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Pangasinan LGU bans logging by charcoal makers to protect forest and wildlife

NATIVIDAD, Pangasinan (Mar. 17) — Forest-conservation efforts to restore rare tree species and wildlife in this town’s dense forest cover have been paying off with locals supporting the advocacy.

A total ban on charcoal-making was enforced from December 2004 to January 2005 and is subject to extension up to a three year-moratorium. This was, however, lifted on Feb. 10 allowing charcoal producers to log from their private properties with a permit from the local government.

Families who were restricted to log for charcoal production are now engaged in forest nursery production, said Town Mayor Alejandria Supnet. Varieties of mahogany, narra, gmelina and teak tree are currently grown, in time for the rainy season.

Supnet said the municipality’s forest resources, which provided timber for about 80% of charcoal production since the 1970s should be guarded from biodiversity loss and pollution.

Natividad is located at the foot of Mt. Caraballo with over 12,000 hectares of forested area. Entry and exit posts have been put in place to monitor visits and to watch over endangered teak trees, wild boars (alingo in local dialect) and deer that roam the mountains.

Through a Sangguniang Bayan resolution last December 2004, the local government created its version of Task Force Bantay Kalikasan, a first of its kind in Pangasinan.

According to Michael Sevilla, agricultural technologist and chairperson of the task force, “Affected families at first were disgruntled by the ban but through information campaign since January, they are now educated about the importance of forest management”.

The environmental watchdog composed of local officials includes eight barangays namely San Macario Norte, San Macario Sur, Cacandungan, Batchelor East, Salud, San Eugenio, San Miguel and Calapugan. Four of these barangays (San Macario Norte, San Macario Sur, Sitio San Jose of Cacandungan and Batchelor East) have charcoal-producers.

A family produces at least 20-30 sacks of charcoal every two weeks, which they sell at P100 per sack. The Task Force requires outside traders to secure permit from the local government before buying from local producers.

Sevilla said two hundred fifty poles of buho, a bamboo species (bulo in local dialect) can still be collected within a year for low- income families.

On Monday, the local government asked Governor Victor Agbayani to extend help to the affected families by purchasing their forest tree seedlings, bartering goods in exchange of these, or paying for their labor in reforesting the mountains.

“Even our employees from government offices have been doing their share by planting trees every Friday afternoon,” Sevilla added. The ‘Tree Planting Day’ was declared when Supnet was reelected in the last May elections.

“This is quite a personal advocacy”, Supnet said, adding, she wants to be remembered by the trees that she planted.

Municipal councilors have pitched in by donating P3,000 from their countrywide development fund (CDF) to aid the 12 forest guards with knapsack sprayers, flashlights and radio for communication.

Supnet said, “We take pride in this endeavor, because neighboring towns like San Nicolas and San Quintin have signaled their intention to follow by forming their own task force”. A two-hectare Forest Park is being nurtured in Bachelor East which is a favorite natural refuge for some local personalities. # Jhong dela Cruz/NORDIS

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