Palawenyos Stand strong against Palm oil Expansion

Massive forest conversion for
oil palm plantations in Sandoval,
Municipality of Bataraza

by: The Coalition Against Land Grabbing

This article is almost a year old and still they push for Palm oil monocultured plantations.

"Oil palm development should had never be initiated in Palawan, the last ecological frontier of the Philippines. In fact, in the late eighties, because of its unique biocultural diversity, the whole province was declared by UNESCO a Man and Biosphere Reserve. About two decades later, massive conversion of land into oil palm plantations is endangering biodiversity, water resources, the quality of topsoil and the livelihood of indigenous peoples and traditional farmers, while undermining Palawan local food sovereignty and exacerbating rural poverty. Palawan, in fact, has the last remaining contiguous forest block in the country: oil palm plantations are breaking the contiguity between different and interrelated ecosystems, such as hilly forest, lowland forest, shrub/grassland and wetlands, etc. thus having adverse consequences on animal species that move and thrive in different ecological niches, as well as on the integrity of each specific niche.

Members of indigenous communities in the oil palm impacted municipalities are complaining that common animals have completely disappeared from the impacted areas and the population of birds has dropped dramatically. As revealed by a recent ALDAW (Ancestral Land/Domain Watch) study supported by Non-Timber Forest-Exchange Programme  and Broederlijk Delen, there is also a remarkable decrease of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) which are essential to the livelihood of the local communities. Fresh water resources such as fish, shells and shrimps are fast declining.

Massive forest conversion for oil palm plantations in Sandoval, Municipality of Bataraza Massive forest conversion for oil palm plantations in Sandoval, Municipality of Bataraza.

The loss of medicinal plants is also another topic of discussion amongst indigenous communities being affected by oil palm development. Traditional leader, Panglima Kenisio Malasan, from sitio Marebong in barangay Pulot (Municipality of Espanola) speaks passionately about the importance of medicinal plants and their decline: “It is like we are dying little by little because we no longer have the plants needed to cure ourselves [...] before we only walked half hour to get the raw material for building our houses, for our artifacts and medicinal plants. Now we have to walk half day to the other side of the mountain before we can find the plants we need”.

Amongst indigenous elders there is a deep concern on whether the coming generations will be able to use and recognize medicinal plants: “We are afraid that the traditional knowledge of medicinal plants will not be passed to the next generation, also because these plants are now located very far from our settlements and it is difficult to bring the children with us when we look for them. Nowadays, our children cannot identify these medicinal plants, because they haven’t had a chance of seeing them,” says Nestor Aplaon a Pala’wan from the same community.

The Philippines is a land and resource rich country, but its government is ‘cash poor’ and this is why it is seeking foreign direct investment in land and agriculture. However, “In the context of weak land governance and insecure land tenure, plans as those suggested by DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) undersecretary Paje to convert 8 millions of Philippines’ land into oil palm plantations are suicidal for our country,” says John Mart Salunday, a community organizer of ALDAW (Ancestral Land/Domain Watch) a local organization that has been at the forefront of the struggle against oil palm development in Palawan.

As it is well known, industrial cultivation of oil palms in Palawan is not for local consumption but for export and it is geared towards quick profits. “What we would need instead,” says CALG’s secretary Welly Mandi, “Are lower risk models of agricultural development that give a greater share of benefits to the poor while improving and fostering the production of endemic crops such as coconuts”.

As far as oil palm development is concerned there are still many questions which need to be answered: What will happen to the future generation of indigenous peoples’ living in oil impacted areas? What will happen to Palawan land after 30 years of oil palm cultivation? Will traditional owners have sufficient resources to rehabilitate soils that have been subjected to heavy chemical fertilization and herbicides? Before all such questions are answered, what needs to take place is a complete stop to all further oil palm expansion and a complete rethinking of government approach towards agricultural development. In this respect, CALG’s presentation of a petition for a moratorium is a remarkable starting point for preventing that more land will be taken away from traditional users, especially indigenous communities.

Indigenous Pala’wan losing out their coconuts because of oil palm plantations, Municipality of Espanola

“Here in Palawan,” says Marivic Bero (CALG’s Secretary General), “We have the best laws in place to protect both the environment and the rights of our indigenous peoples. However, the limits of law lie within the implementation process, wherein rules and regulations are conditioned by the inability of concerned government agencies and their officials to stand by their own mandates”.

