Huwebes, Disyembre 25, 2014

ASIAN CLIMATE SCIENTISTS MEET

ASIAN CLIMATE SCIENTISTS MEET
Jakarta, Indonesia
Nov. 16-21, 2014



The 1st WCRP (World Climate Research Programme) CORDEX Coordinated Regional climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) Science and Training Program were attended by Southeast Asian Climate Scientists with the primary objective of coming with up high resolution climate change scenarios which is the core in the studies related to climate change impact, vulnerability, risk assessment at the local and regional scales. The said training was held in Citeko Training Center, Bogor. Furthermore, the SEACLID (Southeast Asia Climate Downscaling Experiment) /CORDEX aims to downscale a number of CMIP5 GCMs for Southeast Asia region through sharing-task basis among the institutions, countries involved, and later on expanding to other Asian regions  and other parts of the world.

The group encourages and capacitate  young scientists  working on climate modeling and soon to published a peer-reviewed articles pertaining hereto and hopefully to be part in the IPCC working groups .

The Mission of CORDEX SEA are the following:
               
                a. Proficiency of regional climate science
                b. Visibility of local scientists to global arena (IPCC report)
                c. Providing database of future climate change database to the region
                d. Promoting young scientists to participate in the project
                e. Upstreaming data for driving the downstream utilization of future climate data
                f. Servicing sectoral of future climate change data

 

                g. Better projection than statistical downscaling










                Working on climate modeling and hydrologic modeling all the more boast my interest in shaping my niche: climate and hydrologic modeler. I firmly believed that coming up with the climate projection with uncertainties is much more better that coming up with baseless climate change adaptation. At a personal level and as a neophyte, challenges are expected along the way. Facing this inadequacy is something worthwhile specifically tracking climate change and its impacts.
Lastly, I am grateful and appreciative on how the organizers and sponsors made themselves available and willing to spend financially in order to convene climate scientists in the Southeast Asia region. This only shows how this pressing problem of our time causes every individual and organization to take decisive actions in order for us to be resilient from the threats of Climate Change Impacts.
Here are some of the photos taken during my visit. 

Opening ceremony
 

 


Workshop on Climate Modeling using CORDEX Model









Linggo, Hulyo 6, 2014

A Resource Person sharing a Topic on: Climate Change


PROF. NYMPHA E. BRANZUELA – a Resource Person sharing a Topic on: Climate Change

June is Environmental Month in the Philippines. Like most environment-related activities nationwide, it usually culminates or ends with an Environmental Forum with the theme: Raise your voice and not the level sea rise! In Assumption College, Nabunturan, Compostela Valley, I was invited to talk on the impact of Climate Change last June 27, 2014.
Compostela Valley province was severely hit by the typhoon Pablo (International name: BOPHA) on December 05, 2012. An estimated 130,000 families were displaced and 70% of the total population lost their homes and livelihoods. There are 2,000 reported deaths after the Typhoon Bopha slammed directly to unsuspecting communities on that early dawn. In fact, the typhoon ravaged communities have taken three (3) years to recover (http://www.interaksyon.com/article/53530/compostela-valley-will-take-3-years-to-recover-from-pablo-says-governor) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjLYO6mlz0k).
Damages during ‘typhoon Bopha’ in Nabunturan, Compostea Province last December 05, 2012.
 







That tragic and traumatic experience that  environmental awareness heightened among the people. The Environmental Forum entitled: Ridge to Reef: Climate Change Update was a fitting title. Common people have not known the impacts of Climate Change, Climate Change Projections. Local Government Units are still wanting on scientific knowledge on what potential adaptations to adopt to be resilient from the impacts of climate change.
Being a trained educator on Climate Change I didn’t hesitate to take part of their endeavor. Despite of my pregnant condition,  I took the 3 hour travel from Davao City. I accepted their invitation to be a Resource Speaker of these young generations to share my expertise in Climate Change.






 



                        
                         The environmental forum was attended by 300 High School Students with their respective teachers,  employees from Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and 15 municipalities or Local Government Units.
                         Having been trained by the prestigious school in the Philippines ( UPLB) and a grantee of International Development and Research Center (IDRC)-University of Nairobi (UoN), Kenya Research Grant, I have made that solemn vow to share whenever, wherever, whatever I can to all to impart my knowledge, ideas, and expertise in the field of Climate Change to my countrymen.

