Saving RP’s diverse flora, fauna

Ten environment ministers of member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and 300 other environmentalists are attending a conference on national biodiversity in Cebu  today and tomorrow. Significantly, they were treated to a grand view of Verde Island off the coast of Batangas and the Mindoro sea lane, thus seeing concrete examples of the diverse flora and fauna of this country.

The conference, hosted by  the Department of the Environment and Natural resources (DENR), underscores the Arroyo administrations’ big push to make biodiversity a national concern by integrating different conservation efforts into the development plans of local government units that host biodiversity area, according to DENR Secretary Angelo Reyes.

The secretary issued a warning that many of the world’s rarest and endemic species of living organisms can be found in the Philippines, but they are in danger of extinction unless a united effort is made to protect them.

He cited figures from the DENR Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau showing that 227 species of plants and animals in the Philippines are on the World Conservation Union’s Red List of Threatened Species.

That is ironic, as in all, the Philippines has up to 14,000 species of plants (fifth most diverse), and is fourth in bird endemism and fifth in mammal endemism. Endemism, said Reyes, means that a species is found only in a particular area or country.

In terms of hosting diverse flora and fauna, the country has more diverse species than even the Amazon jungle, thus its high ranking among the 18 mega-diverse countries that collectively make up two-thirds of the world’s bio-diversity, accounting for 70 to 80 per cent of all  known plant and animal species, said Reyes.

There is a  danger of whole groups of animals or plants becoming extinct altogether. This he blames on the destructive tendencies of man which have resulted in global warming and ozone layer depletion. "We cannot live in one of the world’s richest natural environments without exercising our responsibility to protect and conserve it, Reyes said.  The first task is to educate Filipinos about the importance of biodiversity — "the totality, variability and interdependence of all living beings on earth."

The Philippines, being an archipelago,  also boasts of rich marine life. Marine scientists have described the marine passage between Batangas and Mindoro as having the largest concentration of marine life in the world, which is estimated at 1,736 species.

The importance of the Philippines as a biodiversity hub, has been duly recognized in the decision of ASEAN countries to establish an ASEAN Center for Biodiversity in Los Baños, Laguna.

In the ministerial meeting in Verde Island, a focal point of a discussion was the big problem being experienced in the ASEAN region — the haze that has being blanketing Singapore and some areas in Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei due to the forest fires in Indonesia.

So there, we Filipinos should support the DENR and the secretary’s efforts to protect and conserve our flora and fauna.

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TALKING of greening the countryside, I went over to the Toll Operation building of the PNCC Skyway Corporation in Parañaque, just off the South Expressway, to purchase an E-Pass. I expressed my delight over the lovely groupings of flowers and ornamental plants in front of  the first-class building. A person waiting for his car  overheard my remarks and told me that the person responsible for the nice landscape was the maintenance supervisor of the expressway –  from Alabang to the Magallanes interchange – and the  elevated skyway from Bicutan to Makati city.

I would have wanted to meet the supervisor (perhaps, I thought, he could fix my garden at my townhouse in Valle Verde), but was told that he was out supervising his men. But a PNCC employee volunteered some pieces of information about the greening and beautification of the skyway program.

The program calls for both planting of trees and shrubs  as well as keeping the express lanes in good condition. The trees planted on the middle section of the highway are for pollution control. The trees absorb the toxic carbon monoxide being emitted by thousands of vehicles speeding through the highway daily. My informant said the trees, including  the ficus Benjamina, offer a respite for tired motorists who probably do not realize that having those trees and shrubs are a payback for the toll fees they have to pay everyday as they commute to their offices or schools.

The greening of the expressway is a source of pride for the PNCC  Skyway Corporation chair, Mrs. Josefa Imperial Aquino — "a very assertive, iron-willed lady whose hands-on administration style focuses on the MMDA-Malacanang pet project, called the Investors Corridor beautification," my informant said. Mrs. Aquino was appointed to the post a little over a year ago, and she takes the PNCC Skyway Corporation’s mandate seriously, the mandate being toll collection and maintenance. Maintenance is her domain, and the collection of that of another group.

Mrs. Aquino was  one of former First Lady Imelda Marcoses’ "blue ladies" who headed the defunct  Green Revolution project in tandem with her late husband, Secretary of Public Works and Highways Baltazar (Tacing) Aquino.

Observant motorists may have noticed the nine-kilometer stretch of potted immaculate white bougainvillas at the median of the skyway; indeed they were refreshing to the eye. Unfortunately, these were mercilessly cut down and blown off by typhoon Milenyo. The plants cost quite a fortune, I imagine. But in their place now are huge pots of Guam bougainvillas that are sure to bloom in rich splendor in the summer.

The skyway, I was told, would be decked with Christmas lights not only for the Christmas season, but also to welcome delegates to the ASEAN summit in Cebu who will be coming to Manila and heading for the resorts in Batangas.

Lest one think Mrs. Aquino and her maintenance crews are only concerned with beautifying the skyway, our informant said the  11-kilometer expressway is also being "repaired" after the destruction wrought by Milenyo. Young trees and shrubs are being planted on the middle section dividing the southbound and northbound lanes; unfortunately, there are very few spaces left in which to plant more trees.

Helping make the job easy for Mrs. Aquino is the coordination of MMDA General Manager Robert Nacienceno.

Merville Park is a pet project of Chair Aquino. The park is the open space sandwiched between the southbound lane and the exit to the Merville subdivision and West Service road. It is being neatly landscaped, with colorful flowering plants, and gigantic fountains.

Maintaining the highways and greening them are tedious jobs for the maintenance supervisors. One of them told me that a big headache is the squatters living along the riles — the squatters who throw their trash from their shanties to the highways. "The first thing we do in the morning is gather the garbage, but before we’re even finished sweeping,  more trash is thrown, sometimes even at our men," a supervisor said.

Well, if you ask me, if I had my way, I’ll throw those squatters into the streets!

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