KABAYAN, BENGUET?Determined to save Mt. Pulag?s mossy forests and threatened species from further destruction, environment officials visited one of the coldest upland villages here on Friday to convince indigenous communities not to convert forests into vegetable gardens.

But the consultation with residents of Barangay Ballay, held near Lake Tabeyo, one of the trails leading to Mt. Pulag?s peak, has caught the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in a bind?the assertion of the government?s right to preserve forest lands against the people?s determination to farm since it was their only means of livelihood.

Emerita Albas, Mt. Pulag park superintendent, said the dilemma might compel the DENR to take the option it least wanted?sue the farmers and assert the government proclamation that Mt. Pulag is off limits to private ownership.

?If we plot the area covered by the presidential proclamation to the letter, almost all farms would be found within the protected boundaries,? Albas said.

But as a matter of policy, the DENR has yet to pursue its bid to reclaim the encroached forests based on legal documents, Albas said.

This is because the government wants to forge an alliance with the communities on how to use and manage the forests wisely, she said.

The late former President Corazon Aquino issued Proclamation No. 75 on Feb. 27, 1987, which declared Mt. Pulag as a national park.

Pulag, the country?s second highest peak at 2,992 meters above sea level, covers 11,500 hectares that straddle Ifugao, Nueva Vizcaya and Benguet.

The DENR and other government representatives came here last week to talk to more than 100 people in the village who braved the cold to gather at Lake Tabeyo, estimated to be more than 2,500 meters above sea level.

Francis Basali, DENR Cordillera planning officer, said the areas devoted to agriculture just below the mossy forests must not expand anymore.

He said the DENR would soon establish a buffer zone to delineate the extent of the mossy forests from the areas already planted with vegetables.

But this did not sit well with members of the community, who said the government must provide alternative means of livelihood to discourage them from cutting more trees to give way to vegetable farms.

Sario Minas, Ballay village chair, said many of those with farms near the mossy forests have lived there for many years.

They would protest if their farms were retrieved in the name of preserving the park, he said.

Ballay is home to 531 families (2,800 people), mostly farmers, Minas said.

Minas agreed to the DENR plan to conduct a comprehensive survey next year on areas believed to have been encroached and agree on common measures on how to protect them.

Alfredo Pilay, a farmer, said he bought his farm, which is within the forest, ?from someone else a long time ago.?

He said he may not have the documents to prove the ownership but he said he has the right to claim ownership based on good faith.

?It?s the only property my children could inherit from me,? Pilay, 67, said.

Noel Abelardo, also a farmer, said the mossy forests near Mt. Pulag did not have markers to warn farmers not to go beyond.