With 449 days to the local elections scheduled on May 13, 2013, here’s a news item published in a local paper which serves as a reminder to our barangay officials running for re-election: “…the president of the Association of Barangay Captains here has challenged all chairpersons in flood-affected barangays to exercise their political will in preventing residents from rebuilding their houses near the river banks…(He) said some of the barangay officials admitted being hesitant in implementing the order considering that some of the settlers are also their relatives and close friends…He said the barangay officials will have to exercise their political will to implement the best solution for the safety and security of the communities.” (Dec. 30, 2011)
I had pointed out the urgency of fulfilling a political promise. There is no question regarding the soundness of this political promise in view of the flooding of the Banica River last year which caused massive destruction and loss of lives of residents living close to the river banks.
The informal settlers who live close to the Banica River must not be allowed to rebuild their homes not only because of the danger to their personal safety, but also because this major waterway must be saved and rehabilitated from its current state of being “at risk” in becoming one of the 50 rivers in the Philippines which are declared “ecologically- dead” by the DENR.
Is the Banica River ecologically-dead or dying?
Three years ago, Foundation University invited Dennis Welter to provide the answer to this question. Welter is a restoration ecologist who had completed over $3 million worth of restoration projects in three different watersheds encompassing the entire southwestern part of Washington state, which includes landslide restoration, wetland mitigation and restoration, and river rehabilitation.
After three days of surveying the Banica River, Welter reported to the FU community the good news: “The Banica River is alive!” His report: “Life forms in the lower Banica River struggle to survive, with pollution from wastewater, garbage, and sedimentation. A biological observation/assessment, in the last three kilometers of the river, produced only a handful of species which included invasive and degraded habitat species like sand lice and snail infestations.
“In the upper watershed, above Valencia, the biodiversity of the Banica river is still thriving. In just five metersof river environment below Casaroro Falls, the wildlife is abundant. Freshwater crabs and chitons are high indications of pristine habitats. Centipedes and millipedes, that break down plant debris naturally, thrive. Twelve different species of butterflies and four different types of dragonflies were observed. There were various uncounted species of birds, that did not include the common house finch.
“What this means, is that we can clean up the river, and these species will return.”
Whether Welter’s conclusions are still valid today or not, no one really knows. But what is important at this time is the formation of a Banica River commission or council, as promised, and for this body to undertake the recommendations made by Welter some of which are: 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.
Since 2008, Foundation University has been advocating the preservation and rehabilitation of the Banica River. The University is looking forward to the formation of the proposed Banica River commission or council with which the institution could share its mission and corporate social responsibility to save this waterway which could save the lives of many people from what one observed that the “next world war will be a war over water”.
And with the Banica River commission or council in place, the 25 barangay captains of Dumaguete City will be more forceful in implementing the law aimed at protecting the lives and welfare of those who are living along the river banks as well as the river itself.
