Forest fed Abra folk after 1990 earthquake

BAGUIO CITY—In Abra, some good came out of the devastation that the July 16, 1990, earthquake brought to the Cordillera region.

The Masadiit people of Bucloc town strengthened their “lapat,” an indigenous forest management system, after the 1990 earthquake struck their communities, according to the book “Guardian of the Forest, Stewards of the Land.”

The impact of the 7.7-magnitude earthquake was felt in the towns of Bucloc, Daguioman, Boliney and Sallapadan, after the ground shaking destroyed rice fields and crops, eroded mountains and silted rivers and tributaries.

While the devastation in these towns resulted in food scarcity, the forest helped sustain the people during those trying times.

But to keep the forest thriving to replenish what was consumed, the Masadiit people reinforced lapat’s cultural rituals, lore and customs from which they derive systems for environmental protection and conservation, and resource use.

Harvesting and use of forest resources have been governed by indigenous laws enforced by elders.

The book also discusses the “muyung” system in Ifugao province, the “lakon” in Mountain Province, the “imongin” in Kalinga province, the “chontog” in Benguet province and Apayao’s version of “lapat.”

Loinaz Dulawan, executive director of Cordillera Administrative Region Association of State Universities and Colleges (Carasuc), said the book is meant to do an inventory and describe the Cordillera’s indigenous knowledge regarding environmental protection.

By keeping a record of these practices, the book’s authors hope upland traditions would be conserved and used to address climate change.

The book is a joint project of Sen. Loren Legarda, the State Universities and Colleges of the Cordillera Administrative Region Research and Development Consortium (Succarrdec) and Carasuc.

Dulawan said the book offers an account of how traditions helped maintain and govern the upland environment. It will also help educate Cordillerans about their heritage and encourage them to adopt these practices.

Records from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) showed that the remaining forest cover in the Cordillera spans 665,603 hectares, down from 1,553,599 ha of its original forest areas.

Abra’s forest, the DENR said, spans 98,790 ha; Ifugao, 72,955 ha; Kalinga, 84,949 ha; Mountain Province, 75,733 ha; Apayao, 232,199 ha; and Benguet, 100,977 ha.

Ifugao Rep. Teodoro Baguilat Jr. said his province’s muyung (communal forest) continues to be nurtured by farmers who till the province’s rice terraces.

Being the eldest of the Baguilats in his generation, the lawmaker said he is responsible for protecting their clan’s muyung so it could be passed down to their children.

The Ifugao are more clannish than communal, Baguilat said, so clans, not villages, build and tend their muyung.

He said the muyung serves as the clan’s source of wood and other forest products. The muyung, he added, is also the clan’s source of livelihood because some families have planted coffee, rattan and fruit trees for commercial use.

“I planted rubber trees. But before me, my father planted mango trees,” he said.

Baguilat said planting different trees is essential to the muyung because it keeps the mountain biodiversity alive. “It has to provide water, food, lumber and be a source of income. So we have to look for various plants, and even animals, to propagate in the muyung,” he said.