Government urged to protect the Sierra Madre

MANILA, Philippines — Agriculture and environment stakeholders are urging the government to enact laws that will protect Sierra Madre and other mountain ranges given its massive contribution to food security especially during typhoons.

Food security, advocacy group Tugon Kabuhayan said the government should also institutionalize support for the protection of the environment to ensure the country’s food security.

“While we are grateful that the government has allotted P709 million worth of assistance to Karding-affected fishers and farmers, the same level of support should also be given to our environment, from ridge to reef.

This is not just to ensure protection and conservation, but food security as well for the generations to come. As the first law of ecology states, everything is connected to everything else,” it said.

Nagsama-Lamon Bay (Nagkakaisang Samahan ng mga Mangingisda sa Lamon Bay) convenor Jhun Pascua is pushing for the passage of proposed legislative measures such as the Watershed Protection Bill.

“It’s vital that Congress process the Watershed (Protection) Bill again to continue protecting Sierra Madre,” he said.

Save Sierra Madre Network Alliance Inc. executive director Conrad Vargas also called for the legislation of measures that willprotect watershed areas including in the mountain ranges, and the halting of the construction of the Kaliwa Dam.

He also supports the creation of a Sierra Madre Council, like the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development, which was created under Republic Act 7611 or the Strategic Environmental Plan (SEP) for Palawan Act to ensure that the province’s fragile environment is protected, conserved, utilized, and managed effectively.

“This has long been pushed through a series of consultation and dialog with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Regions 1, 2, 3 and 4-A,” he said.

Federation of Central Luzon Farmers’ Cooperative (FCLFC) chairman Simeon Sioson said the Sierra Madre range has served as a wind and rain breaker for farmers during typhoons.

Sierra Madre is the longest mountain range in the Philippines. Spanning over 540 kilometers and runs from the province of Cagayan down to the province of Quezon, forming a north-south direction on the eastern portion of Luzon.

The Sierra Madre Mountain Range has minimized the damage due to Super Typhoon Karding not only to crops and livestock, but also brood stock in Central Luzon, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Region 3 director Wilfredo Cruz said.

Brood stock are mature fish used in aquaculture for breeding purposes.

“About 17 million brood stock would’ve been lost if not for Sierra Madre. Luzon is number one in aquaculture production, and Central Luzon or Region 3 produces 16 percent by value,” Cruz said.

Tugon Kabuhayan convenor Norberto Chingcuanco said Sierra Madre’s impact on Karding shows that nature is vital to ensuring a sustainable livelihood.

“We need nature for our livelihood. Aquaculture depends on clean water to survive and thrive. It is in our best interest to preserve the environment so we can keep on producing fish,” he said.

Former BFAR national director and Tugon Kabuhayan convenor Asis Perez said the six regions affected by Karding—Cordillera Autonomous Region, Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and Bicol Region—are connected through the three mountain ranges.

“The impact of Karding to everyone in the agricultural community might have been worse had it not been for Sierra Madre. The mountains both protect us from danger and ensure that we are able to produce food,” he said.

Latest data from the Department of Agriculture showed losses in the sector reached P3.12 billion, devastating 170,762 hectares of farmlands, affecting 108,594 farmers and fisherfolk, and destroying 158,117 metric tons in volume of production.