Lunes, Hunyo 30, 2014

DAVAO WATERSHED STAKEHOLDERS SUMMIT 2014




Prof. Nympha E. Branzuela attended the Watershed Stakeholders’ Summit 2014 held in Ateneo de Davao University, Davao City, Philippines held last June 24, 2014. The theme of the summit is “Unifying Watershed Stakeholders’ Participation towards addressing the Challenges of Climate Change”.
The summit was hosted by the Davao City Watershed Management Council (WMC), a body composed of all watershed key actors headed by the City Government of Davao, Barangay officials, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, City Planning and Development Office, Davao City Water District,  Non-government organizations, academe, among others.


Significant topics discussed, among them were:
1.       Climate Change and its Local Impacts
2.       Responding to the Challenge of Climate Change through Rainwater Harvesting (Davao City Ordinance No. 0298-09
3.       Sustaining Forest Restoration through Establishment of Riparian Forest Corridor
4. Davao City Development in relation to Davao City Vulnerability and Adaptation   Assessment
             5. Responding to the Challenge of Climate Change through Rainwater Harvesting
             6. Salient Provisions of the Rainwater Ordinance Implementing Rules and Regulations
             7. Update  on Davao River Basin Management Alliance and Water Quality Management Areas (WAQMA)





Atty. Romeo  Cabarde Jr.  synthesizes the watershed summit and identified nine (9) recommendations:

1.  Strengthen local data generation for climate change modeling;
2. Bring climate change education to the ground for community-based environmental conservation;
3. The Local Government Unit of Davao should take the lead in complying with the Rain Water System Ordinance: Role modeling;
4. Develop water-sensitive urban designs and plans;
5. Rainforestation within the riparian areas (buffer sones); Engage in tree-growing rather than tree-planting only;
6. Adopt-a-riverbank partnerships with Barangay Local Government Unit
7. Explore alternative renewable energy sources;
8. Organize vigilant multi-sectoral watchdogs;
9. Spare groundwater; maximize surface water



The Summit was ended with Signing of Pledge of Commitment and Ritual where Prof. Nympha E. Branzuela, representing the academe, swore to provide scientific bases of climate change impacts particularly in downscaling local climate scenarios and simulating hydrologic modeling in the watersheds of Davao City.



Linggo, Marso 9, 2014

CLIMATE CHANGE FORUM




                         A forum on “Climate Change Impacts on Water Resources in Davao City, Philippines was held last February 28, 2014 at the University of Mindanao, Davao City, Philippines. It was attended by various 125 participants or key stakeholders of the Talomo-Lipadas Watersheds, Davao City namely; City Planning and Development Officer, Engr. Mario Luis Jacinto, Department of Environment and Natural Resources representatives, Department of Public Works and Highways, academe institutions like Immaculate Concepcion University, Philippine Women’s University, University of the Philippines-Mindanao, Science teachers of main and branches of the University of Mindanao, students of natural sciences programs, among others.


               The speakers were Dr. Juan M. Pulhin, professor, dean, and scientist III from the University of the Philippines, Los Banos and Nympha E Branzuela who presented the initial result of her research study Climate Change and its Impact to Davao City Watershed. Dr. Pulhin talked on the basics of climate change and its various impact and responses to economics, health, water, sustainability, and security as viewed from global, regional, national and down to the local level. The forum was highlighted with the relevant questions from the audience.

                                         
Nympha E. Branzuela presented a topic on Climate Change Impacts on Water Resources


Dr. Juan M. Pulhin presented a topic on Climate Change: Science, Impacts, and Responses


Part of the forum was the question and answer portion where audience from government, non-government.  Professors from various Universities in Davao Region, students, among others were given a chance to ask questions.  Roughly, there were 6 questions being asked. Media people also approached the speakers and ask a copy and ask for highlights in the forum that Climate change impacts would likely influences Davao City especially in the water sector.

The afternoon session was followed by a focus group discussion primarily from the group of concessionaires  (residential and commercial connectors), group watershed managers namely Department of Environment and Natural Resources Office and Department of Public Works and Highways. Surprisingly, inputs from concessionaires in terms of adaptation strategies in the potential water shortage were all brilliant.

The forum culminated with get-together in the evening with my officemates of the department (Department of Forestry and Environmental Studies (DFES), College of Arts and Sciences Education, CASE) with my Adviser, Dr. Juan M. Pulhin and Project Coordiantor of University of Nairobi-IDRC Research Grant Project and Anuradha Khoda.



Open Forum


FGD was grouped according to key stakeholders  namely;  domestic water users (residential, commercial, government offices, watershed managers, and policy makers.



