God’s own country

I write this article with a heavy heart and mixed emotions as it seems that everything we have advocated and done in conserving the environment seems to ebb.

For one our coral reefs were reported in today’s Business Mirror paper on a biodiversity meeting last week that we no longer have excellent coral reefs. Most of them are dying or dead and we are at the center of the coral triangle.

Don’t they know by now that coral reefs and mangrove swamps are the breeding grounds of marine species?

Is that why we have a fish catch shortage? And have to import our fish.

In the 1970s we have worked with BFAR-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, PAWB- Parks and Wildlife Bureau now the Biodiversity Management Center and the DENR- Department of Environment and Natural Resources. As well as the UP Marine Science Center then and now an Institute. We had a lot of things done including the ban of Philippine Coral exports to the United States and having marine protected areas.

During that time our forest were pristine protecting our mountains, rivers and streams. And yes we had marine and terrestrial biodiversity until we became known as a mega-biodiversity Country in danger and words like conservation and sustainable development were owned by the extractive industries and private sectors.

It saddens me to know as we still dive to document and photograph our coral colonies that the state is that bad. What gets me mad is that what have they done?

At the same token we are suffering from a food shortage and high inflation. A country so rich in agriculture and natural resources and we have no rice? Were have all the flowers gone? Are these priorities of the government and private sector to concrete every development with cement?

I ask were is the DENR and the government in all this? Are we waiting for the perfect storm? I am frightened and we all should be and take action if no one else does.

What makes it worse is that we have been victims of to many typhoon Yolanda’s and have suffered enough and yet another super typhoon is threatening to wrought damage to our beautiful country and people in the wake of all that is happening. what happened to the climate talks are they just trading carbon?

To quote a good friend Sunita Narain “but have we learnt anything from the hell that overtook Gods own country? – ANTONIO M. CLAPAROLS, President Ecological Society of the Philippines IUCN-Member IUCN-CEESP