Indeed, this gap between law and practice has allowed oil palm plantations to expand in the absence of maps and permits. In a letter dated Aug.15, 2013, the Palawan Provincial Office of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) ascertained that oil palm plantations overlap with the ancestral domain of Tagbanua and Palawan tribes in at least 16 barangay belonging to five municipalities. Thus, the Agumil oil palm company has been formally requested by NCIP-Palawan to comply with Section 59 Certificate of Precondition of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act 8371 and to coordinate with NCIP Provincial Office. As of now, not only Agumil has failed to reply to NCIP request, but also NCIP has failed to do any follow up on that initial letter. It must be pointed out that the notion of Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) is not only a central component of the IPRA law, but it is also enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) which sees the Philippine Government amongst one of its state-signatories.

Oil palm development has also deprived migrant farmers of crucial agriculture income.  As Motalib Kemil (CALG’s Chairman) explains, “All benefits of oil palm development are being enjoyed by Agumil Philippines, Inc (AGPI) and its sister company, the Palawan Palm & Vegetable Oil Mills Inc (PPVOMI), while farmers’ cooperatives and small land holders are now on the verge of economic collapse. As far as concerning oil palm development we really need to understand where the risks and benefits lie”.

PPVOMI oil palm nursery in
Maasin, Municipality of
Brooke’s Point

Kemil explains that those bearing the risk of crop failure are the farmers’ cooperatives; they are ultimately blamed by Agumil if plantations do not bear enough fruits. CALG’s Welly Mande speaks passionately on how his people (the Tagbanua and farmers of Barangay Aramaywan, Quezon) were seduced by the “sweet talks” and “empty promises” of Agumil to the extent of entering into memorandum of agreements with them. Such agreements are written in technical English which is incomprehensible to local farmers who signed them mainly on the basis of the optimistic prospect being presented to them by Agumil’s managers (e.g. long term employment and quick economic profits). Such explanations, of course, did not match what the contracts actually stated. “It is clear that Agumil has engaged in deceptive and clearly fraudulent conduct to obtain large tracts of land from local communities in Palawan” says Atty Awat, CALG’s legal councilor.

Aside from Agumil, another agribusiness enterprise known as “Green Power Palawan” (GPP) has gone so far as to promise indigenous communities financial and technical assistance for the demarcation and recognition of their ancestral domains. “Of course these promises had been given only for the purpose of getting people’s consensus about the development of large-scale plantations on their land.” says Motalib Kemil, who joined one of the meetings being organized by GPP. Unofficial sources reveal that GPP works like a sort of middleman: they try to negotiate agreements directly with ancestral land holders and eventually they invite venture groups to occupy and develop these lands with monocrops, such as oil palm, rubber, cacao, etc. “They are trying to convince our indigenous peoples to rent their lands for prices as low as 500 pesos (about 11US$) per year, per hectare! This is unacceptable,” says Kemil.

Environmental plundering by oil palm companies is not only a crime against nature but also a crime against culture, a sort of genocide that annihilates the most profound roots of indigenous societies and ultimately plunders the cultural heritage of the whole nation. Surely, the commitment of Philippine’s government to resolve food security and to safeguard indigenous peoples’ ancestral domains is not compatible with the ongoing attempt of converting precious land into oil palm plantations. The government, then, should respond quickly and responsibly to the petition of indigenous peoples and farmers calling for a provincial moratorium on oil palm expansion, before its adverse socio-ecological implications will become irreversible.

A Pala’wan Indigenous girl from the impacted communities

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Write a polite letter addressed to the Governor (Jose Chaves Alvarez ) and Vice Governor (Dennis Socrates) of Palawan, asking to immediately implement a moratorium on oil palm expansion in Palawan.

Governor Email: palawan.governor@gmail.com
Fax: 0063-048-4332987

Vice-Governor email: vdmsocrates@gmail.com

The letter should also be copied and emailed to the President of the Philippines and to the following government officials

The National Level

H.E. Benigno C. Aquino III
President of the Republic
E-mail: corres@op.gov.ph / opnet@ops.gov.ph / titonoy@president.gov.ph

Dr. Marlea Pinor Munez, Executive Director and Mr. Ruben S. Bastero, Regional Director RIV, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) ncipexecdirector@gmail.com
NCIP Commissioner Dionisia Banua dioningbanua@yahoo.com.ph

Hon. Ramon Jesus Paje
Secretary
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Email: osec@denr.gov.ph
hea@denr.gov.ph

Hon. Proceso J. Alcala
Secretary
Department of Agriculture (DA)
Email: procyalcala@gmail.com; spja_osec@yahoo.com; spja_osec@da.gov.ph

