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BULANJAO: AN UGLY SCAR ON PALAWAN (THE PHILIPPINES)
By: ALDAW NETWORK
Posted: May 16 10
Witnessed: 1566 times
Regions: Philippines
Issues: Indigenous peoples
Tags: BULANJAO, DFORESTATION, ECAN CORE ZONES, indigenous peoples, Palawan, RIO TUBA NICKEL MINING CORPORATION
Between the 13th and 15th of August 2009, a joined ALDAW-CBCD (Center for Biocultural Diversity, University of Kent) Mission traveled to Barangay Sumbiling, Municipality of Bataraza - to carry out audio-visual documentation in the Bulanjao range. GPS positions where taken during the entire walking reconnaissance across the Bulanjao. The missions starting point was the Palawan community of Sumbiling. From here the mission reached the Simarak creek and then the mining road leading to the highest portions of the Bulanjao range. Overall, the mission moved from an elevation of about 40m ASL to the highest point reached by the mining road at 859m ASL. The actual "matching" of GPS data to photographs has revealed that road construction, as well as mining exploration and extractive activities on Mt. Bulanjao, have taken place in areas that, according to the ECAN (Ecological Critical Areas Network), fall into the so called Core Zones of maximum protection. This film shows the environmental impact of road construction, such as deforestation, sever soil erosion and damage to the Sumbiling river watersheds. Mining activities taking place at high elevations will increase the risk of landslides to an unprecedented level. Also the eco-tourism potential of this mountain forest is likely to be jeopardized. Furthermore, some of the areas - around and inside the Bulanjao range - include sacred and worship sites that are regarded by the local indigenous people as physical evidence of mythological events and are associated with important cosmological principles. The local inhabitants perceive the destruction of these historical and natural landmarks as an obliteration of their history and collective memories of the past.
For more information, download the Bulanjao Geo-tagged Report at survivalinternational.org/tribes/palawan Sign the online campaign to save Palawan:http://www.petitiononline.com/PA2010/petition.html
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