Biodiversity issues

Growing up in the ’60s, we had a simple lifestyle that was definitely more in harmony with nature. We would wake up to the lively chirping of the birds and the sunlight flooding our windows. Trees surrounded our homes, together with the rich biodiversity—meaning “a variety of animals, plants, their habitats and their genes” (IUCN)— that they were hosts to.

Summer break would find the kids in the neighborhood busy making floral bouquets for the daily Flores de Mayo rites. There was no problem in sourcing the now-rarely-seen sampaguita, kalachuchi, roses and the fragrant rosal as these were abundantly grown in the backyard, without the dangerous chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Composting was widely practiced. In our storehouse of memories, the month of May never failed in giving us a colossal backdrop and interplay of colorful flowers of different sizes and shapes.

Our games were done outdoors, which inevitably connected us with nature.  We were the sellers/buyers in our “tinda tinda” of real fruits and vegetables that were also homegrown. We played siatong, lambihaw, buwan buwan and luksong tinik,” which required ample space in the relatively less sparse community we had then. We were into cooking sweet tamarind and had picnics in the hills, with home-cooked food and, at times, a basketful of manzanitas, guavas, lomboy (duhat) and sineguelas plucked from the trees along the way, for our baon. Then the clean, flowing and biologically diverse Guadalupe River was a special place, as we fearlessly traversed it in going to and from our favorite picnic grounds.

Not only did we have strong ties with playmates and benefitted from nature’s rich resources, our activities did not have the slightest bit of environmental impact. The obnoxious plastics were not as widely used then as now. We certainly did not envision a world enveloped by concrete, plastic and chemicals that we now consider to be “normal” and have gotten used to, including their polluting effects. The modern lifestyles of instant food, disposable but nonbiodegradable sachets, polluting industries and vehicles and the so-called “developmental activities” including the overexploitation of natural resources caused habitats and species of animals and plants to be vanquished or their existence vastly threatened. Record-breaking cases of dengue are now a reality. No thanks to the loss of predators for the mosquito carriers, such as the frogs and the bats.

Indeed, tremendous destruction of biodiversity is taking place locally and globally, and pushing us into edge of self-destruction. How can we have livelihood and full human development, including well-being, without the services that biodiversity has generously given us?

Indeed, we are facing a “biodiversity crisis” of unprecedented scale. It is estimated that the species extinction rate is between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than it would naturally be. (www.iucn.org/what/tpas/biodiversity/)

Consider these startling facts: “60 percent of the world’s ecosystems have been degraded. Fifty percent of the world’s forests are gone. Sixty-seven percent  of the world’s wetlands are gone. About 1.5 billion hectares of ocean floor habitats are destroyed every year. Furthermore, “25 percent of mammals, 31 percent of reptiles and 33 percent of amphibians are threatened with extinction.” (www.earthrangers.com/bbtw/about.html).

Without their habitats, how can these plants and animals survive? Without biodiversity, how can people survive?

The last Asean Summit acknowledged the food and water crisis the world is facing. Yet unsustainable programs such as offshore drilling, mining and coal operation, are still prioritized in the  Philippines, a megadiversity country, but  infamous as the hottest of the hot spots of habitat and species loss and destruction in the world.

DOE even announced the offshore road show for oil and gas. The Aquino administration disappointingly looks the other way when it comes to a genuine pursuit to our commitments to sustainable development and the international conventions, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Coral Triangle Initiative Declaration, to protect our unique and threatened heritage, our biodiversity and our coral reefs. What is urgently required is a holistic approach in the conservation of our natural heritage—from “ridge to reef.”

Can biodiversity and the farmers,  fisherfolk and the people still absorb the further damages inflicted by such projects, amid the variety of other crises we are subjected to such as climate change and corruption?

To increase the understanding of the public and the public officials on issues, problems and gaps related to biodiversity, the UN proclaimed May 22 as the  International Day for Biological Diversity with the theme “Forest Biodiversity.” This is in line with the declaration of the year 2011 as the International Year of the Forests.

Yesterday, the Cebu City government, through the office of Councilor Nida Cabrera,  and its partners from civil society and private sector, spearheaded the planting of trees in the site where the Cebu City Zoo is located.  This is the second time in two months that the city government organized tree stewardship events.

Hopefully, this  is going to be done frequently since massive reforestation and conservation of our natural resources are  badly needed in Cebu, which has a forest cover of less than 1 percent. Tabunan Forests is one such remaining forested area in Cebu. It is in this place where the once-thought-as-extinct Cebu flowerpecker, endemic in Cebu, was sighted, in 1992. The bird, listed as critically endangered, is considered the world’s “icon of biodiversity”. (Cebu Daily News, Feb. 8, 2001)

We take this opportunity to salute the numerous “unsung” forest heroes all over the world who selflessly dedicate and sacrifice their lives, safety and their family so that our forests and biodiversity are sustainably managed and protected. May your tribe increase.