Agriculture.ph Blog

SAN JOSE, Occidental Mindoro – There are no roads, only foot trails and bancas to reach Ilin and Ambulong, two of the three islands off San Jose town in Occidental Mindoro.

With their rich and unique biodiversity, Ilin and Ambulong have been chosen by the Mindoro Biodiversity Conservation Foundation Inc. (MBCFI) as sites for its efforts to save the vanishing Philippine Teak, locally known as “malabayabas.”

Despite strong rain, schoolchildren and residents have been planting the native trees in the two islands since July. On Aug. 20 and Aug. 26, the islanders planted more trees—proving that with genuine community organizing and sincere project management, conservation of the species is a “mission possible.”

As they eased the seedlings from the recovery chambers, nursery technicians Emmanuel Lagrada and Eljesovelt Orsos quipped, “Now we realize that it is really so easy to destroy the forest but so hard to restore it.”

Dr. Emelina Mandia, team leader of the conservation project, estimated that 2,500 propagules of the native trees had been planted within the so-called biological corridor, a strip of forest connecting the remaining highly fragmented teak forests on the islands.

Mandia, a Biology professor at De La Salle University (DLSU)-Manila and founding member of the MBCFI, said the seedlings came from a nursery established by the foundation in September last year.

The Philippine Teak is found only in San Juan and Lobo towns in Batangas, and in Ilin and Ambulong, she said. It is considered an endangered species by the International Union on the Conservation of Nature and has been declared the Philippines’ flagship species for tree conservation.

The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of the United Kingdom, through the Flora and Fauna International Flagship Species Fund, has provided program funding for 15 months.

Global warming defense

According to Mandia, only a few but highly scattered population of the vanishing Philippine Teak have remained due to logging and habitat destruction. “Its wood was a major material in the construction of Philippine railroads,” she said.

But the trees are not being planted to meet construction needs but to restore the habitat and population of the threatened flora and fauna and as food and shelter for local birds and mammals, Mandia explained.

“More stable forests mean continuous supply of fresh water, cooler surroundings, more silt-free rivers and seas and better protection from calamities while maintaining stable carbon sinks, our best defense against global warming,” she said.

She emphasized the need for not simply planting the trees but for nurturing them. “They are like kids that need our care before they could make it on their own.”

The best people to make this possible are the islanders of Ilin and Ambulong themselves, the natural caregivers of the Philippine Teak.

“At first, I thought this conservation project was too ambitious to win the cooperation of the people, especially because it ran counter to their source of livelihood,” said community organizer Rolando “Boy” Ilustre, who is also an MBCFI member.

Charcoal making is the main source of livelihood of the islanders. After a few weeks of convincing them, and with regular discussions in local radio programs, Malabayabas became a byword. Ilustre is now even being addressed as “Mr. Malabayabas.”

Eight barangays have passed resolutions to ban tree-cutting and fire-making in the remaining teak forests, while others are enacting similar measures, Ilustre said.

He organized a conservation group, “Bukluran para sa Punong Malabayabas sa Isla ng Ilin at Ambulong,” to serve as his local partners.

“At least 250 elementary and high school students in three barangays have participated in the tree-planting activities,” said Eleuterio Orsos, president of Bukluran and chair of Barangay Ipil.

Students, together with their parents, planted their seedlings.

Ilustre commended the all-out support of the village officials, especially barangay chair Adel Declito of Iling Proper, who helped him organize in the community.

Aside from Bukluran members, barangay officials of both islands, landowners, members of the Rotary Club of San Jose-Tamaraw, Philippine National Red Cross, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Philippine National Police Mobile Group and the Ilin Value-Added Management of Forest Services helped in the tree-planting activities.

“What is helping us most is perhaps the people’s own observation of their barren lands, the obvious decline of plant and animal life, the stronger typhoons and prolonged drought hitting them,” said Ilustre.

Biological corridor

The MBCFI will entrust a good number of the native trees to every school in Ilin and Ambulong to be planted and nurtured along the biological corridor.

In June and September last year, it organized assemblies among the local partners. In April and July this year, it conducted seminars on basic ecology and island dynamics.

Students and some faculty members of the DLSU-Manila have also been actively involved in the conservation efforts by sponsoring the trees planted by the island students.

A unique feature of the project is the local cooperative put up by the foundation in January to sustain the conservation efforts. At first, the cooperative was composed of Bukluran members, but now, it is open to non-islanders.

Each capital share of the members has a corresponding number of trees that will be obtained from the project’s nursery and planted.

Plans are also afoot for the microfinancing of selected alternative livelihood projects of the cooperative members.

IN THE KNOW

By Cyril L. Bonabente, Inquirer Research

PHILIPPINE Teak (scientific name: Tectona philippinensis) is an endangered tree found only in Batangas and Mindoro. (It is also found on Mt. Banahaw. Ed) The small to medium-sized tree has a flaky bark and bears light purple flowers. It produces hardwood timber that is used for firewood and construction.

Philippine Teak is threatened by the destruction of its habitat and over-exploitation for timber. It also does not help that the timber of immature trees is preferred to that of mature trees. Because fewer trees reach reproductive age, the survival of the specie is endangered.

Source: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/sosy/sosy/view_article.php?article_id=89909

By Madonna Virola
Inquirer

Posted date: September 21, 2007