Celebration of the success of Climate Change   Forum












Prepared by:
Nympha Ellarina-Branzuela
UPLB, Los Banos, Philippines


Martes, Enero 14, 2014

20 dead, 13 missing in Mindanao floods

Tuesday, January 14, 2014
DAVAO (Updated, 12:23 p.m.) -- Two days of heavy rains set off floods and landslides in the southeastern Philippines, leaving at least 20 people dead, 13 missing and thousands displaced, officials said Monday.
Antonio Cloma, regional head of Office of Civil Defense Davao Region, said the fatalities are coming from Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental, the same provinces hit Typhoon Pablo in 2012.
Other dead and missing were also recorded in Agusan del Sur.
A landslide Monday damaged five houses in Cagdianao municipality in Dinagat Island, off the northeastern coast of the main southern island of Mindanao, killing six residents including two boys aged two and 14, said police officer Elbert Ompoc.
Melito Gortina of Agusan del Sur died due to drowning, and Jenelyn Gonzalez of Compostela Valley died due to landslide.
Other fatalities from Davao Oriental were identified as Ramil Legaspi, Nino Madindin, Alfredo Moses, Roy Baron, Misael Cabales and Boy Arenas.
Four others who died due to drowning and flooding are still unidentified.
Flash flood hits Kaptagan, Lanao del Norte
LANAO DEL NORTE. Residents living in the interior part of the coastal village of Lapinig in Kapatagan town in Lanao del Norte flee from their homes dawn on January 13 as flash flood waters keep on rising brought about by sustained rainfall for the past three days. (Richel V. Umel)

The flooding, triggered by rains from a low pressure area (LPA), has affected 132,000 people from 10 provinces.
Cloma said at least 88 barangays in 16 municipalities and two cities were among those affected. A total of 25,634 are now temporarily housed in 79 evacuation centers in the region.
“Handa naman na ang mga tao sa area na iyon so we are expecting na hindi ganoon kataas ang number of casualties,” Major Reynaldo Balido, spokesperson of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) told Sun.Star on Monday.
“May kahirapan ang pagdadala ng relief dahil maraming daan pa din ang hindi nadadaanan dahil sa labis nab aha, may mga tulay din na nasira at hindi madaanan hanggang ngayon,” he added.
The NDRRMC, in its 6 a.m. Tuesday update, recorded that 34 roads and 17 bridges remains not passable and were damaged by heavy flooding and landslides.
In Davao, Saug River, Libuganon River and irrigation dam in Aragon overflowed.
Heavy traffic also hit the Davao-Tagum highway on Monday following the overflow of water from Bincungan river.
Davao Oriental towns facing the Pacific Ocean are also isolated as floodwaters damaged bridges while the LPA affecting the region continues to make access by air and sea difficult.
The damaged bridges are Lumao Bridge in Cateel, Manurigao and San Isidro Bridges of Caraga town, Baugo Bridge in Baganga, and another bridge in Manay.
The towns from Manay up to the last town of Boston are unreachable from the capital City of Mati, while each town is isolated from each other.
Flash flood, landslide hit Kaptagan, Lanao del Norte
LANAO DEL NORTE. Heavy equipment and personnel from the Department of Public Works and Highways conduct clearing operations along the national highway in barangay Lapinig, Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte after the main road was temporarily closed due to landslide. (Richel V. Umel)
Information from the Provincial Government of Davao Oriental showed that a navy boat left Sunday night with relief goods using the route used after Typhoon Pablo.
Other routes being considered are those via Surigao del Sur and Compostela Valley, but the Surigao route is likewise flooded while landslides threaten the Compostela Valley route.
In Davao del Norte, four towns have already declared states of calamity because of flooding.
A total of 533 families were evacuated by the Tagum City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office as floodwaters submerged their homes.
The City Council of Tagum in its session on Monday approved the resolution declaring the city under a state of calamity, which allows the release of calamity funds that will be used to cover aid, relief, and rehabilitation services to communities affected by the disaster.
Also declared under states of calamity by their respective legislative councils were the towns of Carmen, New Corella, and Kapalong.
Continuous rain since the weekend caused flooding in some barangays, including Cuambogan, Canococotan, San Miguel, Pagsabangan, Apokon, and Mankilam.
City Information Officer Cromwell Bonghanoy said relief packs consisting of three kilos of rice, four canned goods and four packs of instant noodles were given to the affected families.
Weather forecaster Gener Quitlong, meanwhile, said rains may persist until Tuesday or Wednesday over central provinces. (Sun.Star Davao/Louie Lapat/PNA/Third Anne Peralta/with reports from AP/Sunnex)

