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Worsening condition of forest cover bared NGO says overall picture shows thin Benguet, Baguio forests
DEXTER A. SEE

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The forest cover in this vegetable-producing province and Baguio City is not getting any better despite concerted efforts of government and private groups to reverse the deteriorating condition of the environment. Rhoda Fe Buenavista, ecological enhancement officer of the Jaime V. Ongpin Foundation Inc. (JVOFI), said that although trees are becoming thicker in communal watersheds and forests, the whole picture shows that the forest cover is thinning, and that there is a need for dedicated, continuous efforts of the community to protect the remaining tree stands.

The JVOFI is a non-government organization (NGO) engaged in initiatives to protect and conserve watersheds in Baguio City and La Trinidad, Benguet. These watersheds include the Busol watershed, Buyog watershed in Baguio and the Alapang, Shilan, Alno, Beckel and Puguis communal watersheds in this capital town.

The NGO has been conducting relocation surveys on the watersheds and preparing an ecological profile to pinpoint the critical areas of the watersheds where environmentalists could concentrate their activities. Based on the biodiversity profiling done, the flora and fauna in the said watershed and forest are not in good shape because there are now very few of these in the watersheds with fauna in really big trouble.

Of all the animals that used to roam the forests and watersheds, only the wild cats are being seen, the NGO said. Buenavista said the delineation processes are still going on with the participation of the affected residents, adding that the group is guided by the principle that forests and watersheds are best co-managed by local government units and the residents themselves.

She said that her group would never recommend the ejectment of the thousands of residents living in the watersheds unless a relocation site is made available. She added, however, the communities in the watersheds must no longer grow so that the residents will not be forced to cut trees and occupy vast forest lands for housing and livelihood purposes.

The JVOFI envisions forests in Baguio and Benguet to look like those of Palawan where anthurium and other flowers grow in the thick forests which provide livelihood for people living in the area. Environmentalists are supportive of a plan for an environmental component with which a certain percentage of every development project would be segregated for the purpose of watershed rehabilitation and conservation, saying that this must be started immediately on the municipal levels.

They said that mountainous areas such as those in the Cordillera would be prone to landslides and soil erosion if the trees which serve as support for the unstable, fragile mountain slopes are removed.