‘Exploitation in the name of protection’

FAITH HOPE AND CHARITY
Ka Iking Seneres

Sustainability has a double meaning, and we better work overtime in order to understand what it really means, otherwise, we could find ourselves in double jeopardy.

When we speak of sustainable mining, we should understand that what it means is to sustain not only the state of the mining activity itself, but also the environmental state of the mountain or land that is being subjected to the mining activity. What is ironic is that we supposedly mine our natural resources in order to sustain out economic life, but what usually happens is that we end up destroying our environmental life.

It should be easy for us to understand that water is life, and if we destroy the life of our water sources, we are also destroying the source of our life. As it is now, we are already importing our rice, our milk and even the corn that we feed to our livestock. Are we going to wait until we are going to be forced to also import our water?

Many experts have written that in the future, wars will be fought because of water. What this means is that there could be a global shortage of water, and wars will be fought because some countries will have no water to buy, even if they have the money to import water.

Economics is all about the allocation of scarce resources, but how do we allocate a resource if it is no longer available? It would stand to reason that the best thing to do is to allocate a resource when it is still available, and to preserve it when it is already scarce.

As of now, we could argue that our gold and minerals are not yet scarce and that is why we still allocate the permits to mine it, but as we allow that to happen, are we not also endangering the source of our water? Gold might cost more than water now, but as wars will be fought in the future for water, it will be the water that will cost more than gold.

The story of Mount HilongHilong near Butuan City in Mindanao is the story of the conflict between the short term exploitation of our natural resources, and the long term preservation of our source of life. Supposedly in the name of environmental protection, House Bill No. 3037 has been passed by Congress with many provisions that would allow commercial exploitation including mining and logging. A much friendlier version, Senate Bill No. 2156 has been filed in the Senate, and is up for discussion. Although less damaging at the outset, the Senate version still allows provisions for the mountain to be destroyed.

We elect lawmakers so that they could protect us, not exploit us. Thanks to the system of checks and balances in our democracy, we could still turn to the bureaucracy for help just in case the Congress fails us. What is difficult to understand however is how HB 3037 passed Congress when in fact, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) was supposedly consulted when it was deliberated there.

Is this a case of two branches of our government failing us? Could the Supreme Court possibly side with us? This is not a far fetched notion, because in the past, the SC has issued a continuing mandamus to protect Manila Bay, a landmark decision that is the first in the world.
Fortunately, the friendlier version in the Senate was sponsored by Senator PiaCayetano, a known environmentalist.

Now, the members of the Ivory Charities Foundation of Butuan City led by Dr. Rene Vargas are hoping that she would come to their side, by way of removing the damaging provisions of the Bill. Hopefully, the friendlier version will get the support of the broader pro-environment community. The bottom line really is whether to allow mining or not. I am not against mining per se, if the methods are sustainable, but in this case, I support a total ban, because it is the last source of water for the entire Caraga Region.

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