Lunes, Nobyembre 25, 2013

Typhoon 'Haiyan' and its effects to the Filipinos

Mental trauma haunts Philippines typhoon survivors

http://ph.news.yahoo.com/mental-trauma-haunts-philippines-typhoon-survivors-082524641.html



Rodico Basilides visits a forlorn cross that stands as a memorial to his family who died in the catastrophic Philippine typhoon, one of countless survivors who are being forced to grieve without professional counselling.
“This is for my wife, Gladys, and four children. They were swept away by the waves,” Basilides, 42, said as he stood alongside the cross made of two sticks tied together with green string on the floor of what used to be his seaside home.
As Basilides, a mini-bus driver, left the rain-soaked ruins, he met Jovelyn Taniega, a friend who lost her husband and six children when Super Typhoon Haiyan smashed the central Philippines with unprecedented ferocity on November 8.
Taniega, 39, still looking to be in a state of shock, had also returned to the spot where her family was swept away in giant storm surges, trying to find some solace by being close to where she last touched them.
“I'm alone now. It's very painful, I miss my family a lot,” she said, shielding herself from the rain with an umbrella. “I feel like I'm going crazy.”
As the rescue and emergency phase of helping the survivors winds down, medical and social workers are appealing for trauma experts to counsel typhoon survivors such as Taniega and Basilides.
But like all other aspects of the response to the disaster, the scale of the psychological needs is overwhelming.
More than 5,200 people have been confirmed killed and another 1,600 are missing after Haiyan tore across some of the country's poorest islands, generating tsunami-like waves that left dozens of towns in ruins.
About four million people have been left homeless and 10 million affected, according to the government.
Too few experts for giant task
Amid such widespread mental trauma, the Department of Health has been able to deploy just 21 psychiatrists and psychologists, according to Bernardo Vicente, director of the government's National Center for Mental Health.
"Definitely, we don't," Vicente told AFP when asked if there were enough professional counsellors available to treat traumatised survivors in the disaster zones.
Vicente pointed out there were just 600 registered psychiatrists nationwide, most of whom worked in large city hospitals and unable to abandon their duties to help the typhoon survivors.
He said the health department's counsellors had worked only in Tacloban, a city of more than 220,000 people that was among the worst hit and where 1,727 people have been confirmed killed.
Health workers in Tacloban say that support is not nearly enough, and the needs will likely grow as the focus of survivors shifts from putting up makeshift shelters and looking for food.
"Yes, we need psychiatrists to come and help," said Marife Garfin, chief nurse of the Bethany Hospital in Tacloban.
"At the moment they (survivors) are not able yet to process the whole experience. We are still in the process of being able to fend for ourselves and survive, get some food, get some treatment.
"But probably after a week or two, everything will sink in, everything will come to mind -- the loss, the separation from loved ones."
Not all traumatised people require intensive psychological counselling, Vicente emphasised.
"There are things you can do which do not require highly trained individuals," he said.
"Simply providing hope is enough for the community... simply providing food, lifting them up and asking: 'how are you?' or giving them a pack of noodles, is already psychological first aid."
Vicente also said counselling need not just be one-to-one, and trauma experts would be able to work with big groups of people.
In the long run, Vicente said between one and five percent of survivors would likely develop post-traumatic stress disorder, which required specialised treatment from experts.
Mathijs Hoogstad, a psychologist with humanitarian group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF, or Doctors Without Borders) in Tacloban, also said survivors would be able to get important support from within their communities.
Speaking with family, friends and church figures would help survivors overcome their traumatic experiences, Hoogstad said.
'I see them in my dreams'
For people such as Basilides and Taniega, who live on the outskirts of Tacloban, family and community support are indeed proving vital in helping them cope with their tragedies.
Basilides is living with a local official who has taken in him and his survivor son, nine-year-old Jack Ross. The son had been found clinging to a piece of wood and brought to an evacuation centre.
Basilides said mixing with people helped him forget the pain, and praying offered some comfort.
But he said that, in his moments of solitude, the gripping scenes of how the strong current ripped two of his children from his arms, and the sight of his wife and other children being carried off, kept replaying in his mind.
Taniega, who now lives with her father and a brother, also said speaking with friends allowed her to momentarily escape the torment.
She is also taking pills to help her sleep, but it was in those times of rest that she most clearly saw her lost husband and children.
"That's my only connection to them. I see in my dreams our happy times," she said.
"Sometimes my husband shows himself to me in a dream and I tell him: 'Oh you're still alive.' He'll call me by my nickname and my children will call me: 'Mamma.' They are laughing as they hug me."


