by Lovely A. Carillo
DAVAO City and its environs have long been blessed with natural resources and bountiful harvests of fruits, flowers and agricultural products from the rich, fertile soil while Dabawenyos enjoy swimming in the fringes of Davao Gulf and take pride in their potable water supply said to be second best in the world, next only to that of The Netherlands.
No wonder Dabawenyos are grateful to Mother Nature for all her bounty.
The celebration of the 24th Kadayawan sa Davao this week, however, is not merely a thanksgiving festival for all these blessings. It also helps instills in everyone, locals and visitors alike, an awareness of the environment from another point of view: Its continuing degradation. Thus, this year’s theme “Nahiusang Katawhan Nakigdait sa Kalibutan” also means “One People in Communion with the Earth.” One cannot say it better than that.
“The global climate change problem is a universal issue, and we can only do so much to make our people aware of the urgency of this environmental crisis,” city tourism office chief Rizal Giovanni Aportadera said. More important than making the people aware of the extent of the problem, he said, is letting them know what we can do to save Davao’s environment.
Seriousness
Even President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, in her visit to the city last July, admitted the seriousness of climate change and said if the symptoms are not mitigated, the world can lose cities, and it is sad to say that this would include cities in the Philippines.
Being merely aware of the seriousness of the problem is not an excuse to let nature take its own course, he said.
The Kadayawan articulates the concerns of the Dabawenyos, best expressed by Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte, over the issue of climate change.
Duterte said that with global warming and climate change as a very real phenomenon now, “we need to look to our indigenous peoples for wisdom and guidance as they have always been respectful towards their relationship with the Earth.”
“As nature teaches us everyday, all things and beings are interrelated and interconnected,” he said.
Aportadera said the fact that Davao can still boast of a good harvest of its marine, fruit and vegetables and other resources is proof that Davao is still clean and green. However, the problem is how long can Davao maintain this ideal condition.
“Majority of us are aware of the growing problem of global warming because we can already feel it with the way our weather condition is behaving,” he said. “Days are getting hotter, but it can rain all of a sudden. Are we willing to go the extra mile?”
Advocacy
Aportadera added that every effort to combat the effects of global warming counts, and the Kadayawan is the perfect way to launch that advocacy. The abundance of flora and fauna in our city tells the world that Davao still has the capacity to protect its environment.
“This is the message that we want to bring to the world, not just for this Kadayawan celebration,” he said.
Davao City’s reputation of having the world’s second best sources of potable water may not remain true for long, considering that the city is faced with many environmental challenges that threaten its watersheds.
The mushrooming of subdivisions in the city and the increasing number of industries could also be expected to exact a heavy toll on Davao’s environment. Add to that the increasing demand for energy and water due to an increasing population, and we have in our hands the potential for disaster that future generations of Dabawenyos will inherit.
Measures
This early the Davao City Council has approved measures to protect the environment. One such ordinance aimed at protecting Mother Nature is the Ordinance establishing three MPAs, or marine protected areas in the coastal barangays of the city.
The ordinance is expected to protect the city’s marine resources, particularly in areas where endangered turtles are nesting and where the whale sharks are regularly seen. The city council’s environment committee chair, Leo Avila, said these “no-take-zones” prohibit fishing and related activities to keep the breeding areas undisturbed, and help preserve Davao Gulf’s biodiversity.
There is also the Davao City Watershed Code, which is perhaps the only thing shielding the city’s watersheds from further degradation. The Code has identified at least 34,254 hectares as conservation areas, and at least 12,240 hectares of forest areas excluded from agricultural exploitation.
Under the Code, conservation areas are prohibited from being converted into commercial or agricultural use. Hunting, water drilling and other agricultural activities in the declared conservation areas are also punishable by law.
Danger
There is, however, a danger of the Code being amended to accommodate the putting up of a Tamugan hydropower project by Hedcor, presently a subject of controversy. Majority of the councilors are reportedly against the amendment of the Code.
Councilor Rachel Zozobrado earlier appealed to her colleagues spare the Code from amendment in order to protect the city’s watershed. Zozobrado said the reasons behind the approval of the Code still exist, so there is no need to amend the ordinance.
Amid all these environmental issues, the City of Davao has so far managed to protect its resources and its environs. But, for how long? Time may be running out.
