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BALITA!
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 Pinoy
Ecology 101
by Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan
In the 1980's, a study
made by teams of marine experts, revealed that
60% of Philippine reefs were unhealthy, with a fish biomass estimated
at
less than 15 tons per square kilometer. About 15% were relatively
healthy, with a fish biomass between 15 to 30 tons per square
kilometer. Barely 5% was in excellent shape. That was close to 15
years ago. With dynamite, cyanide and other forms of illegal fishing
still being reported throughout the country, can the national coral
reef
situation be better today?
 The
World Fish Center revealed in 2001, that 90% of the fish stock that
existed just after the Pacific War, has been consumed. A year ago,
we had barely 10% of our fish stocks left in our oceans and coasts.
With radar, sonar, GPS, the use of fine-meshed nets and progressive
fishing gear, commercial fishing fleets have become more efficient.
A rapid assessment of fisheries
targetting primary predators such as sharks and marine mammals revealed
that these animals that play a profound role in the maintenance of
our oceanic food chains are being hunted throughout the Philippines.
This major disruption in the ocean's ability to restore itself is
only making the situation worse. Population pressures and our drastically
reduced fish stocks have led to this. Can there be less of a threat
today?
50% of Filipinos depend
on seafood as a primary source of protein. More than 50% of all Philippine
municipalities are located along the coastline.
In 1999, a study made by
the Environmental Science for Social Change revealed that in barely
95 years, we have logged 95% of the forests that stood at the turn
of the century. As a result of this, barely 15% forest cover is left,
nationwide. And barely 600,000 hectares of Old Growth forest is left
- from a starting figure of 22 Million hectares at the turn of the
century. The logging of narra, almaciga, lauan, tanguile, molave and
other forest trees continues, even within protected areas.
The remaining forest performs
a number of functions. They are watersheds, providing us with the
water we need to live and raise crops. They are filters and carbon
sequesters, cleaning the air we breathe and drawing carbon dioxide
to mitigate climate change. With logging continuing in the few remaining
forests, their capacity to perform these functions for human populations
is reduced on a daily basis. Philippine Eagles, fruit bats, wild pigs,
deer, crocodiles and other key species that make a significant impact
on the health of forest ecosystems, continue to be poached. In Cartimar
and even along national highways, birds, monitor lizards, snakes and
a variety of wildlife that contribute to maintaining balance in our
forests and wetlands, are sold openly and without sanction.
Our population now approaches
82 Million. Within 35 years, our population will double. The needs
for water, clean air and food will double as well. Clearly, this is
a major challenge. Supply is decreasing, demand is increasing. Everyone
is afraid to say that we must generate effective ways to manage population.
The Catholic Church, like all religions, has the right and the responsibility
to uphold its beliefs and standards of morality. It is irresponsible,
however, for any group or organization to impose half-baked standards
that offer no clear cut solutions, and only lead to greater, systemic
problems. This is an abdication of social responsibility. It is not
authentic stewardship, in any sense of the word.
It is inappropriate, callous
and probably immoral to simply dismiss these facts and say that we
will import or buy the food we need. With what? We have no money.
And what about water? Will be buy that, too? Paddy cultivation utilizes
close to 4000 liters of water to produce 1 kilo of rice. With El Ninos
becoming more frequent, and with our reduced watersheds, where will
we get the water? No amount of new water impounding systems will do
the job. First, you need water. And how about clean air? Can we buy
air? Will everyone be walking around with gas masks?
Think about the millions
of hardworking parents who spend everything they earn on their children.
Think about the billions set aside and spent for education, nutrition,
clothing, shelter, insurance, health, entertainment. Unless we invest
equivalent amounts on restoring our environment, making sure that
the essentials for life - food, fresh water, and clean air - are available
to all, the endless hours of sacrifice and hard work which are devoted
by Filipino parents to building a decent future for their children
will go down the drain.
