Read without ads and support Scribd by becoming a Scribd Premium Reader.
See Premium Plans
 
Case Study by Farah Sevilla, Alyansa Tigil MinaPalawan: Mining and Biodiversity
Executive Summary
Palawan is a biodiversity hotspot in the Philippines: its abundantforest and rich cultural heritage are the main reasons for exemptingit from mining. Few places on earth can match the distinction of theprovince, home to seven protected areas, a declared “Game Refugeand Bird Sanctuary” since 1967, and a “Mangrove Reserve” since1981. UNESCO declared the whole Province a Man and BiosphereReserve in 1990. Included are two World Heritage Sites: The Tubbataha Reef Marine Park and the Puerto Princesa SubterraneanRiver National Park. The expansive reserves of metal ores particularly nickel andchromite, which lay underneath old growth forests, attracts mininginvestments into the province. The 354 approved miningapplications all over Palawan constitute a major threat to Palawanwith extensive remaining forest cover and related biodiversity.Palaweños fears that damage to Palawan’s biodiversity will becomeirreparable if mining increases the threat to the ecosystem and to abooming eco-tourism industry of the province. Many feel that thecosts of mining far outweigh its benefits.Dr. Gerry Ortega, an environmental advocate and broadcast journalist who was very vocal against mining in Palawan was killedon January 24, 2011 after his morning radio broadcast. He has beenreceiving death threats due to his strong opposition to mining andexposed bribery in the government in endorsing of mining throughhis radio program “Ramatak” over DWAR, a local affiliate of RadyoMo nationwide. The Philippines has suffered many disastrous environmental impactsfrom mining including the Marinduque/Boac River mining disaster in1996, recurrent pollution problems caused by the Atlas mine in Toledo City, Cebu, and the Rapu-rapu mine tailings spills in Albay in2005 were among the many tragedies which offer lessons of theenormous human and environmental costs brought by mining. These factors should require the Philippine government to exerciseextreme caution in authorizing mining operations in Palawan. Socialawareness of this problem is of widespread and government actionsto prevent damage to the environment have led to the enactment of laws such as the Republic Act No. 7611 otherwise known as theStrategic Environment Plan for Palawan Act or SEP Law directedtowards the prevention of activities and events that may adverselyaffect the environmental sustainability of the province. A resolutionpassed in November 2008 by the Provincial Board secures a 25-yearmoratorium on small-scale mining in Palawan. However, this is not1 |Page
 
Case Study by Farah Sevilla, Alyansa Tigil MinaPalawan: Mining and Biodiversityenough to prevent large-scale mining corporations from plunderingthe Island.Here the picture is clear that people appears to be overwhelminglymade worse off because of environmental degradation and humanrights violations attendant to mining operations in the province.Government statistics attest that only a small fraction arebenefitting from the employment generated by the miningoperations
1
and the occasional company-sponsored communityoutreach programs. As things stand, the economic benefits of mining in Palawan remain so unclear, with adverse effectsappearing to be at least as likely as clear-cut beneficial ones, it isimportant to focus on the impact of mining in the local communitiesand on the environment.
The Island Province of Palawan
Palawan is the largest province in the Philippines with a total landarea is 1,489,655 hectares; 690,000 hectares of which areterrestrial forest and 44,500 hectares are mangrove forests. It islocated 7º47' and 12º22' north latitude and 117º00' and 119º51'east longitude, generally bounded by the South China Sea to thenorthwest and by the Sulu Sea to the east. The main island is nearly278 miles long (about 435 kilometers) and has a width of fortykilometers at its widest part. It is surrounded by 1,767 islands andislets. Its steep mountainous terrain and the very thin topsoil,makes the island prone to erosion and even landslide. Palawan has a population of approximately 892,600 in 2007
2 
distributed in its twenty three municipalities and Puerto PrincesaCity where almost 20 percent are indigenous peoples belonging tothree main ethnic groups: Tagbanua, Pala’wan, Batak (on the mainisland) and Molbog (Balabac island). The primary source of livelihood and income are fishing, agriculture, collection of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and tourism. Logging was also oncea thriving industry in the province. Meanwhile, the province is alsoknown for its rich natural gas reserves- the Malampaya gas fieldlocated 80km off the coast of Palawan with capacity of 2,700MWand the Galoc oil field.
Palawan: a biodiversity hotspot
Palawan is home to endemic species—both flora and fauna thatcannot be found anywhere else in the world. It is home to 30% of 
1
 
Based on the CSO Assessment of Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) for 2004-2010 inmining, as of 2008, the government reported that only 13,462 jobs were created by the mining industry or a mere5.36% of its intended projection of 239,000 indirect and direct employment.
2
Statistics from National Statistics Office website http://www.census.gov.ph/data/census2007/index.html dateaccessed: April 4, 2011.
2 |Page
 
Case Study by Farah Sevilla, Alyansa Tigil MinaPalawan: Mining and Biodiversitythe country’s coral reefs, has 17 key biodiversity areas
3
(KBAs), and8 declared protected areas. The province is host to one of the areasin the country with intact old growth forests.
4
 Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund Identification of BiodiversityHotspot recorded that Palawan comprises the following biodiversity:
15 lakes, 42 ponds, 44 waterfalls, 72 natural springs, 9 mineralsprings, 28 principal rivers, 43 streams and 165 creeks identifiedas potential sources of water for domestic consumption andirrigation;
13 out of the 16 sea grasses that can be found in the country;
42,500 hectares of mangrove forests, having 31 species and 90%of the known mangrove species in the country;
approximately 690,000 hectares of terrestrial forest;
8 of the 11 amphibians endemic to the Philippines are found onlyin Palawan;
279 species of birds are found in Palawan and 27 are endemic tothe country;
15 of the 25 marine mammals in the Philippines are found inPalawan;
58 species of terrestrial mammals are recorded and 19 or 33%are endemic to the country and 16 are restricted to the Mt.Mantalingahan Range;
24 endemic reptiles and 69 species are found in the Mt.Mantalingahan corridor;
4 of the 5 marine turtles are found in Palawan; and
379 species of corals found in Palawan and 82% of the total coralspecies recorded in the country. The UNESCO declared two areas in Palawan as World Heritage sites: The Tubattaha Reed Marine Park in 1993 which covers 332 squarekilometers north and south reefs with very high density of marinespecies and the North Islets are the nesting site for birds and marineturtles; and Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park in1999 hosts some of the most important forests in Asia, and is a sitethat contains a full ‘mountain to sea’ ecosystem.
3
Key Biodiversity Areas are “sites of global significance for biodiversity conservation, identified using globallystandard criteria and thresholds, based on the needs of biodiversity requiring safeguard at the site scale.“ Theycover 70% of the world’s natural resources. (Ruth Grace Ambal, Conservation International-Philippines)
4
2000 Data from HARIBON Foundation 2003 based on ESSC 1999 cited there are only 18.3% total forest cover in the Philippines and only 3% remaining old growth forest.
3 |Page
Search
Search History:
Searching...
Result 00 of 00
00 results for result for
  • p.
    • Notes
    Load more