Martes, Hunyo 4, 2013

Davao City Watersheds= water + wildlife : Treasures to be vaulted...

Watersheds, our treasures

THAT our city can still boast of biodiversity that other cities have long lost is a pride our generation and the future generations can hold dear, but only for as long as each preceding generation takes care of it for the next generation to enjoy.
This is apparent in the biodiversity found in the Talomo-Lipadas and Panigan-Tamugan watersheds in a study conducted by the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) as commissioned by the Interface Development Interventions Inc. last year.
A draft of the report has already been made although the final copy will still be launched on March 23 in time for the Watershed Summit initiated by Idis in Davao City.
The study, a Resource and Socio-Economic Assessment (RSEA) of the two major watersheds, saw biologists and student volunteers living in the forests for weeks on end to trap and inventory bats, birds, frogs, and rodents, the key indicators of an area’s biodiversity.
As gleaned from past and the most field studies, the watersheds have at least 124 species of birds at Mt. Talomo and Panigan between 1997-2012.
“Sixty six (or 53 percent) of these birds are Philippine endemic, which is 40 percent of the country's total for endemic birds (169 species). However, if we consider only the Mindanao Island’s share of Phil endemic species (94), the watersheds contain an impressive 70 percent of these. Also, over half (24) of the 45 Mindanao endemic species are living in the watersheds,” the draft report reads.
The same diversity is observed in mammals, particularly rodents and bats.
As the report said, six out of the nine Mindanao endemic mammals at Mt. Sicao still in the Talomo-Lipadas watershed are rats and squirrels.
A total of eight species in two families of bats were found --Pteropodidae (fruit-eating bats) and the Rhinolopidae (insect-eating bats). Of these, seven Genera were documented.
“All except one (bats) are Philippine endemic, with a single species restricted only to Mindanao. Called Mindanao fruit bat Megaerops wetmorei,” the draft report reads. “It is the most common species captured in nets (6 individuals) at the Dipterocarp Forest next to the Short-nose fruit bat Cynopterus brachyotis (8). The Mindanao fruit bat is the only IUCN threatened bat species sampled at Sicao. It is classified under the vulnerable category mainly because its preferred habitat, the Dipterocarp Forest, is slowly disappearing.
The disappearing forest is what distresses PEF Executive Director Dennis Joseph I. Salvador the most. After all, their work to conserve the Philippine Eagle requires that the whole ecosystem is conserved to sustain the life cycle of eagles.
But moreso, the PEF has reapeatedly said, the Philippine Eagle is but the barometer of the sustainability of our environment, as it requires lush green forests that are home to healthy forest creatures to survive in the wild. In the same way that everyone requires a lush, green watershed to continue providing the clean and clear water Dabawenyos continue to enjoy straight out of their faucets.
“If water is life, a watershed is the vault (or safe or treasure chest) that holds this very valuable resource together and keeps it from being wasted. It is an asset passed on to us by our parents and which we need to pass on to our children as capital for their future - that's what a watershed is,” Salvador said when asked to define the importance of watersheds to Davao City.
That is why both Salvador and IDIS executive director Ann Fuertes are relieved that the Talomo-Lipadas and Panigan-Tamugan watersheds are still healthy although threatened.
“Guapo pud nga daghan na makita na endemic species (It’s also heartening to know that there are many endemic species thriving there),” Fuertes told Sun.Star Davao.
Davao’s Watersheds
Davao City has eight watershed areas straddled by its major rivers aside from the biggest of them all, the Davao River. These are: Sibulan River, Lipadas River, Talomo River, Tamugan River, Cugan River, Suawawan River, Matina River, and Bunawan River.
The Tamugan-Lipadas and Tamugan-Panigan are of prime importance because these have been identified as Davao’s main water sources and comprises the first phase of watershed delineation by the city government. Thus, the focus on the two watersheds.
As described, Talomo-Lipadas include two catchment rivers covering a total land area 38,300 hectares made up of 45 of the city’s 182 barangays. The highest peak is Mt. Talomo, which is at the northeastern region of Mt. Apo Natural Park.
Predominantly volcanic rocks, the watershed has slopes and ravines and vegetation are primary and secondary forest, but only in the headwaters.
Lowland dipterocarp forests are now relegated to ravines and riverways after the long decades of logging.
There are no more forest stands in the lowland areas as there have already been converted to plantations and agriculture.
On the other hand, Tamugan-Panigan has several catchment areas although the only large water basin here is the Tamugan River. The Tamugan River and the other tributaries all drain directly to the Davao River. The Tamugan-Panigan covers 18,830 hectares.
