Manila Bulletin, Philippines : East Luzon frontier ecosystem

30/11/2003

East Luzon frontier ecosystem

Sen. Edgardo J. Angara yesterday urged the development of an ecosystem management program for the eastern coast of Luzon to arrest the environmental degradation in that area considered to be the remaining ecological frontier in the country.

Angara, a former agriculture secretary, seeks to develop what he calls an Integrated Ecosystem Management Plan, which provides the framework for a multi-sectoral action to protect the environment.

To be harnessed in protecting the east coast of Luzon are the government, the private sector, communities and other environmental stakeholders. These groups will concentrate on protecting the marine, land, and forest resources in the Sierra Madre Corridor.

“Sierra Madre is a natural haven which, if left unprotected, will surely be irreparably devastated,” Angara said.

The Sierra Madre Corridor, which covers parts of Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino, Aurora, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Rizal and Quezon, is under growing threat from illegal loggers, dynamite fishermen, and multinational corporations determined to exploit its abundant resources.

“We have to act quickly,” said Angara. “We cannot continue losing treasures like this simply because we do not know how to care for the environment.”

According to Angara, the management plan will determine priority areas for preservation. In a span of five years, these areas will be allowed to rehabilitate and regenerate.

He said this will benefit not just the presently endangered ecosystem, but the community as well. “The people will be educated and reoriented on proper management of natural resources, which I think is doubly important. This is precisely how we sustain the environment,” Angara pointed out.