MAJOR PHILIPPINE LAKE THREATENED BY ILLEGAL LOGGING & POLLUTION: Continued log poaching, kaingin causing slow deterioration of Lake Mainit
September 16, 2008
Continued timber poaching or log smuggling, unabated cutting of trees and kaingin within watershed areas of Lake Mainit is slowly causing Mindanao’s second biggest lake and the country’s fourth largest to deteriorate.
Mindanao’s largest lake is Lake Lanao which is the source of hydroelectric power for Agus I to IV, situated in Lanao del Norte and Iligan City, the source of electricity in almost all parts of Mindanao. Lake Lanao or Ranaw ranks second to Laguna Lake, the country’s biggest lake. Taal lake is the country’s third largest.
The lake which has a total area of 17,060 hectares and total lakeshore length of 62.10 kilometers is situated in between provinces of Agusan del Norte and Surigao del Norte whose total area is divided almost equally between the two provinces.
There are eight municipalities surrounding or located near the proximity of the lake. These are the towns of Jabonga, Kitcharao, Santiago and Tubay in Agusan del Norte and Mainit, Alegria, Tubod and Sison, in Surigao del Norte with 31 lakeshore barangays surrounding the historic Lake Mainit.
Results of the series of symposia, meetings, studies and consultations for the Lake Mainit convergence comprehensive development plan, initiated by the Lake Mainit Development Alliance (LMDA) through funding of PACAP or the Philippine-Australia Community Assistance Program, showed that aside from kaingin and log poaching, rising settlement along lakeshore cause the further deterioration of the lake.
The lake got its name from Visayan word ‘Mainit’ which means ‘hot’ after early settlers near lakeshore and riverbank settlements discovered a ‘hot spring’ in the upstream portion of Kalinawan River near Santiago town. A lumad touched the water of the spring and shouted ‘mapaso’ which means in local dialect ‘hot’.
Various studies made recently on the condition of Lake Mainit showed improper solid waste disposal caused water pollution of the lake due to contamination of chemicals from thrown paint cans, bottles, fertilizers and others and settlement in lakeshore increased over the years.
The pollution caused fish kills, waterborne diseases and death to some beneficial lake micro-organisms.
Lake Mainit is reported to be the habitat of rare fish species, the puyo or perch and gabot. These species have become rare due to the introduction of new fish species.
On the other hand, continued illegal logging, timber poaching and kaingin at the watershed areas of the lake due to increasing settlement have caused unquantifiable destruction of terrestrial flora and fauna, including its habitat.
The massive soil erosion and fast denudation of the watershed areas of Lake Mainit caused landslides in the area where felled trees are dragged causing massive siltation or huge build up of sediment or mud deposits that caused flashfloods to low lying areas surrounding the lake.
The huge build up of sediment mud due siltation at the Kalinawan River, the only exit point of the waters of Lake Mainit to Tubay Bay, caused thousand of hectares of rice lands who had no irrigation or flood control canals extremely submerged into floodwaters during rainy season.
Study showed this rendered thousand of hectares rice lands unproductive which caused food or rice shortage in the provinces of Agsuan del Norte and Surigao del Norte.
The onslaught of mining activities whether it be large or small scale mining now gravely threatened ecology in the areas surrounding the lakes and Lake Mainit itself.
Gold panning activities which widely used poisonous, toxic material mercury have also threatened the very survival of Lake Mainit which is an ecotourism destination area because of its beautiful sceneries.
Lake Mainit Development Alliance (LMDA) Manager Engr. Kaiser Recabo said some P10-million is needed to dredge or deepen the Kalinawan River, the only outlet of Lake Mainit. Recabo also recommends long term solution like massive reforestation of the watershed areas of Lake Mainit.(Adelaida Bulaon)
Feature: 4th Pasayan Festival evokes more smiles as ever
A feeling of festivity filled the Luneta Park here as people scrambled to pick their share of the fried pasayan or shrimps while it is still hot in the carefully lined-up frying pans.
“This is the usual atmosphere every 10th day of every year since the start of pasayan festival in reverence to the feast of Patron Saint San Nicolas de Tolentino,” said Trujillo Pepito of Provincial Agriculture Office and one of the overseers of the event.
He said, a total of 1 ton of pasayan are harvested just for this festival and once cooked, it would be freely given to the spectators as part of the tradition which never fail to evoke smiles in their faces.
“For this year, some 70 groups composed of three persons handled the frying pans that can cook at least 10 kilos of pasayan,” he added.
Pepito added that around 700-800 kilos of pasayan are cooked in the event, the rest are given to the street children, inmates and the orphanage.
He said harvesting pasayan is not costly since it is indigenous to the provincial waters and is only a by-product of their main marine products such as crabs, lobsters, and fishes.
In an earlier interview, Gov. Robert Ace Barbers said, pasayan festival that started during the administration of his brother, Robert Lyndon, is aimed at augmenting the income of marginalized local fisher folks in the province.
Meanwhile, Susil Ragas who participated in the festival for the first time said the overwhelming excitement she feels outweighs the intense heat and the laborious stirring of the pasayan she endured. (PIA-Caraga)
Cong. Villar graces Bonok-Bonok festival 2008
Tourists, neighboring townfolks and covering journalists were once again treated to a cultural festivity as Surigaonons showed off not only their rich culture but also their unique rhythm through the staging of the Bonok-bonok Maradjaw Karadjaw Festival 2008.
