Mining threatens
'protected landscape' on Palawan
By Redempto D Anda
PUERTO PRINCESA - Depending on who one talks to, Mount Mantalingahan is either
a treasure trove of untapped minerals that lie underneath the Earth's crust, or
a biodiversity hotspot that is home to some of the worlds rarest and threatened
animals.
It is both, which is why Mt Mantalingahan, some 150 kilometers south of this
capital city of the Philippines' central Palawan province, is the scene of
conflict between communities and environmental activists on one hand, and
mining companies on the other.
Palawan accounts for bulk of the country's reserves of nickel ore, valued at
US$300 billion, official data show. But cashing on this is easier said than
done, because it would involve compromising
large areas of old-growth forests and the ecological benefits derived from
them.
Geologist Jose Antonio Socrates calls Mt Mantalingahan, on the province's main
island, also called Palawan, "perhaps the country's largest deposit of nickel
ore", which explains why major mining companies have stepped up plans and
others have filed for mining claims before the regulatory agencies in the
capital Manila.
But for Danny Balete, one of the country's top mammal scientists, Mantalingahan
is "the center of the Philippines' mammalian endemism and biodiversity" and
home of the "Tau't Bato" (stone people) tribe, whose number is estimated to be
down to less than 500 individuals.
Balete discovered a new species of mountain shrew in Mt Mantalingahan, and
other scientists collected new species of plants, including a stunning white
orchid with golden lip petals.
Mantalingahan's importance as the home to a number of short-range endemic
species, including the soft-furred mountain rat, which had not been seen in
decades, and critically endangered species such as the Palawan peacock pheasant
and the Palawan cockatoo, has also been noted by the Alliance for Zero
Extinction, an initiative of 52 multinational biodiversity organizations.
"There is so much still to learn about Mt Mantalingahan, so much to discover
not just for science but more importantly for society which stands to benefit
from this wealth of biological resources," Balete said, referring to potential
medicinal breakthroughs from bioprospecting.
Balete added that the 2007 survey his group did in Mantalingahan for
Conservation International underlined that it is an "important component of the
country's overall biodiversity".
In June 2009, former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared Mantalingahan a
national park and classified it as a "protected landscape" covering 120,457
hectares.
Against this backdrop, the conflict between mining interests and
environmentalists is heating up - involving local officials, laws and
communities.
Buoyed by the global demand for nickel and a government policy to revive
mining, several mining firms plan to set up operations around Mantalingahan.
MacroAsia, the flagship of one of the country's most prominent business
conglomerates, is applying for local permits to operate a 25-year government
lease it got in the town of Brooke's Point that partly overlaps with the
protected area.
Two other companies - Ipilan Nickel Mining Corp and Lebach Mining Corp - are in
earlier stages of project development, trying to get all local endorsements
needed to proceed.
Standing in their way are civil society groups that are challenging their every
move - from securing endorsements from communities and provincial regulatory
bodies, to filing legal action to stop mining projects.
The residents of Ipilan village who oppose mining, led by village captain Job
Lagrada, have vowed to put up a human barricade if the government allows the
projects to proceed. They believe that mining will destroy their farms and
watersheds.
One group, the Palawan Youth Force, has embarked on a signature campaign on the
social networking site Facebook to convince new Philippines President Benigno
Aquino to prevent new mining activity in the province.
A lawyers' organization, the Environmental Legal Assistance Center, has hauled
to court most provincial officials for endorsing a mining project in the Narra
municipality, in alleged violation of a special national law protecting
Palawan's remaining old-growth forests.
One contentious issue about Mantalingahan is whether mining should be allowed
in "core zone" areas with old-growth forests, which are protected under the
Strategic Environmental Plan law for Palawan. An initial review by the Palawan
Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD), the provincial regulatory agency,
showed that all except 91 hectares of the area leased to MacroAsia are "core
and restricted zones" protected under the SEP zoning system.
But MacroAsia maintains that its legal right to utilize its leased area has
precedence over local laws, including the proclamation of Mantalingahan as a
protected area.
A former vice mayor of Brooke's Point, Jean Feliciano, claims that the majority
of municipal officials who back the MacroAsia project plan to change local laws
and reclassify old-growth forest areas under the local zoning plan, in order to
accommodate the mining project. "There is now an effort to revise the
comprehensive land use plan," Feliciano said.
Feliciano blames MacroAsia for being behind the "harassment" of anti-mining
groups in Brooke's Point, citing the case of the chief village official of
Ipilan who is facing a slew of administrative cases related to his opposition
to the project. The official, Job Lagrada, had stopped the mining firm from
conducting surveys.
In an interview, MacroAsia's vice president for operations, Ramon Santos,
declined to comment on most of the criticism against the company, saying "we
have formally responded to those issues raised by the PCSD".
He said MacroAsia is not directly involved in the move to change the land use
plan in order to accommodate its nickel ore project. "It is the concern of the
local government unit, which is mandated to prepare their own comprehensive and
use plan," he said.
Santos added: "We have a good relationship with the community, with the local
government. We have the all the endorsements - although, in this world you
cannot please everybody."
But Feliciano questions the validity of the signatures MarcoAsia got to comply
with the mandatory local requirements. "They only got the signatures of the
people that favored them. Those who were against the project, they did not
bother to consult. That's not what social acceptability is all about," he said.
Lagrada, who has been suspended from his duties while the administrative
complaint by MacroAsia is pending, remains firm in his anti-mining stance.
"They [mining companies] might have bought off most officials to endorse
mining, and those people will benefit financially, while we suffer the
environmental consequences. If this project goes ahead, we will put up a human
barricade to oppose it," he said.
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