Euclides G. Forbes and Carlos B. Carpio (Philippine Coconut Authority - PCA) ofad@pca.da.gov.ph

Executive Director: Mr. Nelson P. Devanadera
Palawan Council for Sustainable Development: pcsdsfsd@compass.com.ph
oed@pcsd.ph and Mrs. Mearl Hilario, PCSD Committee on Tribal Affairs: mearlhilario@yahoo.com

Mrs. Gilda E. Pico, President and CEO, Land Bank of the Philippines
landbank@mail.landbank.com Fax: 0063 2 528-8580
For additional information contact the ALDAW Network aldaw.indigenousnetwork@gmail.com and the Coalition against Land Grabbing (CALG) calgpalawan@gmail.com

Understanding Strategic Environment Plan for Palawan

Understanding SEP

By Redempto Anda -  Aug 15, 2015 - For Palawan News

“Sa opisina ko ginawa ang batas na yan.”

That statement was a rather bold assertion made by Governor Jose Alvarez at this week’s Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD). I was listening to a voice recording of his rant against NGO lawyer Bobby Chan when towards the end of the tape, this blurt caught me by surprise as this was new information.

Unfortunately no one in the meeting was daring enough to interpolate the governor to clarify what he exactly meant since he was referring to the formulation of the Strategic Environmental Plan for Palawan or Republic Act 7611.

The statement was left hanging. The governor also volunteered that a “Ganapin” was in fact in his office and was showing him the draft.

That Ganapin must have been former DENR Undersecretary Delfin Ganapin, who was indeed instrumental in the crafting of the SEP law in the early 1990s. Dr. Ganapin was a regular source to me when I was covering the environment beat for the defunct Manila Chronicle. He now heads a grant facility of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) based in New York but constantly checks in on what’s happening with SEP in Palawan.

The SEP law was enacted by Congress as a special law for Palawan to primarily protect its natural heritage. Its mantra was “sustainable development”, a concept that essentially meant proper utilization of natural resources. Its principal sponsor in the House was the late Speaker Ramon Mitra, while its champions in the Senate included then senators Orly Mercado and Heherson Alvarez.

The SEP law is highly touted by its framers, Delfin Ganapin including, as it boasts of a science-based approach to development. In principle, SEP identified areas of protection as well as areas that may be utilized for exploitation or development. They named it ECAN or environmentally critical areas network, a classification system where land and coastal areas were mapped as either strict protection or no-go zones or utilization areas, with various sub classifications underneath them e.g. buffer areas, controlled or restricted use. Old growth forests, for instance, are automatically classified as strict protection zones, meaning they should be preserved intact. Areas with high biodiversity, such as intact coral reefs are also automatically declared core zones.

I was covering Congress when that law was passed. It was certified as urgent by President Corazon Aquino and it breezed through the chamber without the usual plenary fireworks that went with urgent bills. It was different however in the Senate where it got into intense grilling. It was Mercado and Alvarez who pushed hard to include a permanent commercial logging ban in the province.

The log ban affected all the existing concessions in the province, the biggest of which was that of Gov. Alvarez based in San Vicente. In his early media interviews, he had claimed that he in fact lost his investment with Pagdanan Timber when the log ban was imposed.

Gov. Alvarez’s belated emergence into Palawan’s political scene has introduced a new narrative to the SEP story. He was evidently involved as one of the key players in the history of the SEP law and he has a story to tell. This includes his claim previously covered by media and published – that he gave up the Underground River as part of his mining concession.

As he now head the PCSD however, Gov. Alvarez’s assertion of how he understands SEP and how it must be implemented is being challenged by civil society which claims that the leadership is interpreting it the wrong way.

This debate and dynamics is displayed in the emotional conflict between the governor and the civil society on the issue of mining and the establishment of a coal fired power plant in Palawan.

Gov. Alvarez asserts that these development projects are needed and must be allowed. The civil society says otherwise. 

Governor Alvarez unfortunately brought the debate to its lowest point last week when he lost his composure and challenged Atty. Chan to a fist fight instead.

Delfin Ganapin and the original framers of SEP must find these developments quite interesting.

Here is an article about how the PCSD approved the coal fired plant inspite of public protest.
http://www.palawantimes.com/coal-plant-is-a-go-pcsd/

The Plunder and Pillaging of Palawan

MANILA BULLETIN ARTICLE
By Cynthia Sumasagaysay Del Rosario
July 19, 2015

Behind the postcard perfect picture we often see is a beleaguered province fighting to keep big, bad businesses from exploiting what’s left of its natural resources.

