It’s 321 days to election day scheduled on May 13, 2013. A reminder to all local government officials, from barangay captains to the Mayors and the Governor. And on this note, a question that I have raised so often: What have our local government officials done with regards to political platform regarding the Banica River? Or the Ocoy, Amlan, Tanjay, Manjuyod, and other rivers in Negros Oriental for that matter?
Consider the following news items:
Gov. Roel Degamo announced recently that P150 million and P300 million are allotted for the rehabilitation of the Banica and Ocoy rivers, respectively.
He likewise issued in January this year an executive order creating Task Force Kinabuhi, headed by SU President Dr. Ben Malayang III, to lead rehabilitation of major rivers in Negros Oriental.
Meanwhile, City Mayor Manuel “Chiquiting” Sagarbarria vowed not to allow informal settlers to return to Banica River banks after the Sendong floods last December.
“Actually, we have the political will and we are going to implement that,” Mayor Sagarbarria said, in reaction to news reports that many of the victims affected by tropical storm are starting to rebuild their homes along river banks and other flood-prone areas.
The Mayor disclosed that his office has received reports that some informal settlers have started rebuilding their houses along the Banica River in Dapdab, Barangay Bagacay, although these typhoon victims are still temporarily sheltered at evacuation centers.
He further revealed that he has ordered Task Force SAGARR (Special Action Group Advocating Rapid Reform) to monitor activities along the banks of the Banica River on the Dumaguete side as he vowed to have illegal structures there demolished.
Task forces in the character of the Kinabuhi and SAGARR will be ineffective in undertaking any program or project that involves the preservation and restoration of rivers and water ways. A more powerful body should be put in place, and I propose the creation of a Negros Oriental River Council.
The NORC will be responsible for the policy formulation, planning, coordination, research and evaluation of a comprehensive program for the protection and rehabilitation of rivers and waterways in the province.
When Foundation University adopted a portion of the Banica River in 2008, it secured the assistance of Dennis Welter, a restoration ecologist from Olympia, Washington, USA. Welter has completed over $3 million (P127 million) worth of restoration projects in three different watersheds encompassing the entire southwestern part of Washington State. These projects included landslide restoration, wetland mitigation and restoration, and river restoration.
After a three-day evaluation of the Banica River, Welter came up with a report that “the Banica River is alive…What this means, is that we can clean up the river…”
Among Welter’s recommendations: a) secure governmental involvement, b) initiate a total watershed approach, c) conduct research and development, d) preserve the not-or-slightly degraded parts of the river by developing parks that insolate human impact on the river, e) provide alternatives to the behaviors that degrade the river by severing social and economic ties to the river, solid waste removal and disposal, and water treatment options, f) rehabilitate the natural systems of the river by controlling the erosion in the upper watershed, replant native vegetation, using rocks logs and plants to engineer solutions, and utilizing natural systems to repair degradation, and g) education of the people.
Welter concluded his report, thus: a) “Education of the people is the most important goal to achieve success, through community outreach, and creating awareness of the benefits of a clean river; b) Use natural systems to repair degradations by resisting concrete application.”
The recommendation of Dennis Welter to “resist concrete application” is in consonance with those recommended by Task Force Kinabuhi head Dr. Ben Malayang’s “initial recommendations to put up canals and water impounding projects in the major tributaries of Okoy and Banica rivers. Another measure he suggested is to plant more bamboos along riverbanks.”
A model which the proposed Negros Oriental River Council could look into is the classic feasibility on the rehabilitation of the Pasig River conducted between 1989 and 1990 by the DENR with funding from the Danish International Development Agency (Danida).
An excerpt from the study: “Strengthening public participation in the programme. Private organisations are usually more capable than a government of sustaining initiatives because they are less affected by political considerations. The active participation of more private organisations, especially those that can provide special technical expertise (for example, in the form of community mobilisation and research) not normally inherent in government, will ensure continuity of the programme.
A Negros Oriental River Council, composed of stakeholders from both the government and the private sector, could be the better alternative to the current task forces being employed to solve a gargantuan problem involving multi-sectorial interests.
Foundation University is bringing back Dennis Welter to Dumaguete City on June 27 to undertake a reassessment of the Banica River. Interested local government offices in Negros Oriental may invite him to share his expertise on their program of river and landslide restoration.
