By Estanislao Albano, Jr.
Veronica Banglot who served for 26 years as Ecosystem Management Specialist of the Tabuk Community Environment and Natural Resources Office before being promoted to Kalinga Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office Supervising Ecosystem Management Specialist early this year said that loss of habitat is the foremost reason the wildlife of the city is almost gone.
“How do you expect animals to survive in a place when they no longer have shelter, food and water? Because of immediate need, many farmers in Tabuk plant corn. Now they could buy Elf trucks which they could not do before. But the problem is where will they get the water?” Banglot asked.
The advance deterioration of the forest of the city has also created an imbalance in nature such that the prey and predatory relationship has been disturbed. She explained that with the birds of prey like the owl gone, there are multitudes of rats.
Asked what her office has been doing to protect wildlife, Banglot cited the following activities:
First, implementation of RA 9147 otherwise known as the Wilfdlife Act through the deputization of Wildlife Enforcement Officers from the ranks of the police and volunteers. Second, by bringing back the forest through the National Greening Program (NGP) and the Integrated Natural Resources Environmental Management Project (INREMP), another program to rehabilitate the watershed of the Chico River. Third is the protection of remaining forest areas.
“When we focus on the NGP, it will take time. We should attend to the present trees. We give due recognition to indigenous peoples (IPs) who are protecting their forests. Through the NGP and the INREMP, we could give them incentives by way of producing seedlings and minimal fee for planting the seedlings,” Banglot said.
She also said that massive information campaign on the harmful effects of deforestation should be conducted. On how to address the kaingin practice, Banglot said that the Department of Agriculture could continue convincing kaingineros to use the Sloping Agricultural Land Technology (SALT) which, according to her, incidentally, is also taught by the INREMP as its conservation farming component.
“We know the danger of erosion. I recently passed Calaccad and Paracelis and there are no more forests– just corn. We plant trees even just on the edges of the corn farms to arrest erosion. During corn harvest, the environment looks dead as all you see is brown,” Banglot said.
Gunaban who now permanently resides in barangay Dilag in the Tabuk Valley but still keeps his land in Nambucayan echoes the thoughts of Banglot. He is also batting for the planting of fruit trees.
“Even if the old forest could not be returned, the recovery of even just 15 percent of the forest cover would already be good enough. But the barangay officials are not receptive to what I am saying. In fact, they do not even listen to the DENR’s campaign to reforest and protect the remaining forests. The worst obstacle to the regeneration of the forest in Nambucayan is the mentality of sacrificing the future of the children to the immediate needs of today,” Gunaban said.**this is a reprint from the June 15, 2016 issue of this paper
