Bulldozing Threatens Mt. Pulag Ecosystem 

Mt. Pulag’s unique mountain ecosystem that covers 11,500 hectares and serves as one of the last frontiers of our natural watersheds is in a state of danger.  

BY JOHNNY FIALEN
Northern Dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat.com

BAGUIO CITY – Located at the border of the Benguet and Ifugao provinces in northern Philippines, Mt. Pulag is the second highest peak in the country, with a height of 8,000 ft. above sea level. It is also one of the favorite destinations of mountaineers.

Bulldozing activities on the mountain –part of the historic Cordillera ranges - usually for road building purposes and funded by government institutions, are often done without securing Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). These pose a hazard to the vast biodiversity of Mt. Pulag National Park that includes rare species of plants and animals. 

According to Emirita Tamiray, Protected Area System Unit (PASU) representative, most of the government-funded bulldozing activities in the area pass through the mossy forest that took nature a hundred years or even centuries to develop.

“It is the responsibility of the proponents to conduct first an impact study from the microscopic to the macroscopic level to account the biological effects of the project. These projects are being implemented without consultation with the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) which is the policy making body in the park,” Tamiray added.

Endemic plants and animals affected

Tamiray said that many unknown species are found in the national park, all of which are being preserved through “indicator specie.” This system monitors the biodiversity.

For instance, the presence of Luzon water starp (which is endemic or could only be found in the Philippines) indicates clean water.  These birds’ disappearance signals that the water in the park is in danger and is unsafe for visitors to drink.

“We have also the taxo sumutrana, believed to be an anti-tumor resource extracted by an American scientist before. We have also endemic plants like the oak tress, wild orchids, pitcher plants, smallest bamboo and many medicinal plants that seldom grow in other areas of the country,” Tamiray added.

Also found in the park are wild deer, wild pigs and giant cloud rats.

Siltation

People remain clueless about the upland bulldozing activities which cause siltation in low-lying communities.

Three major dams are reportedly to be affected by siltation: Ambuclao, Binga, and San Roque which are supposed to be sources of water and electricity in Luzon.  Even Ba-ay River, the cleanest river in Benguet, is also being polluted by the bulldozing project.

Many residents in the affected upland and downstream communities are expected to conduct protest actions because of the effects of bulldozing on their livelihood like gold panning, fishing in the river banks, and most especially on their water sources and agriculture.

Preventive measures

The Mt. Pulag protected area management board passed a resolution institutionalizing the Mt. Pulag Indigenous Tour Guide Association (MPITGA), a community-based organization to report all illegal activities to the management at Bokod, Benguet, which is located at the foot of Mt. Pulag.

“We also made an agreement with the community members to help the four contractual staff of PASU in park visitor surveillance, garbage inspection, registration and the enforcement of the park rules and regulation with the help of PAMB and the Community Environment and Natural Resource Office (CENRO),” Tamiray said. 

She added that PASU is concentrating on visitors management because “it is the life blood of the park, and it is the one financing the PAMB operation and, of course, the contractual staff.”

Her staff, however, is doubtful about filing cases against the persons conducting the bulldozing activities because “it never solved the problem on the premise that it is a game of big guys at the expense of the forest rangers... and we should also balance social services and conservation.”

Call to support Mt. Pulag

Tamiray urges the different concerned government agencies like the DENR, Department of Agrarian Reform, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and the Local Government Units to take a common stand on the preservation of Mt. Pulag before it loses large tracks of land.

The indigenous communities concerned, she concluded, should also be given responsibility to maintain, develop, and conserve these areas with the full and effective assistance from the government agencies.  Northern Dispatch / Posted by Bulatlat.com

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