Post by seacid on Jul 7, 2007 17:22:10 GMT 8
Mt. Guiting-Guiting comes under threat
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www.petitiononline.com/wayamina/petition.html
------------------------------------------------------------
(Taken from the Manila Bulletin website)
The last frontier
Mt. Guiting-Guiting comes under threat
By FR. RAYMUN J. FESTIN
The Philippines is about to lose one of its last tropical rainforests.
It is immeasurably small compared to the Amazon behemoth of Brazil. It is
even diminutive compared to the mountain ranges of Sierra Madre. But this
one is no ordinary rainforest. It is an impressive, triangular, and
multi-dimensional chain of mountains sitting in an exotic paradise called
Sibuyan, one of the islands that comprise the province of Romblon.
Mt. Guiting-Guiting is unique for its precipitous, and serrated terrains
which render it almost impervious to hikers and loggers alike. Home to the
inestimable diversity of fauna and flora, trees, birds, insects, and
animals, it is acknowledged as the densest rainforest in the world. No less
than 1,551 hardwood trees are contained in one hectare.
This rainforest has been declared Natural Park in 1996 by President Ramos.
It is even considered one of the eight wonders of this benighted
archipelago. Mountain climbers who scale the heights of Mt. Guiting-Guiting
are awed by the wild beauty of orchids, the variety of multihued birds, and
the intimidating presence of enormous trees—like the Hopea fosworthyi
(Dalingdingan) trees—whose girth cannot be circumscribed by the combined
length of the puny arms of Romblon's congressman, governor, and
vice-governor. The smallest bats in the world—Sibuyan Pygmy Fruitbats—are
found in the caves of the rainforest. Some years back, one Swiss
entomologist was astonished to discover six previously unknown tropical
insects.
Such is the grandeur of Mt. Guiting-Guiting that when one contemplates its
awesome existence, one cannot but feel a sense of the sublime and the
sacred. Viewed from afar in the afterglow, it is like a serene, slumbering
Colossus clothed with blue mist and crowned with clouds. In the tranquil
moments of the evening, the majestic form of Mt. Guiting–Guiting is
silhouetted by the glow of the full moon against the silverly surface of the
sea.
ENDANGERED
Mt. Guiting-Guiting—which rises to 2,057 meters above sea level—is now under
the grave threat of mechanized mining. The jagged terrains of the rainforest
pose a formidable challenge to a full–scale logging. But they are extremely
vulnerable to the massive operation of modern quarrying – slicing, digging,
carving, and moving of huge amount of soil in the process of extracting
minerals from the bowels of the earth.
Mt. Guiting-Guiting is known to hold huge amount of nickel, gold, and other
minerals in its womb. Small wonder that, after Philippine laws on mining
were liberalized, greedy capitalists and government officials are salivating
like canines over the prospect of laying hand on the boundless wealth of the
rainforest. As of this writing, the government has already given its
go-signal to mining companies to start their activities in a foreseeable
future. Although the actual excavation is yet to commence, and although the
majority of the inhabitants of Sibuyan Island is strongly opposing the move
to mine Mt. Guiting-Guiting, the minions of mining companies are already
busy laying out their stratagems.
The Philippines is known for its wealth in natural resources and minerals
like gold, copper, nickel, etc and the mining industry offers the fairest
hope of lifting the people from the morass of poverty and mismanagement. It
certainly provides jobs and other income generating opportunities for the
people.
But the problem is that mining is a complicated and tricky business. Mainly
motivated by money and profit, mining companies are particularly susceptible
to the pressures and temptations of our corrupt body-politic. They can
easily resort to the bad habits and shady deals being perpetrated by corrupt
public officials.
Some mining companies are on hand to ''allay'' the fears of the Sibuyanons.
In broad terms, they tell the people that their geologists and mining
engineers would see to it that mining excavations would be done
properly—with a gentle regard to the rainforest.
Furthermore, they say that what is to be mined is just a small portion
outside the guarded preserve of the rainforest. The 15,000 square hectares
of what is called Mt. Guiting-Guiting proper will remain inviolate. Only
those wooded "hills" in the village of Taclobo will be mined.
What they are not telling the people of Sibuyan is that mining Mt.
