From make-believe to real life

IT WAS 1994 when I and my fellow Negrenses got an opportunity to listen to the lecture of

Dr. Mathis Wackernagel and his mentor Prof. Bill Reese on his ecological footprints at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

That time, Wackernagel just got his PHD there in community and regional planning. There, as his doctoral dissertation under Professor William Rees, he created with Professor Rees the ecological footprint concept and developed the methodology

I was part of an environmental street theater exchange program between the Philippines and Canada. And that meeting at the University of

British Columbia in Vancouver was part of our research on Canadian and Negrense ecological issues.

According to Wackernagel’s studies, no one is sure exactly how many people the earth can support. However, to his parameters, the world would need three earths to support the world’s population if the target was to attain an average Canadian’s lifestyle.

So we touched on how humankind has cause extinction of a species through overharvesting, pollution, habitat destruction, introduction of invasive species (such as new predators and food competitors), overhunting, and other influences. Explosive, unsustainable human population growth is an essential cause of the extinction crisis.

As street performers, we studied these scientific, quite technical—and yes, boring—issues. We had to translate them into theater art that our target audience can relate into their daily lives, using folklore to drive home the message.

The Filipinos suggested the hideous mythical creature “Aswang.” But to North American ears, the word conjured up a beautiful, graceful “swan.” So we had to scrap it.

Finally, Filipinos and Canadians agreed to make our star Big Foot, based on the North American folklore, Bigfoot or Sasquatch are said to be hairy, upright-walking, ape-like creatures that live in the wilderness and leave footprints. That comes close to “Kapre” which comes close to the hideous creature of environmental degradation of deforestation, overfishing, greenhouse pollution.

Then came the road shows that took us from the Sagay Marine Reserve to various communities in British Columbia and Alberta.

On hindsight, though, how much was the environmental impact? Well, in my case, I still remember those days and how our international cooperation raised my awareness not only of domestic and national, and global environmental issues.

For me, I translated make-believe theater performances into real-life natural resource conservationist. I pioneered in community forestry as a program manager, meshing state policy issues which I learned to integrate in the mountain farming grassroots of the Northern Negros and Mt Kanlaon Natural Parks.*