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Three weeks ago, I had the opportunity of visiting
the Samar Island Natural Park, one of the last important biodiversity
areas in our country and the world. I was with Rissa Arida and Otik
Antonio of the United Nations Development Programme and Benjie
Mallari, an artist who will help in transforming the park’s
training center into a more responsive learning center. Manolito
“Bogs” Ragub, the park superintendent, facilitated all our
meetings with the local Department of Environment and Natural
Resources offices, gave us a tour of the park and a briefing about
their protection activities.
The Samar park is a recipient of
a grant from the UNDP and the Global Environment Facility. The grant
enabled the establishment of a park office and park-related
facilities, the conduct of scientific surveys and studies one of
which valued the biodiversity services of Samar more than its mining
potentials, advocacy, publication and distribution of information
materials and community-based conservation activities.
Samar hosts one of the largest
and last remaining stands of tropical rainforests in our country,
estimated at 27% of the island. It is the habitat of the globally
endangered Philippine Eagle, our national bird. It is also home to
406 endemic species of flowering plants, 197 species of birds, 39
species of mammals, 25 species of reptiles and 12 species of
amphibians. Conservation efforts have led to the declaration of
Samar Island’s tropical rainforests as forest reserves in February
1996 and as a protected area in 2003.
The island’s nontimber forest
areas are the sources of rattan and abaca that provide one the
primary sources of income for the residents. Its mountain ranges are
rich in deposits of minerals like bauxite, nickel, copper and
limestone. Fish, shrimp and crabs are just some of the aquatic
produce abundant in the island. Reef flats laden with corals and a
variety of marine plants and mangrove forests found along the
coastal fringes are two of the island’s most striking and
significant features. They serve as habitats and nursery grounds for
small fish and other marine fauna.
River channels that branch out
all across the island provide freshwater catch and irrigation for
farms and water for industrial and domestic use. Rivers are also a
source of sand and gravel that are extracted for construction
purposes.
Forestlands cover around 64% of
the island’s total area while 28% has been converted into
brushlands and farmlands. The island is primarily an agrarian
economy yet agricultural produce is very low compared to other areas
in the Philippines because of the natural limitations of the
island’s landscape and insufficient efforts to increase
agricultural production. Rather than rely on traditional
agricultural methods where labor is highly intensive and yields are
low, residents resort to extractive methods like logging, fishing
and mining to augment their incomes. While extractive methods, when
supervised and done with care cause no harm, uncontrolled extraction
is destructive.
Prior to the advent of the
logging ban, Samar Island lost more than 260,000 hectares of its
primary forests to commercial logging operations. Although the
operations gave a slight boost to the local economy, it dire
consequences for the island. The extent of forest destruction was
highlighted in 1989 when several days of rain produced landslides
and heavy flooding in farmlands and lowland communities in the
eastern and northern parts of the island, resulting in deaths,
massive destruction and displacement of thousands of families.
Similarly, mining operations in
Bagacay, Hinabangan, have defertilized and damaged crops and
agricultural lands. Mine tailings from Bagacay Mines polluted the
Taft River and left it biologically dead when the firm ceased
operations in the eighties.
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