Guiting-Guiting is an entirely different and complex case. Unlike mining in
a level terrain with only undergrowth and few trees to be cleared,
extracting nickel from its bowels will involve the cutting of hundreds of
thousands of trees, the displacement of various kinds of fowls, birds, and
insects, the destruction of innumerable species of flora and fauna, and the
turning over of millions of cubic tons of soil.
The "hills" being referred to by the mining companies can actually be
considered forested mountains because they rise up to no less than 130
meters in height. And we are not talking of just one or two so-called
"hills." We are dealing here with a long chain of "hills"—thickly wooded,
wonderfully formed by Nature, and inextricably linked with the mountains at
the center.
'GIANT FOOT'
Imagine Mt. Guiting-Guiting as a giant foot. Those so-called "hills" are
like toes serving as lateral support of Mt. Guiting-Guiting. When the
bulldozers start their engines, they will first chomp bit by bit the toes,
and then move upwards biting and chewing larger chunks. It is literally
slicing, carving, and moving mountains and hills. Once the lower parts of
Mt. Guiting-Guiting give way, the chain of mountains at its epicenter will
be destabilized sooner or later; and science can neither anticipate nor
calculate the devastation it will wreak on the people living in the littoral
areas.
For millions of years, Mt. Guiting-Guiting—a masterpiece of divine
architecture—has been sitting in its primeval abode long before mortals
reached the shores of Sibuyan; and, if left alone in its solitude, will
outlast a thousand generations of human beings. Its long existence and
enthralling beauty should remind us that it is a hallowed place that
deserves our rapture and reverence. It should instill in us a humble thought
that there are forces of nature far greater than us, and that we are not the
rightful owners of, but only strangers in the land we temporarily inhabit.
Mt. Guiting-Guiting is a sacred place. It does not belong to this present
generation, nor to any other. Our ancestors taught us not to touch the
sacred but to reverence it as a constant reminder that we are mere ephemeral
creatures. Mt. Guiting-Guiting is a hallowed ground because it gives life.
And here we are—trying to obliterate the life-giving Mother Earth that
sustains our very existence. How tragic.
(Contact the author through rayfes@yahoo.com)
Sign the online petition, it may lead to something productive
www.petitiononline.com/wayamina/petition.html
------------------------------------------------------------
(Taken from the Manila Bulletin website)
The last frontier
Mt. Guiting-Guiting comes under threat
By FR. RAYMUN J. FESTIN
The Philippines is about to lose one of its last tropical rainforests.
It is immeasurably small compared to the Amazon behemoth of Brazil. It is
even diminutive compared to the mountain ranges of Sierra Madre. But this
one is no ordinary rainforest. It is an impressive, triangular, and
multi-dimensional chain of mountains sitting in an exotic paradise called
Sibuyan, one of the islands that comprise the province of Romblon.
Mt. Guiting-Guiting is unique for its precipitous, and serrated terrains
which render it almost impervious to hikers and loggers alike. Home to the
inestimable diversity of fauna and flora, trees, birds, insects, and
animals, it is acknowledged as the densest rainforest in the world. No less
than 1,551 hardwood trees are contained in one hectare.
This rainforest has been declared Natural Park in 1996 by President Ramos.
It is even considered one of the eight wonders of this benighted
archipelago. Mountain climbers who scale the heights of Mt. Guiting-Guiting
are awed by the wild beauty of orchids, the variety of multihued birds, and
the intimidating presence of enormous trees—like the Hopea fosworthyi
(Dalingdingan) trees—whose girth cannot be circumscribed by the combined
length of the puny arms of Romblon's congressman, governor, and
vice-governor. The smallest bats in the world—Sibuyan Pygmy Fruitbats—are
found in the caves of the rainforest. Some years back, one Swiss
entomologist was astonished to discover six previously unknown tropical
insects.
Such is the grandeur of Mt. Guiting-Guiting that when one contemplates its
awesome existence, one cannot but feel a sense of the sublime and the
sacred. Viewed from afar in the afterglow, it is like a serene, slumbering
Colossus clothed with blue mist and crowned with clouds. In the tranquil
moments of the evening, the majestic form of Mt. Guiting–Guiting is
silhouetted by the glow of the full moon against the silverly surface of the
sea.