The Bonok-Bonok is a ritual dance originated from the Mamanwa tribe which has been brought down through the generations and still being practiced today in reverence to the patron Saint San Nicolas de Tolentino.
Las Pinas Representative Cynthia A. Villar, the festival guest of honor and keynote speaker said it was her first time to attend the Bonok-bonok Festival and was overwhelmed with the unique moves of the dancers, “Ngayon lang po ako nakaatend ng Bonok-bonok Festival, ang ganda-ganda po. (This is my first time to attend the Bonok-bonok Festival. It’s very beautiful.)”
Villar congratulated the event organizers and urged them to continue the activity for it is in one way or another spur up growth and development in the province.
In this year’s winner, Surigao West Central Elementary School emerged as the overall champion out of the eight competing contingents and bagged the cash prize worth P250,000 plus trophy.
After the event, Cong. Villar was given honor by Surigao del Norte Governor Robert Ace Barbers in a fellowship dinner hosted by him. (PIA)
Another two mariculture parks launched in Caraga
September 7, 2008
Two Mariculture Parks were launched in Barobo, Surigao del Sur on April 8, 2008 and Dapa, Siargao Island on May 10, 2008.
The Barobo Mariculture Park is the second in the region but the first one to be launched under the Sustainable Management of Coastal Resources in Bicol and Caraga regions (SUMACORE) Program of the Agencia Española de Cooperacion International (AECI) in partnership with the Local Government Unit (LGU).
The establishment of Mariculture Parks highlights the thrust of the Department of Agriculture – Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) in transforming the local fisherfolk from hunters of the seas to fish farmers. This is one of the measures to adapt to the fast-changing times and the inevitable global warming. BFAR National Director Malcolm Sarmiento pointed this out in his keynote address during the launching ceremonies of the two Mariculture Parks in the region.
BFAR Caraga Regional Director Alauya Olama earlier said that the parks will serve as showcases of fishery technologies to encourage more to invest on mariculture. He added that the yield per cropping of one cage could equal to the yield of a two-hectare fishpond. Assistant Regional Director Nerio Casil foresees the region to be the Grouper capital of the country since the local waters abound with rich fishery resources. He further said that BFAR continuously seeks for more development partnerships with the LGUs that would redound to poverty alleviation, job generation and food security in the coastal areas.
In attendance during the launching were SUMACORE project Director Jessica Muñoz, AECI Mindanao Filed Officer Miguel Angel Barba, Surigao del Sur 2nd District Congressman Florencio Garay and Barobo Municipal Mayor Arturo Ronquillo who all encouraged the local residents to support and protect for sustainable livelihood and improved quality of life.
On the other hand, Dapa Mariculture Zone counts the third, which has an area of 1000 hectares covering the coastal barangays of Dapa, Siargao Islands. Dapa Municipal Mayor Peter Ruaya envisions the park to attract investors. He said that they are ready to adapt advanced technology to make Dapa a livable place.
Congressman Francisco Matugas of the 1st District of Siargao and Bucas Grande Islands sees the park as just an initial step to development, an initial answer to the growing population. He hoped for more assistance from the BFAR like patrol boat, payaw and cold storage for fish and other marine products.
The launching were highlighted with the unveiling of the aqua tourism development plan and the ceremonial stocking of milkfish (bangus) and grouper (Lapu-lapu) fingerlings into the demo-cages. It was witnessed by executives of the respective LGUs and neighboring municipalities, DA and BFAR regional and provincial officials and employees, Sangguniang bayan members, councilmen, teachers, students, residents and fisherfolk. (BFAR-13)
Caraga prepares for landslides
In a move to mitigate if not prevent damages of properties or losses of lives arising from disasters such as in St. Bernard, Guinsaugon, Leyte landslide, the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC) Caraga under the auspices of the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) conducted a Contingency Plan Formulation Workshop on Landslide here recently.
The workshop aims to effectively prepare for, prevent, respond to, recover from and mitigate the effects of landslides. The workshop also aims to organize potential response structure, mechanisms, resources, and disaster risk reduction measures that are focused into landslide.
The contingency planning workshop also aims to build organizational capacity and should become a foundation for operation planning and emergency response as well as for other disaster management related planning.
Contingency planning for landslide in the region is expected to pool resources together and strengthen inter-agency coordination at the advent of early warning signals of an impending landslide disaster.
It is expected to assist in generating commitment among parties involved to act in a coordinated manner before the emergency occurs; mobilize effective actions and resources emergency response and design a concrete and continuous plan until the emergency occurs.
Different regional line agencies and local government units of Caraga attended the workshop. After the three-day activity, the group was able to come up with a useful and effective contingency plan for landslide in Caraga.
The contingency plan is more likely to be implemented in Dinagat Island considering that most areas of the province is landslide-prone.
The plan also ensures the availability of resources of each agency that can be used during disaster. A flow chart on what to do during landslide emergency is also included in the plan. (PIA-Caraga)
) wala akong paki sau.. better na kilalanin mo muna si atty docdoc. kung mas BETTER ka sa knya then go… may karapatan kang siraan xa.. pero kung hindi… MANAHIMIK KA NALANG!