We will not solve these
problems by throwing money at them. Unless corruption is dramatically
stopped and governance improves significantly, we cannot expect an
appropriate level of social services and government programs to trickle
down to the broad voter/taxpayer base - many of whom are poor. Corruption
is a reflection of weak leadership and mismanagement. It wastes limited
public resources and allows inefficiency. It is, therefore, bad economics.
We must make a sincere
national effort to protect the environment and arrest all those who
continue to enrich themselves through environmental crime - those
whose businesses pollute and poison others, those financiers who victimize
untenured and jobless forest dwellers to log away our watersheds,
those who knowingly blast, poison and destroy the oceanic cradles
that serve as home and haven to the food that is being counted upon
to nourish future generations of Filipinos. Patronage politics must
stop. Those in government who intervene on behalf of environmental
criminals are accomplices. They, too, must be held accountable.
All this must be done because,
through more than three decades, government has continued to fail
to meet the expectations of its greater taxpayer base. The general
perception is that government has not delivered value for money. Taxpayers
do not ask for much. We simply want what we pay for. Is that unreasonable?
When government fails, the environment is the only social security
system for the poor. If, in spite of its bloated, expensive bureaucracy,
government still cannot deliver the services it is paid to provide,
it must, at least, give its disappointed clientele a fighting chance
to save themselves.
Taking all factors into
consideration, the Philippines will slam into critical mass within
the next decade. We don't have much time.
Unless consistent, sustainable,
high impact solutions are set in place nationwide, our forests and
watersheds, barely 5% of what they were a century ago, will disappear.
No forests? No water. No water? No rice. No crops? No development.
The water wars plaguing Africa may find their way here. Air quality
will continue to deteriorate, leading to sudden increases in disease,
physical and cognitive dysfunction, as well as a new assortment of
endocrine system disorders that result in an inability to thrive.
Tragically, children will
be hit first. Our remaining coral reefs, mangrove forests and seagrass
beds will suffocate from siltation, toxics and the effects of climate
change. Unabated sedimentation could aggravate sea level rise, leading
to saltwater intrusion in rivers, estuaries as well as coastal towns
and agricultural areas. Primary predator populations, will have been
reduced to levels so low that they can no longer effectively influence
the health of our marine and forest ecosystems. Forest biodiversity,
and therefore viability, will tip past recoverable levels. The remnants
of our oceanic food chain will crash. Our population will break 100
Million. The spiral will be swift and vicious. All this will happen
as a result of misplaced priorities and poorly-managed human activity.
I am not asking you to
believe me. I am asking if, for your children's sake, you would rather
be safe, or sorry.
The solutions exist. We
have most of the policy and legal framework in place. They must be
implemented and allowed to work, through local initiatives, authentic
multi-sectoral partnerships and community-based efforts - without
disruption from the annoying intramurals of the political elite. It
is that simple.
We know how to restore
forests and watersheds. We know how to rehabilitate reefs and rebuild
fish stocks. We know that both power plant and vehicular emissions
must be rigidly regulated; and that further investments in nuclear,
coal and fossil fuel plants must never again be allowed. We know that
we must stop poisoning our soils, water and air with non-biodegradeable
insecticides, pesticides and industrial effluents. We know that all
protected areas are critical for the sustenance of human life as we
know it, and that all illegal activity in these vital conservation
sites is tantamount to sabotage against the future of our own children.
All we have to do is to uniformly uphold the law. It is that simple.
Let's do something about
it.
Let us build a national
consensus on the environment that will give birth to and fuel the
political will to uphold the rule of law and the will of the People.
Let us assemble a national data base, available to all, describing
sustainable solutions that have been tried and tested. All sectors
must put their money down and get involved. All initiatives must be
managed professionally, focusing on hard results rather than mere
activity. Let us put aside turf battles. Let us teach each other.
Let us learn from each other.
And for once, let us agree
on something fundamental that will profoundly affect all of us. It
may require major changes in mindset and in the way we live our lives.
However, it is good economics. It is also good politics. It is for
the good of all Filipinos, today and tomorrow. It is that simple.
We started it. We can stop
it. We must.
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