deficiency is said to be the leading cause of preventable blindness and child mortality in developing countries like the Philippines. IRRI said Vitamin A deficiency affects more than 1.7 million children in the country. Sr. Nelda L. Balaba of the Social Action Center-Marbel, however, said there are other ways to resolve the issue on Vitamin A deficiency including the promotion of organically produced vegetables that naturally contain beta-carotene. She said the Department of Agriculture is planning to download Golden Rice to farmers and the farmers are not even aware of this, or the effects of producing this genetically modified rice. Diego D. dela Cruz, Jr. of nongovernmental group Masipag Mindanao claimed the farmers are being tricked into using the fast-growing Golden Rice for free this time but when they become used to the yield, control of this variety will already be in the hands of multinational companies which will sell the seeds at expensive prices. Dagohoy P. Magaway, a member of the Go Organic Davao City and president of the Mamamayang Ayaw sa Aerial Spray warned of the significant risk of the Golden Rice genetically modified gene contaminating the native organic rice varieties once it is commercialized. There are at least 50 varieties of native Philippine rice varieties being grown organically all over Mindanao and are marketed as heirloom rice. “Consumers should all stand up and reject genetically modified agricultural products and pesticide-intensive agriculture in favor of organic farming which is more sustainable,” Mr. Pelino said. The Go Organic Mindanao is asking the DA to support Republic Act 10068, also known as “The Philippine Organic Agriculture Act”, by developing and protecting organic agriculture and preventing the entry of genetically engineered crops in Philippine agriculture. Laxity of bio-safety laws was scored by lawyer Lee M. Aruelo, researcher of Third World Network, a nongovernmental organization engaged in environment and development issues. She said if it pushes through, Golden Rice will be the first genetically modified crop ever that will be commercialized for consumption. “This will have far-reaching effects since rice is a staple food,” she said. But more than its effect on health and the environment, she said the commercialization of Golden Rice and the resulting contamination of organic rice will result in an income loss of almost 100% for farmers. Ms. Aruelo said organic products including rice are fetching higher prices both in the domestic and international markets. But once the indigenous organic varieties are contaminated genetically by Golden Rice, the farmers will no longer be able to sell it as organic rice but only as conventional rice with a lesser price tag. Rice and other products require certification before it can be marketed as organic. Once contaminated, organic rice from the Philippines will no longer be certified as organic and thus, our farmers will have difficulty exporting their rice to the world market, she said. Ms. Aruelo said advocates can still put a stop on the proliferation of Golden Rice because there is still a long way to go before it can be approved for commercialization. While field tests are already being conducted, she said there are only five field tests all being conducted in Luzon, which has different climate compared with Visayas and Mindanao. melhor casa de apostas Thus, she added, it could not be ascertained if such rice will be as productive or will have the same Vitamin A content when grown in the other parts of the country. Section 8 of DA Administration Order No. 8 Series of 2002 does not, however, require a specific number of field test sites provided that it shall be evaluated by the Bureau of Plant Industry.  ( Lovely Carillo, BUSINESSWORLD)