COVER STORY

whether they were built of solid structures of built from wood and
flimsy materials, were defenseless as waters rose and ate away the soft
soil where their houses stood. The most dramatic evidence presented
itself when the flood receded. Layers of plastic showed in soil that got
eroded, proving to all that toxic plastic thrown into the river survived

Esther Windler

Catalyst for Change

the test of time. Esther and her group

documented the tragic effects of years
of neglect and used the photographs
to convince people to take action. The
clean up drive after the flood yielded 17
trucks of garbage!
Other groups took the challenge of
cleaning the river. A Belgian NGO
helped. Foundation University adopted
the spillway in 2009. Nursing students
mobilized communities to adopt
practices that promote health and
sanitation and taught the use of herbal
medicine. Neighborhoods living close
to the river made it their responsibility to
clean their part of Banica River.
Banica river is much cleaner now. When
we visited Esther to look at her part of
the river, the water was clean and freely
flowing. Esther told us she has taken
a swim in the river twice early in the
morning at about 5:30 a.m. and found
the experience invigorating. Still, a lot
needs to be done. Sometime in August,
we drove through the city section where
informal settlers reside along the banks
of Banica river. We still saw a flotsam of
plastic-wrapped garbage.
The network of Esther has widened.
Friends of Banica has since evolved
into Friends of the Environment in
Oriental Negros or FENOR. The group
has managed to pull in more supporters
and have raised funds for advocacy
work. They have bought radio time in
partnership with DED, a European
development agency. She admits though
that much of the work that needs to
be done really is dependent on the
cooperation and determination of Local
Government Units or LGUs.

Esther Windler at their backyard through which the Banica River flows

ho would think that Esther,

very much a proper, career
woman in Switzerland would
find her voice and stand up for
the environment?

Born and raised in Negros Oriental, she left

for Switzerland with her mother in 1966.
She eventually married a Swiss, raised a
family, and worked as an accountant. Even
then, having a family and a career did not
keep her from developing new interests,
but they were so unlike the interests
that took her time and energy, when she
returned to Negros Oriental to retire with
her husband, Heinz Windler. Back then,
she was into diving and snorkeling.

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Back in 1996, Esther and Heinz bought a

few thousand square meter lot in Bagacay,
Dumaguete, situated a few meters away
from the Banica River. It was their dream
retirement place a home in the middle of
the city but far from the madding crowd
and in the midst of wide open spaces.
Then Esther had a rude awakening when
the effects of the 1997-1998 El Nino
became apparent. Banica river dried
up and the remains of garbage dumped
mostly by those residing along the river
were all over the river bed.
I was horrified. Understand that I lived
for 30 years in a country that was so
clean and tidy, and services like public

transportation were delivered as expected.

I felt I had to do something. So spoke
Esther. She organized Friends of the
Banica River, which started with a few
friends and believers. Their first action was
convincing the Barangay Captain to walk
the entire length of the Banica river, which
starts from Valencia to the end of the river
to see for himself the situation. The group
also formed partnerships with both Local
Government Units and with NGOs.
Things came to a head when Dumaguete
experienced the big flood in 2009 and
the consequences of disregarding proper
solid waste disposal over the years were
evident all over the city, especially in places
close to the river. Houses, regardless of

Photo above shows Esther with her son in Switzerland

Below: Mother and son during her sons visit to Dumaguete City

The day I met Esther for the interview,

she and her friend, Arlene Uypitching,
happily told me that the City Council has
passed on third reading the ordinance
on No to Plastic Bags. The ordinance
stipulates that plastic bags cannot be
used for dry goods. Wet goods such as
fish can be wrapped in biodegradable
plastic but the plastic should afterwards
be washed and dried before collection by
the barangay. The ordinance encourages
business establishments and individuals
to use organic materials that are
biodegradable such as the local bayong,
cloth bags, and paper bags.
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DAYN |July-August 2011|17

COVER STORY

the aftermath of the 2009 Dumaguete City flooding

Also part of Esthers advocacy is consumer

protection. She and some supporters
organized the Consumers Advocate, Inc.
The group waged a campaign for the
inter-connection of Globe and Cruztelco
in Dumaguete City. The two telephone
companies were charging consumers long
distance rates whenever they used a Globe
line to call a Cruztelco number, and vice
versa. When the Consumer Advocates
demanded immediate inter-connection, the
two companies wanted to be given three
years to do so. The CAI lodged a complaint
with the National Telecommunication
Bureau and the Department of Trade and
Industry. They did a signature campaign
and succeeded in getting the City Council
to demand inter-connection within 90 days.
These days, Esther is excited about
being part of MISSION (Movement of
Imaginals for a Sustainable Society through
Initiatives, Organizing, and Networking).
The Dumaguete group of which Esther
is a member (a group is called a node) is
part of a national organization initiated
by Nicanor Perlas. The Dumaguete node
is relatively new and from what I could
gather, MISSION is about being guided by
a vision of a society that we would like to
have and the personal transformation that
each must undergo to create a sustainable
society.
Dumaguete nodes focus is on sustainable
environment and their initiatives are
on organic farming and bio-dynamic
agriculture. Esther attended the workshop
conducted by Nicanor Perlas in May, which
lasted for 3 weeks. During that time, Esther
experienced living the practices advocated
by MISSION. I felt the changes in my
body, relates Esther.
Esthers personal transformation has
actually started years ago and as her life
continues to unfold, I would love to see
her a year from now and know the distance
she has traveled in life and the impact her
leadership would havemade in Negros
Oriental.

DEFORESTATION OF NEGROS ISLAND THROUGH THE YEARS

1998

74 YEARS
LATER

21 YEARS
LATER

17 YEARS
LATER

11 YEARS
LATER

apping of forests in Negros Oriental over a period of 123 years (1875-1998) shows dramatic changes in our forest
cover. There are several reasons for this. One would be the need for more land for agriculture and residence, as
population increases. Another would be the indiscriminate cutting down of trees with no replanting done, as wood
prices continue to increase. The result is frightening and at its worst between the period from 1970 to 1987.

But all is not lost, as the forest map of 1998 shows. Some towns and cities have pursued reforestation to protect their watersheds.
Weve seen the Lawigan Watershed Project of Bacong and the Danapa Watershed Project of Bayawan City, and in Sibulan, the measures taken by the Protected Management Board to guard the Balinsasayaw National Park. 2011 has been declared the Year of Forests
and Rainforestation of denuded areas are on-going.
The NGOs have contributed a large part of this movement and they deserve the governments and the publics attention and support.

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