WAO, LANAO DEL NORTE, Philippines—For Perpetua Magdadaro, her name is her fate.
The 56-year old widow and mother of five, two of them farmers themselves, is living a life of endless romance with the sun that chars her skin as she toils the land.
Every morning, Magdadaro—which literally means “toiler”—wakes up even before the sky whitens in her upland village of Banga in Wao, Lanao del Sur.
“I have been a farmer all my life. And I will be a farmer forever,” says Magdadaro, whose father was also a farmer.
This is why she gives utmost importance to the protection of the environment, especially participating actively in the campaign to keep the remaining forest cover of Wao free from destructive human activities.
“I have realized that as farmers, the number one resource is the forest—the land, the trees, the water sources. And so there is a need to keep them protected,” she says.
Magdadaro had closely seen how Wao’s natural wonders turned into an ugly landscape. For 15 years, her husband worked for Timber Philippines Industries Inc. (Tipi), holder of a logging concession in Wao.
Mistakes of the past
“It pains me to look back but we have to do something to rectify the mistakes of the past. And now, I am one among those who stand to keep the remaining forests protected … and instead of cutting trees, the time calls for us to plant trees,” she said.
Magdadaro is the chair of the Banga Farmers and Watershed Development Cooperative, an active partner of the local government in protecting the forest.
Along with 45 other members of the cooperative, Magdadaro has pledged herself to become part of the movement which will ensure that Wao’s mistakes will never be repeated again.
“We do not need disasters to realize that disturbing the natural order of the environment and destroying life forms in the forest is deadly. All we need to do is to look ahead and ask ourselves: How about our children?” she says.
LGU action
Mayor Elvino Balicao says the local government has sought the help of farmers like Magdadaro in its bid to prevent further forest destruction.
Wao’s vigilance today is a result of an unfortunate event in history—at the expense of the forests—where residents took themselves to the streets to stop the operations of Tipi.
An emotional Edna Espinosa, one of the leaders of people’s organization Lihok Wao, says: “The bastardization of the forest during that time was just too much. They were cutting even the young trees ... we just had to do something.”
“The only thing that did not flow out of my eyes are blood. Still, I was ready to die fighting against logging at that time,” she says.
Espinosa’s group is still active in apprehending trucks moving logs through Wao from neighboring towns in the province of Lanao del Sur. That the local government is backing these moves has earned him death threats, Balicao says.
“But we have to do something to protect the remaining natural resources of the province. These trucks pass by here and so we have to hold them, no matter what,” he says.
“As for Wao, the water sources have gradually been depleted and this is absolutely the result of the logging operations here before,” Balicao says.
People’s efforts
He says the best weapon to keep the biodiversity of the forests of Wao is the very people who are living close to these areas—those who rely solely on farming for livelihood.
“They can still farm and conduct their activities but they have to make sure that they will be active in keeping the forests safe. They have to plant trees and ensure that their farming practices do not run counter to our objective of promoting sustainable development,” Balicao says.
Wao, a third-class municipality (annual income: P35 million-P45 million) with an estimated 42,000 population, was one of the early recipients of a technical assistance on the formulation of a forest land use plan from the US Agency for International Development-Philippine Environmental Governance (EcoGov) Project.
The project gave birth to Wao’s 10-year integrated solid waste management plan which later led to the construction of a P3-million sanitary landfill.
Now, the proper management of its watershed is the top priority of the local officials.
Forest co-management
Just last Jan. 28, the municipality passed an ordinance governing the “development, management and utilization of the co-managed forests and forest lands of Wao.”
(On April 11, 2006, Wao and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources entered into a co-management agreement over the allocation, management and development of the forest and forest lands of Wao covering 2,184 hectares of land.)
Through the ordinance, Magdadaro became a holder of an Individual Property Rights (IPR) instrument, which allows her to plant vegetables, fruits and high-value crops in forest clearings. The IPR—a management sub-agreement instrument under the local government’s Watershed Co-Management Program—ensures that “no person may utilize, exploit, occupy or conduct any activity within the co-management area or establish, install, add and operate a structure, unless he has been authorized to do so by the government.”
Livelihood support
The 25-year instrument provides Magdadaro and the other holders a reliable source of livelihood. The local government provides all kinds of support to those who are given free planting materials for crops, such as rubber, coffee, corn, fruits and vegetables.
Each holder can plant on at least 3 hectares of land. The holder will start to pay back the government when it becomes productive.
“We thought this co-management scheme was a threat to the farmers. We were scared of it, thinking that it was a tool of the government to dislocate the farmers. And we were wrong,” Magdadaro says.
For Balicao, introducing the IPR was a painstaking task for the local government unit, something that they had to pursue as its success would be beneficial for local-fund source and the protection of the environment.
Yearly, according to their estimate, the local government will be able to earn at least P135,000 from a hectare of land planted to rubber; P96,000 for coffee, and P42,000 for corn.
The local government has already issued 180 IPRs in the watershed villages of Pilintangan, Banga and Park Area—with 200 hectares already fully planted with crops and trees.
Galing Pook Award
Backing these efforts are the local industries. Wao’s watershed and forest management program recently won them the Galing Pook Award, a recognition given to local government units that are successful in implementing programs that show excellence in governance.
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Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer
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