ENDANGERED
Mt. Guiting-Guiting—which rises to 2,057 meters above sea level—is now under
the grave threat of mechanized mining. The jagged terrains of the rainforest
pose a formidable challenge to a full–scale logging. But they are extremely
vulnerable to the massive operation of modern quarrying – slicing, digging,
carving, and moving of huge amount of soil in the process of extracting
minerals from the bowels of the earth.
Mt. Guiting-Guiting is known to hold huge amount of nickel, gold, and other
minerals in its womb. Small wonder that, after Philippine laws on mining
were liberalized, greedy capitalists and government officials are salivating
like canines over the prospect of laying hand on the boundless wealth of the
rainforest. As of this writing, the government has already given its
go-signal to mining companies to start their activities in a foreseeable
future. Although the actual excavation is yet to commence, and although the
majority of the inhabitants of Sibuyan Island is strongly opposing the move
to mine Mt. Guiting-Guiting, the minions of mining companies are already
busy laying out their stratagems.
The Philippines is known for its wealth in natural resources and minerals
like gold, copper, nickel, etc and the mining industry offers the fairest
hope of lifting the people from the morass of poverty and mismanagement. It
certainly provides jobs and other income generating opportunities for the
people.
But the problem is that mining is a complicated and tricky business. Mainly
motivated by money and profit, mining companies are particularly susceptible
to the pressures and temptations of our corrupt body-politic. They can
easily resort to the bad habits and shady deals being perpetrated by corrupt
public officials.
Some mining companies are on hand to ''allay'' the fears of the Sibuyanons.
In broad terms, they tell the people that their geologists and mining
engineers would see to it that mining excavations would be done
properly—with a gentle regard to the rainforest.
Furthermore, they say that what is to be mined is just a small portion
outside the guarded preserve of the rainforest. The 15,000 square hectares
of what is called Mt. Guiting-Guiting proper will remain inviolate. Only
those wooded "hills" in the village of Taclobo will be mined.
What they are not telling the people of Sibuyan is that mining Mt.
Guiting-Guiting is an entirely different and complex case. Unlike mining in
a level terrain with only undergrowth and few trees to be cleared,
extracting nickel from its bowels will involve the cutting of hundreds of
thousands of trees, the displacement of various kinds of fowls, birds, and
insects, the destruction of innumerable species of flora and fauna, and the
turning over of millions of cubic tons of soil.
The "hills" being referred to by the mining companies can actually be
considered forested mountains because they rise up to no less than 130
meters in height. And we are not talking of just one or two so-called
"hills." We are dealing here with a long chain of "hills"—thickly wooded,
wonderfully formed by Nature, and inextricably linked with the mountains at
the center.
'GIANT FOOT'
Imagine Mt. Guiting-Guiting as a giant foot. Those so-called "hills" are
like toes serving as lateral support of Mt. Guiting-Guiting. When the
bulldozers start their engines, they will first chomp bit by bit the toes,
and then move upwards biting and chewing larger chunks. It is literally
slicing, carving, and moving mountains and hills. Once the lower parts of
Mt. Guiting-Guiting give way, the chain of mountains at its epicenter will
be destabilized sooner or later; and science can neither anticipate nor
calculate the devastation it will wreak on the people living in the littoral
areas.
For millions of years, Mt. Guiting-Guiting—a masterpiece of divine
architecture—has been sitting in its primeval abode long before mortals
reached the shores of Sibuyan; and, if left alone in its solitude, will
outlast a thousand generations of human beings. Its long existence and
enthralling beauty should remind us that it is a hallowed place that
deserves our rapture and reverence. It should instill in us a humble thought
that there are forces of nature far greater than us, and that we are not the
rightful owners of, but only strangers in the land we temporarily inhabit.
Mt. Guiting-Guiting is a sacred place. It does not belong to this present
generation, nor to any other. Our ancestors taught us not to touch the
sacred but to reverence it as a constant reminder that we are mere ephemeral
creatures. Mt. Guiting-Guiting is a hallowed ground because it gives life.
And here we are—trying to obliterate the life-giving Mother Earth that
sustains our very existence. How tragic.
(Contact the author through rayfes@yahoo.com)