Insight from Wendell Berry

Composite mountains of  Bulusan Volcano

"I am speaking of the life of a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers, but borrowed from his children; who has undertaken to cherish it and do it no damage, not because he is duty-bound, but because he loves the world and loves his children; whose work serves the earth he lives on and from and with, and is therefore pleasurable and meaningful and unending; whose rewards are not deferred until "retirement," but arrive daily and seasonally out of the details of the life of their place; whose goal is the continuance of the life of the world, which for a while animates and contains them, and which they know they can never compass with their understanding or desire."

Wendell Berry, The Unforeseen Wilderness : An Essay on Kentucky's Red River Gorge (1971), p. 33; what is likely a paraphrase of a portion of this has existed since at least 1997, and has sometimes become misattributed to John James Audubon: A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers, but borrowed from his children.

Lifted from WikiQuotes

Photo by Alma P. Gamil

Allegory for the Geothermal Question in Mt. Bulusan

A forest in a mountain village in Bulusan.

The Wind, One Brilliant Day

The wind, one brilliant day, called

to my soul with an odor of jasmine.

'In return for the odor of my jasmine,

I'd like all the odor of your roses.'

'I have no roses; all the flowers

in my garden are dead.'

'Well then, I'll take the withered petals

and the yellow leaves and the waters of the fountain.'

the wind left. And I wept. And I said to myself:

'What have you done with the garden that was entrusted to you?'

~ Antonio Machado

Photo by Alma P. Gamil

Santa Barbara, Bulusan, Sorsogon

Philippines

Ragayray is Ipomoea pes-caprae

According to my co-members at the Co's digital Flora of the Philippines FB site, the scientific name of this very familiar crawling vine (ragayray to us in Bulusan) growing lushly and wild near the beaches of Bulusan is Ipomoea pes-caprae.

Though not rare, this plant's botanical name seems to bestow it a sense of a special quality making me looked closely to the minute details-- the color hue of the flower, its veins, the shape of the leaves etcetera. Assigning  formal names gives the plant (for example this common ragayray) a sort of identity for us to take notice and be more mindful of our surroundings including the familiar and the common.

Ordinary flora are commonly taken for granted because of their ordinariness. Familiarity sometimes makes a thing invisible to our sight even though it is right in front of us.

By committing to memory ragayray's formal name, it suddenly becomes extraordinary! The name even sounded like a spell to me while I repeatedly practiced the right way to say it. Ipomoea pes-caprae. Ipomoea pes-caprae. Ipomoea pes-caprae...

Photographs by Alma P. Gamil
Bulusan, Sorsogon, Philippines

Philip G. Bartilet: Bulusan's Modern Eco Warrior

"There's never been a true war that wasn't fought between two sets of people who were certain they were  in the right. The really dangerous people believe they are doing whatever they are doing solely and only because it is without question the right thing to do. And that is what makes them dangerous."

-Neil Gaiman, American Gods

Philip today as he appears in his FB profile. 

During the early PRESERVE years with a fellow forest steward.

On location at Aguingay Lake serving as guide to trekkers.

Briefing student visitors at the park (BVNP, 2012).

Philip with the young Mayor, Myk Guysayko in the 2012 Mount Bulusan trek souvenir shot in Lake Aguingay. Shows that linkages and collaborative work are important in the success of any environmental project.

More than 10,000 photographs (in related web sites) documenting the activities of Philip G. Bartilet, AGAP and the LGU of Bulusan are enough to make me gaze in awe of this remarkable transformation of Bulusan town's ecotourism journey from a mere emerging tourist destination to Sorsogon's second top tourist generator. Bulusan now is experiencing a spike in tourist arrivals both local and foreign. Enough to silence the skeptics.

As if these were not enough, Philip is very much into his PRESERVE, the letters of which explain in capsule  its very mission of preserving the natural attributes of the ecologically blessed municipality specifically its remaining primary forest, the last rainforest in the province located in Mount Bulusan. Not to mention that AGAP, Philip's group is an awardee for  exemplary works in the field of environment conservation in Bulusan (2008). Environmental activities such as establishing of nurseries for native trees notably pili,  planting these tree seedlings and monitoring the status of the planted trees in various areas of Mt Bulusan, educating upland communities and residents of forest about the relationship and importance of forest to people were just few of his group's documented multifarious environmental tasks for the last several years.The trees planted probably number in the hundreds of thousands already. Got to asked him the stats next time.