There must be a reason why I was born and raised in Palawan. I am a Palaweña, an island girl by heart. I have worked, lived, and traveled abroad, but I always go back to the simple, basic, and necessary. All life events lead to a particular moment, in my case, to this moment of writing.  Countless articles have already been written about Palawan. Its natural beauty has captivated the likes of known explorer Jacques Cousteau, it has supposedly inspired the writings of The Beach novelist Alex Garland, and it has charmed thousands of other travelers worldwide catapulting Palawan into the “World’s Best Island” fame.

Sunset in El Nido, Palawan

The truth is, I hesitate to write about my hometown because it will not be the usual pretty. A little voice told me that it might be a waste of ink and paper, your time and my time. That even if I say in paper what I have to say, it won’t change certain things and some issues will remain—our politician leaders will still go ahead in pursuit of progress and development without taking into account the more sustainable path for Palawan; the environmental laws already in place will still not be fully implemented and effective enough to stop any further degradation of the environment of Palawan; it will not stop the big companies from plundering and extracting the rich minerals underneath the soils of Palawan in the name of profit; and some people will not even give a damn after reading this.

Palawan is known as the “Last Ecological Frontier of the Philippines.” What does that mean at this point when people are bombarded with a lot of news and information that something so important, its novelty gone, is likely to skip one’s attention? “Last frontier,” has this now become some trite, mediocre tourism label?  Palawan is a unique place—so special in fact that a special law, Republic Act 7611, otherwise known as the Strategic Environmental Plan for Palawan Act (or “SEP Law”), was passed to supposedly protect it. Supposedly.

A DUBIOUS PATH

In 1990, UNESCO declared Palawan as a “Man and Biosphere Reserve,” and in 1992, the “SEP Law” was passed. It also created the implementing body, the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD). Everything seemed to be in place. The landmark legislation appeared to be an added, extra measure to protect the precious environment of Palawan. After all, Palawan was also declared by the world’s scientific community as the Earth’s fourth most irreplaceable area for endangered species and two UNESCO World Heritage Sites can be found here: the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Marine Park and the Puerto Princesa Underground River.  There is a high concentration of endangered species in this one place alone, making Palawan a hotspot for species conservation on the planet."

In the morning of May 28, PCSD rendered its approval to the much opposed and controversial coal plant.  This was the third attempt of DMCI to have its coal plant approved by obtaining the needed SEP clearance from PCSD. For the past three years, the people of Barangays Panacan in Narra and San Juan in Aborlan had strongly opposed the DMCI project. Palawan was beset with constant power outages for several months and this has enabled DMCI and the provincial government to convince people that the coal plant was urgently needed.  But vigilance coming from the civil society, the local NGOs, and media has helped in exposing the real power supply situation. The truth is made known to the people that the main cause of the power outages is DMCI itself because it has not provided the entire contracted capacity of 25 MW of diesel and 5 MW of “spinning reserve” that it was supposed to provide since 2012.

Mono cropping of Palm oil plantations.

Also only recently, the local NGOs discovered that PCSD already granted Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corporation an approval for its mining expansion in Mount Bulanjao in Bataraza, a protected area and a “core zone.” Under the SEP rules and regulations, “core zones” are identified as areas which should not be open for extractive and development activities. The island province is endowed with rich mineral resources like gold, nickel, copper, cobalt, and chromite.  There is a proliferation of mining activities in southern Palawan.

Illegal logging leading to deforestation

These instances show the dubious path that Palawan is currently treading. Despite the existence of enough laws and policies, their implementation will still depend on just a few people.  Unfortunately, these people seem to have a different view of what sustainability means—they view the resources of Palawan as infinite. The Malampaya natural gas will run out soon; a recent news said that there are only nine years left for the gas to run out.  Mining is not sustainable, too; horrible stories of mining companies leaving the community poor after leeching their area dry of all its resources are all too common now.

Uncontrolled pillage of natural rivers once rife
with life, for gravel and river rock for new
construction.

Palawan has an abundance of renewable energy sources: There are enough hydropower sites to power the island for the long future. An energy masterplan was already crafted to give people the cheapest and most viable energy alternative, the one that is right for Palawan. The right implementation will again lie, however, in the hands of a few.

And so I still write despite my earlier hesitancy. It may not change things instantly now but it will still matter to the future generations of Palaweños.

Selling off our marine sanctuary for a man made
Ocean park.

