Wednesday, January 30, 2008

EP10 (Jan30): The Center of the Center




It is sometimes hard to believe that our own little country has a special place in the world. Philippines has a very high wildlife endemism and bio-diversity, we’re like 10 times of Galapagos Island.

It’s not surprising also that within the Coral Triangle, the center of highest marine biodiversity (in the WHOLE WORLD) can be found in our very own Verde Passage. The waters of Balayan bay, Batangas bay, Maricaban strait and the waters between Batangas and Mindoro belongs to Verde Passage. It’s a paradise full of beautiful & colorful corals and bountiful fishes, not only in numbers – but in kind.

Born to be Wild visited and featured this place, to help raise awareness about this treasure and at the same time present potential issues that threatens this fragile environment. Bad fishing habits (like dynamite and cyanide use), threat of oil spill, pollution from boats and local communities – are some of the challenges that we’re facing in safeguarding Verde Passage. We did a look-see with Conservation Internationale who also explained to us how they do underwater monitoring. I tried but found out that it’s easier to drink beer and count stars, than put a survey line or grid and count fish underwater hehe.

What interested me is that fact that CI’s study was focused on identifying spawning sources and sinks. This is a very important factor in establishing “correct” Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), versus discretionary and non-research based MPA programs.
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My key message: Help raise awareness about this special heritage – we can only preserve and conserve something that we can truly appreciate.


Last note: The Center of the center? Coral Triangle spans many countries and territories and includes the seas of south Asia, south-east Asia and western Pacific. Sulu-Sulawesi (bordering Philippines and Malaysia) is like the center of this triangle, and the ‘center’ of this sub-area is the Verde Passage – it is THE MOST BIO-DIVERSED marine area in the world.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Ep8 Jan16: Zoo vs. Wild?

One of the biggest and endless debate about animals or wildlife - is whether to keep them in zoos, or just leave them in the wild. There’s an obvious answer to this. (You don’t have to guess, just ask yourself how you want to be treated).

But given dwindling and degrading habitats, uncontrolled illegal hunting and trading, and unregulated or unsustainable harvesting – some folks are starting to think twice.

In my opinion – the best (or wishful) scenario is to have protected natural parks so that animals can roam freely in their natural habitat, but at the same time enjoy the luxury of getting security from park rangers (to stop illegal poaching or habitat destruction), and even medical attention if park resources permits. My visit to Serengeti and Ngorongoro park reserves (in East Africa) allowed me to see a better way of conserving our animals and their habitat. There, the school kids do not need Zoo for wildlife education, they just visit their parks!

In the Philippines – the rate of habitat destruction is simply alarming. With 3% old forest growth, & 5-10%(?) coral reef remaining – how do we expect keeping healthy animal population in the so-called ‘wilderness’?! The culprits -- too much commercial development and mining, the 2 biggest ‘destroyers’ of our forest. Behind that are various ‘powerful’ people who are successfully leading the way to our self-destruction.

What can we do?
- Kill the demand. Don’t buy wild animal products / derivatives. (Shark’s fin soup, fur, wild animal-carpets, turtle ‘shells’, crocodile-skin bags/wallets, corals, etc.)
- Easy on the old-wood furniture. Why not bamboo? Rattan?
- Help on the campaign against bad mining? (they destroy trees, mountains & rivers).
- When in doubt, just plant a tree! Then some more trees… hehe.

Zoo vs Wild? The bigger issue is habitat & wildlife destruction. You keep the zoos, but help protect the wild! If we have enough safe places for the animals – we may not need zoos or oceanariums!

Ep7 Jan9: Hidden Treasures


Born to be Wild is not just about animals, it also features natural wonders. Natural wonders - that inevitably connects to our eco systems either as a direct habitat, or just an integral part of the life system.

This time, I revisited the trails and crater of Mt. Pinatubo – famous for its gigantic eruption in the early 90’s, as well as its devastating Lahar flow in the years that followed its eruption. When I visited Pinatubo in the mid-90’s, it was a desert exploration! Blinding dust, hot winds, burning sunlight… and the place was a completely dead, barren place!

Today, it’s perfectly ALIVE! It simply showed how nature can reclaim a no-man's land, or how it can heal its own wound. Trees, variety of plant life, hundreds of birds, some small mammals – and indigenous Aeta people now thrive in this once forsaken desert place. And the crater – it is still the enchanting beauty of a mystical (crater) lake, with its color magically changing from blue green, to green or blue. Here, sitting in the beach side of the crater lake, and listening to the whistling of wind, or chirping of passing birds – you’ll easily find peace and serenity (and forget about your credit card debts, work issues and the fact that you still need to walk a few kilometers to get back to your jeep. Hehe.)