It’s highest elevation is at the headwaters of Laling Creek at 1,889 meters above sea level (masl), while its most prominent peak is Mt. Tipolog, with 1,340 m elevation.
Threatened
But as the report says, the biodiversity is threatened because Dipterocarp Forests are slowly disappearing. Along with it, Davao’s water.
“We have very clean and abundant water supply in Davao because of our aquifers and watersheds have retained their integrity and quality. The Talomo and Tamugan watersheds, for instance, still harbors a good number of different threatened species. These watersheds exhibit a very high degree of species endemism: 82 percent for mammals, 68 percent for reptiles and amphibians, and 53 percent for birds,” Salvador said.
“Some of the frogs we found in a recent study commissioned by IDIS were ‘undescribed’ and may even be new species. Frogs are excellent indicators of environmental health as they are highly localized and very sensitive to changes in their environments. But the integrity of our watersheds are beginning to fray at its edges,” he added.
Still Fuertes is upbeat on major steps ahead with the completion of the study, as in it, they can present to the city government solid scientific proofs of what has to be conserved and preserved.
“Dugang ni nga argument to do more efforts for the conservation of the eight watersheds (This study contributes to the assertion that there’s a need to do more for the conservation of the eight watersheds),” Fuerte said.
Idis, incidentally, is the non-government organization member of the Watershed Management Council, which was created from the passage of the Watershed Code of Davao City.
The WMC, which meets at least once a month, already gathered the commitment of 40 barangays within the two watersheds to clear their riverbanks of habitation and ensure that buffer zones are respected and that no future habitation will be put up along riverbanks.
The barangays that committed, however, still have to make true this promise.
As of October 2012, the City Environment and Natural Resources Office had set aside P1.6-million for delineation of the six watershed areas; which will also be used as a tool to define which activities are allowed and which are prohibited within these areas.
The first phase was to start November 5 and should have been finished by now, although no such report has yet been disclosed.
The total amount needed to delineate all eight is pegged at P5-million.
While non-government groups are still struggling to paint a convincing picture for government to act fast on conserving its watersheds, human population is fast encroaching.
“The average rates by which population is increasing indicate that human occupation of the watersheds is growing rapidly. Using NSO data for example, the number of people living inside the watersheds appeared to have increased to nearly three folds (260 percent) from 1970 to 2010 with an average annual growth rate of 3.25 percent. This also means an increase in human density from 2 persons/ha in 1970 to 7 persons/ha in 2010,” the draft report reads.
Of note is the rapid growth in population of five communities close to the forests: Barangays Eden, Daliao Plantation, Tamayong, Carmen and Tambobong.
“The Davao City Watershed Code is a positive step in mitigating the adverse impacts of humans on our watersheds. This, however, needs more teeth and funding to really work. For instance, it is silent on the matter of private water wells used in or for business/profit.It is, after all, water owned by the State (read: ours) and re-packaged and sold to us in a different form. These outfits basically drain our aquifers for free. We have just taken our water resource for granted. Not even our local utility company invests enough on protecting and restoring these watersheds,” Salvador said, somehow repeating what has been said before but which seems to be not getting its due attention and quick action.
In the meantime, elections is just around the corner again, and Fuertes fears that what has been started will not even be carried over.
Through the short three years that Davao City Mayor Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio has served, she stood strongly for the protection of the environment, bar none.
Vice Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte as mayor may have ruled for the environment several times but has also been known to yield to some issues as well.
This is among the reason why Idis has initiated the Watershed Summit to ensure that what has been agreed on and drafted as concrete actions under the Watershed Code will be implemented.
“We need an assurance na kung unsa ang nahitabo karon, mapadayon sa next eladership (We have to get that assurance that what has been achieved to-date will be continued under the next leadership),” Fuertes said.
“Indeed, it is convenient to attribute floods as acts of God rather than the work of men. In time, we'll get a lot of water when we don't need it and none when we need it. It's not doomsday prepper talk, it's just what it is,” Salvador said.