Sources:

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) Identification of Biodiversity Hotspot UNESCO http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/ecological-sciences/biosphere-reserves/asia-and-the-pacific/philippines/palawan/

CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL PCSD

The author is a graduate of AB Political Science of the Ateneo de Manila University and a volunteer spokesperson of the Palawan Alliance for Clean Energy (PACE). She is also the founder of the Book Bridge project in Palawan. She used to be a legal assistant in Kirkland & Ellis LLP in downtown Los Angeles after completing the UCLA Extension’s Paralegal Training Program. (Cynthia Sumagaysay Del Rosario)

HOW RICH IS PALAWAN?

Palawan has…

105 out of the 475 threatened species in the Philippines. 42 are Palawan endemics.

379 species of corals; 82% of the total coral species recorded in the entire country

90% of the known mangrove species in the country, distributed in 44,500 hectares of mangrove forests, the highest remaining mangrove cover in the Philippines.

89% of total reef fish recorded in the country

4 of 5 marine turtles

15 of the 25 marine mammals in the country

18 endemic freshwater fish

26 endemic amphibians

16 endemic terrestrial mammals

69 species of reptiles

279 species of birds

15 lakes, 42 ponds, 44 waterfalls, 72 natural springs, 9 mineral springs, 28 principal rivers, 43 streams, and 165 creeks identified as potential sources of water for domestic consumption and irrigation

At least 1,700 plant species

Palawan Overview

Palawan is so special that in 1991, the Philippine Congress recognizing Palawan’s environment as very critical passed a special law for Palawan through Republic Act 7611 or  The Strategic Environmental Plan (SEP) for Palawan Act, which became the fundamental law governing Palawan’s natural resources and its framework for development direction. Its strategy for implementation is the delineation of the Environmentally Critical Areas Network (ECAN) composed of the terrestrial or forest lands, the marine or coastal area, and the tribal or ancestral lands. In the SEP manuscript, it was actually mentioned that: “many mine sites straddle major catchments or are dangerously close to ecologically fragile shore and in-shore of marine zones”.  This SEP is administered by the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development- PCSD. The chairman of the board is Palawan's Governor Jose C. Alvarez.

El Nido-Corong Corong 

"Palawan is composed of the long and narrow Palawan Island, plus a number of other smaller islands surrounding the main island. The Calamianes Group of Islands to the Northeast consists of Busuanga Island, Coron Island and Culion Island. Durangan Island almost touches the westernmost part of Palawan Island, while Balabac Island is located off the southern tip, separated from Borneo by the Balabac Strait. In addition, Palawan covers the Cuyo Islands in the Sulu Sea. The disputed Spratly Islands, located a few hundred kilometres to the west, are considered part of Palawan by the Philippines, and is locally called the "Kalayaan Group of Islands."

Palawan's almost 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) of irregular coastline are dotted with roughly 1,780 islands and islets, rocky coves, and sugar-white sandy beaches. It also harbors a vast stretch of virgin forests that carpet its chain of mountain ranges. The mountain heights average 3,500 feet (1,100 m) in altitude, with the highest peak rising to 6,843 feet (2,086 m) at Mount Mantalingahan. The vast mountain areas are the source of valuable timber. The terrain is a mix of coastal plain, craggy foothills, valley deltas, and heavy forest interspersed with
riverine arteries that serve as irrigation." From Wikipedia on Palawan

Palawan's Natural Bounty

Scaly anteater or pangolin.
Found only in Palawan
and is the most poached
animal in the world.

2 UNESCO Heritage sites - Tubbataha reef and Puerto Princesa Underground river

105 out of the 475 threatened species in the Philippines. 42 are Palawan endemics.

379 species of corals; 82% of the total coral species recorded in the entire country

90% of the known mangrove species in the country, distributed in 44,500 hectares of mangrove forests, the highest remaining mangrove cover in the Philippines.

Palawan bearcat.

89% of total reef fish recorded in the country

4 of 5 marine turtles

15 of the 25 marine mammals in the country

18 endemic freshwater fish

26 endemic amphibians

16 endemic terrestrial mammals

69 species of reptiles

Binunsalian Bay, Puerto Princesa

279 species of birds  

15 lakes, 42 ponds, 44 waterfalls, 72 natural springs, 9 mineral springs, 28 principal rivers, 43 streams, and 165 creeks identified as potential sources of water for domestic consumption and irrigation

At least 1,700 plant species

379 species of corals found in Palawan and 82% of the total coral species recorded in the country.

Other sites:

Save Palawan:
 https://pnni.wordpress.com/palawan-biodiversity-facts-and-figures/