CEBU CITY – A few years ago, a 71-hectare area in Cebu City’s mountain village of Pung-ol Sibugay had zero forest cover as people had cut down trees so they could plant crops and flowers.

Birds were nowhere to be found while other wildlife, except snakes and rats, had abandoned the place.

Now, it is a project site for a managed watershed development as it is being transformed into the Kan-irag Nature Park.

About 100 exotic and native trees have emerged, while 27 bird species have started coming back, according to Gil Madronero, design consultant of the project. An inventory of both flora and fauna has yet to be completed, however, although work has started on 20 hectares of the park.

Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), owner of the property, recognized the need for cooperation among stakeholders to implement the project conceptualized three years ago. It partnered with nongovernment organizations to form the Ayala Heights Nature Park Foundation Inc., which is tasked with the nature park’s management and operations.

Aside from ALI, the foundation members are Cebu Holdings Inc. (CHI), Cebu Uniting for Sustainable Water (CUSW), Soil and Water Conservation Foundation (SWCF), and the University of San Carlos Water Resource Center.

Showcase

ALI senior vice president Emilio J. Tumbocon said that realizing the vision of a nature park was a challenge for the company.

“We recognize the significance of the property to Cebu’s water supply, and the ecosystem as a whole. We intend this to be a showcase of biodiversity, an area of learning and a model for eco-tourism in an environmentally protected area,” Tumbocon said during the park’s inauguration on Wednesday.

The first of its kind in Cebu, the project will provide educational and environmental experiences in watershed management and biodiversity. It will include enhancement of indigenous flora to create the natural environment and encourage the increase of animal wildlife.

It will also serve as a natural science laboratory for the community to appreciate and learn more about Nature.

SWCF executive director William G. Granert cited the need for more food plants and trees so that more wildlife would return.

Madronero said trees harmful to the wildlife, like the poisonous gmelina, were being replaced with native ones, such as the endemic Cebu cinnamon, an aromatic and therapeutic tree.

The park will also cater to bird watchers, especially if the number of bird species would increase, Granert said. Among the species already seen are the emerald pigeon, grass owls, jungle fowl, black-naped oriole and the reddish cuckoo dove.

Watershed

The nature park is part of a 163-hectare property in the city’s uplands, which was acquired by CHI, an ALI subsidiary.

CHI had planned to build a golf course there as part of the Ayala Heights development in 2000. But the company decided not to pursue the project when it learned that the place is part of the Kotkot-Lusaran watershed, a vital source of water for Cebu.

It came up instead with a new development plan to conform with its being an integral part of the watershed.

The task was not easy, however, as CHI had to convince more than 20 families to leave the place. Ver de la Cerna, head of CHI corporate communications, community relations and property management division, recalled that it took them five years to persuade the families to leave.

De la Cerna said the company had to gain the trust of the families before they recognized the importance of protecting the watershed.

Criselda Cinco, 37, said her family had planted corn and other crops in the park. She now works part-time as a food handler at the park while her husband, Rubenic, 47, does carpentry. Nine other local women trained as food handlers.

Cinco said her husband and other local occupants built the park structures from materials taken from the park, such as cogon grass for roofing, stones for walls, and lumber from trees.

A work in progress

For Ryan Ompad, 20, who hails from Pung-ol Sibugay, the park’s development has become a source of pride for him and other residents of the five surrounding villages.

Ompad and nine other students from Pung-ol Sibugay, Malubog, Budlaan and Sirao trained as tour guides.

The nature park remains a work in progress, according to ALI officials. “There are still a lot of things to do as we try to restore the native ecosystem in the area,” said Francis O. Monera, ALI vice president.

The foundation plans to build a nature center, where students and scientists could conduct in-depth studies on the park’s ecosystem.

“This is our commitment to the community – our stake to improve our environment in a project that is sustainable for now and for the future,” Tumbocon said.