(Green Alert, May 28, 2008)


The issue of illegal structures inside the Northern Negros Forest Reserve (NNFR) is not new. The Provincial Government of Negros Occidental including the Provincial Environment and Management Office (PEMO), the LGUs surrounding the said forest area and the local DENR knew about this but never took it seriously.

Three years after the said forest area was declared a park (Northern Negros Forest Park), illegal structures are growing in numbers. Here is the catch, most of the illegal structures are owned by rich politicians, judges, government officials and foreigners.

The recent issues being thrown at Rusty Binas of Green Alert Negros Environmental Network Inc. is a welcome development that raises long forgotten conservation issues inside the Northern Negros Forest Park, where most of the remaining forest cover left in Negros island is found.

Mr. Binas did not deny that he bought the rights of the said area in Barangay Kumaliskis in Don Salvador Benedicto and erected a "bahay kubo". He even told the media and Vice-Mayor Cynthia De La Cruz in his recent audience with the members of the Sanguniang Bayan of Don Salvador Benedicto that he bought the rights of the said area for P100,000.

Mr. Binas bought the said rights in April 2007 after fellow environmentalists were able to learn that another forest land was for sale. Learning from what is happening in Patag, Silay that CSC holders would normally sell their rights, Mr. Binas bought the rights purposely to start reforesting the area and to establish a place where environmentalists and outdoor enthusiast can hold environmental educational and training.

The intention of Mr. Binas in acquiring the said area is far different from those individuals who own lucrative structures such as rest houses or resorts which are illegal, destroy the scenic beauty of the forest area, and disturb flora and fauna.

Mr. Binas worked for the protection and conservation of the Northern Negros Forest Park for more than a decade as Project Manager of the International Institute for Rural Reconstruction or IIRR. IIRR's involvement in the Northern Negros Forest Reserve began in 1991 with the establishment of an Agroforestry Learning Center at Barangay Patag. The Patag Farmers's Integrated Social Forestry Association (PAFISFA), a community organization which was initially set up with DENR support, had been languishing in inactivity for some time. IIRR's program centered on training activities designed to promote the project managerial and technical skills of PAFISFA members. This group now manages the Patag Agroforestry Learning Center. More than 100 hectares of land in Patag have soil and water conservation structures as a result of this activity.

German Agro Action assisted IIRR to re-enter the area in 1995 and work focused on strengthening previous gains. IIRR then began working with seven communities on the western side of the Reserve: Canlusong and Sitio Ronnel (E.B. Magolona), Gawahon (Victorias), Patag, Lantawan and Tayap (Silay City), Magcurao (Talisay). Community and Farm Action Plans have been produced and some communities have presented these plans to local government. Many technologies in regenerative agriculture have already been transferred and Indigenous Facilitators (IF) have been employed in the process of support and dissemination of these technologies. They have assisted fellow-farmers to further develop, adapt, and refine the technology options.

The project that Mr. Binas handled also strengthened the cooperation with other government and non - government agencies towards the efficient and effective delivery of support services to the different project sites. Support services such as training, advocacy mileage , technical information, networking and linkages, social mobilization, are content areas which the project was and still is working to institutionalize at the Peoples Organization (PO) level.

Mr. Binas and the Green Alert Negros Environmental Network Inc. which is at the forefront in environmental advocacy and protection in Negros Island have been working together by providing a venue through tri-media advocacy to ventilate or disclose the environmental issues from the project site and the whole of NNFR. That time, IIRR though Mr. Binas took the active role as secretariat to Green Alert and taking the lead in initiating environmental activities such as
protesting the entry of the Philippine National Oil Company's geothermal project in Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park, repealing the Mining Act of 1995, blocking the entry of the Coal Fired power plant in Pulupandan in 1998, and other environmental issues. Other non-government organizations also took a vigilant and active part in these campaigns.

With the partnership of IIRR and Green Alert Negros, a yearly forest trek dubbed "Panikang-tikang" was organized inside the Northern Negros Forest Reserve. This activity provided a wider perspective among the participants from the lowland communities about the present state of the NNFR, primarily on the bio-physical features and the living conditions of the communities within the area. It also seeks to look on potential areas for development that will help the villagers alleviate poverty and improve their living conditions and to participate in addressing pressing concerns of the whole NNFR.

When Mr. Binas left the IIRR project in NNFR, Green Alert Negros together with its network continued its advocacy initiatives inside the forest reserve. Panikang-tikang and recently E-Trek were organized to raise awareness on the state of the NNFR. The commitment of Green Alert Negros that Mr. Binas inspired did not end after he left the project.

Now that Mr. Binas has the chance to access a small portion of the NNFR that is located in Don Salvador Benedicto, he wanted to continue his commitment in protecting the forest of NNFR even with his own little way.

Green Alert Negros and other environmental and outdoor groups going to the said area in Don Salvador Benedicto are required to bring a tree seedling as part of Mr. Binas pledge to reforest the area. Green Alert members and visitors also utilize the area as a venue for environmental education and capacity building.

Although Green Alert Negros recognizes that the attack on the person of Mr. Binas is to discredit him and his no-compromise stand on the PNOC-EDC issue inside Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park, this however is a Pandora's box being opened to unleash the realities facing the said forest reserve.

Mr. Binas in his statement to the press stressed that the said area belongs to the Northern Negros Forest Reserve and is not his. He wanted to prove that there are many illegal structures inside the forest area, a problem that needs to be addressed by the LGUs surrounding the forest area, the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental, and the local DENR. Sometimes, the only means for a person to be heard and recognized is to violate certain laws. And that was the case and that was the very intention of the plan.

Green Alert Negros lauds the stand of Vice-Mayor Cynthia De La Cruz of Don Salvador Benedicto that she will carry her initial order to demolish all illegal structures inside the NNFR within the Municipality of Don Salvador Benedicto. The Municipality of Don Salvador Benedicto knows all the "illegal structures" erected in their municipality because a "legal permit to construct" was issued for some of the big structures.

Green Alert also welcomes the statement of PENRO Luvino Duran that the Northern Negros Forest Reserve Council or NNFRC will be setting guidelines on the illegal occupants inside NNFR.

Green Alert Negros appeals to the DENR to set up a Park Area Management Board or PAMB for NNFP since the said forest area is already a forest park. The said PAMB can define strict guidelines on the zoning of the forest area where most of the illegal structures like rest houses and resorts are inside the strict protection zone of the NNFP.

Attached herewith is the Panikang-tikang 1999 Declaration for detailed issues and concerns on NNFR.

Green Alert Negros will be around in monitoring that all structures inside the NNFP will be demolished and comprehensive forest protection and conservation programs will be established and reinforced inside NNFR forest area.

Mark Cevantes
Green Alert Negros

 

 

 

 

 

  

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