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By Anna Miren Sionosa
It all started with a simple problem of
curiosity, “What would it take to cut a tree?” A colleague told
me that I would need to get a permit from the government to cut a
tree. I figured out on my own that if I did cut that tree without a
permit, I would be committing an illegal act. However, I asked him
“why it is illegal?” So I asked further, and my colleague
started to cite studies and facts to delineate that the Philippines
only has 18 percent of forest cover left as of 1999, that the
Philippines as an archipelago, and for it to maintain a balanced and
healthy ecosystem it needs a little over 50 percent of forest cover.
Moreover, he recounted, given the current rate of
deforestation, studies tell that in 50 years’ time, there would be
no forests and thus, make water the most scarce and valuable
resource in the world. As if all that data was not enough to stump
me, I answered back testily that it wasn’t my fault or my
forefathers’ fault why the Philippines’ forests came to be at
that state. Now he thought that I was either not listening or
acknowledging the facts about how our ecology is in grave peril and
I am adamant that I need to cut this tree for my own subsistence. We
continue to play a game of dialectical metaphysics bringing about
issues of culture, subsistence, greed, overpopulation,
sustainability, colonialism, global economy, democracy and many more
in justifying my need to survive in this world versus there would be
no world to survive in if I don’t stop rebutting him on our
endangered environment. In retrospect, our dialogue turned into one
of the most taxing arguments, and it remained unsolved for now. What
I had in the beginning for what seemed then as a initially simple
curiosity was a seemingly simple problem. But as we progressed, we
both realized that environmental problems are rooted from economic,
socio-cultural and political issues.
Daniel Coleman, my favorite writer on ecology,
said that a mark of a true environmentalist is not how less of an
impact he makes on the earth (because even an ant makes an impact to
ecology) but on how he lives in harmony with nature. I realized that
in order to overcome obstacles concerning the environment, people of
values must come together and commit to care for nature through
sustainable development, community empowerment and scientific
excellence. This is why I joined Haribon Foundation. I have been
working for Haribon for just a few months now and in October 2007, I
had the opportunity to join a team in conducting a Perception Survey
in Zambales, in one of the Haribon project sites. The survey is for
the GOLDEN Forests (Governance and Local Development for Endangered
Forests) Project, which is funded by the European Commission
and implemented by Haribon Foundation, in partnership with BirdLife
International. The objective of the survey is to gather information
on the target groups’ awareness level on Sustainable Forest
Management (SFM) and willingness to participate in forest
conservation. Along with the other baseline studies of the Project,
the survey will guide Haribon, together with the stakeholders and
partners, in developing an appropriate forest plan geared
towards Sustainable Forest Management and biodiversity conservation
with the community and for other stakeholders. The Zambales
Mountains was chosen as one of the project sites for its rich
biodiversity and critical role as a watershed for the Pampanga River
Basin and because the forests are currently threatened by forest
conversion, encroachment and forest fires.
I have never been to Zambales before but I know
that the province is noted for its mangoes. Passing farms,
mountains, rivers and the sea. Zambales is approximately a
three-hour drive from Manila and one of the best scenic rides I had—passing
farms, mountains, rivers, and the sea. We were to visit the
municipality of Palauig where we would conduct the survey to
the tribal communities of Barangay Santa Marta and Sitio Dampay in
Barangay Salaza. The first community we visited was Sitio Dampay and
it was an uphill village at the base of Mount Tapulao’s base.
Whereas the Sta. Marta community is a sleepy village amid plains and
farms. Both villages’ locations are heralded by their tribal
Christian churches that also serve as markers for their villages.
When I arrived at the two barangays, I came to expect a forest
settlement suitable for tribal life and was rather surprised to see
the communities inhabit the lowland area. But I learned then that
these two barangays are actually resettlement areas for the Aeta
indigenous peoples (IPs) who originally came from Mount Pinatubo.
Together with other Haribon staff, we began our
survey. The perception survey was a sharing of knowledge about their
surroundings—their knowledge of the forest, its animals, plants,
trees, and its resources and its history, their livelihoods, their
perception of other groups, stakeholders and the type of information
and communication exchange used in the community. According to them,
the Pinatubo explosion and other kinds of human encroachment have
taken them away from their traditional way of life of hunting and
gathering and which ultimately forced them to adapt to an
agricultural lifestyle. Their traditional practices
continue to be eroded and will eventually become memories as they
have long abandoned their forest home and if their forest is not
conserved. Since the resettlement, the families of Sitio Dampay and
Santa Marta derive their main source of income from extracting
buho, a kind of bamboo used to make barbecue sticks and by working
as hired help in farms of others. According to them, pressure on the
forests’ resources are actually emanating from outsiders and not
from them. They report of cases of small-scale logging in the
forests but they claim that it is not coming from them. Though they
admit to still practice kaingin (slash-and-burn), or felling of
trees for firewood at some point, they justify that they only do it
in hard times like when crops fail; and that they have no
involvement in any of the small-scale logging activities that have
taken place. However, their responsibility is to protect the forests
has not waned despite the hardships of life. They are keen to
develop a forest plan where economic, social and environmental goals
are met by utilizing resources that does no further harm to the
forest. However, they realize that without resources from the
government and outsiders, their efforts would remain futile given
that they currently have no rights over their land. As if adopting a
new technology or alternative livelihood is not hard enough, these
people would have to deal with politics of logging and mining,
indigenous people’s rights, and encroachment.
My experience in Santa Marta and Sitio Dampay
led to an appreciation of our IP ancestry, rediscovery of Filipino
values and most importantly, a call to action to care for ecology.
Upon joining Haribon, we were given an orientation on Basic Ecology
and Philippine Biodiversity and the trainer outlined the importance
of biodiversity in our lives—climate modification, economic value,
barriers against disasters, source of food, medicine and water.
These concepts however can only come to life through numerous
fieldwork and actual conversations with those who are directly
impacted by the consequences of changes and destruction of our
biodiversity. But only through my field work to these GOLDEN Forests
tribal communities in Zambales led me to understand deeper the
social and cultural values that biodiversity promotes, which I think
is the most important aspect of biodiversity. These are the values
that should could guide stakeholders to form community-based
institutions, ecologically sound policies and the active practice of
participatory politics. I am grateful that Haribon Foundation
continues to offer its office-based staff the opportunity to work
with people in saving species, sites, and habitats because the
lessons learned from the field are enlightening.
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