Philip representing AGAP-Bulusan , 2008 award for commendable environmental works.

Definitely not a flash in the pan personality. All of these achievements were done (and still continuing) homegrown with Bulusanons. Philip is a permanent resident of Bulusan town, a father of five adorable kids and loving husband to Angel. In fact, Philip is my neighbor who lives just a block away from my own residence in  Poblacion Central. One and half years ago, being a newly returned Bulusan native, I was a regular customer at their internet shop whenever I work on my intermittent writing job.

Philip is locally based. He is not operating in an urban location doing the activities of his NGO from a plush office. Philip is a hands-on environmental advocate who lives his passion daily. His choice was to live in this town where other professionals have gone overseas for greener pastures. He remained. He treks Mount Bulusan almost daily and most probably he is most familiar with the features of the flora and fauna of  Mt. Bulusan more than anybody else. I once asked him about the local name of a cloud rat, a wildlife resident of Mt Bulusan that looks like a cuddly toy rather than a rat and he answered me with 'bugkon' with the right accent of o and e. Sounding like a schwa sound to me. I am sure I can ask him for more about the numerous fern varieties that thrive in the volcanic environs of Mt Bulusan. But I have to wait for I can see that he is very much occupied for the last several months from eco trail run to organizing the climbs in Mt Bulusan.

Organized Mount Bulusan climb of 2012 patronized even by locals. Photo of  badge shows Barangay Central's representative.

The thousands of photos only show the lighter side of Philip's job. The sweat and hardships in stewarding thousands of hectares of rainforest with patches of geographically unique ecosystem of BVNP were mostly not captured in photographs. The never ending tasks of an overseer doing also the backbreaking job of a forest ranger while doing the organizing and the administering of a locally based NGO are far from the seemingly exciting and glamorous job that the thousands of photos may show. The weather can be harsh sometimes, and he sure needs a lot of stamina for this kind of work. One of his photos however showed me a glimpse of the true nature of his work with the caption: "the road less traveled."

With GMA 7's Drew Arellano, celebrity visitor at the park (2012 BVNP).

With Pinoy mountaineer's celebrity mountain climber, Rica Peralejo (June 2012 Mt Bulusan trek).

Philip is not the hillbilly type. Far from that. The gorgeous photo will attest (which in person he really is). The extra savvy  is needed of course in this age of social media where projection is a plus. Visitors to the park (BVNP) where he is the resident Park Manager include celebrities (GMA 7s  Drew Arellano, Rica Peralejo were visitors last year) and several TV networks covering the recently upgraded Bulusan Lake features.

But the real battle that will put Philip in the arena is The Big Geothermal Question which we from Bulusan consider an utter abomination, if and when it will be pushed atop our mountain where we depend all our water needs from drinking to growing our crops.

My confidence will not waver though. I believe that  for as long as there are persons like Philip living in the midst of Bulusan, I can sleep soundly in my bohemian styled room with these thoughts: That the pure mountain spring drinking waters from our tap, filtered by the rainforest of Mount Bulusan will remain flowing, untainted in perpetuity. That I can bath with the freshest Mount Bulusan crystal waters. I can frolic in the gushing waters of Bayugin falls. I can float in the soda waters of Masacrot. I can coax the healing powers of Mapaso. I can endlessly visit the enchanted spring of Bugas. I can dance in the fairyland of Bulusan ferngullies and so much more.

Steward of the Lake and its surroundings. (Bulusan Lake, undated photo).

At Bayugin Falls, one of the many natural water wonders of  Mount Bulusan.

Philip G. Bartilet embodies the face of Bulusan's fight for Saving Mount Bulusan. Modern. Organized. Consistent.Vigilant. Intelligent. Surely, any business company will have difficulty in mounting their Geothermal dreams in Bulusan.

I, for one is following Philip--our very own eco warrior. One of Bulusan town's coolest dudes in My List.

Philip in one of his endless treks to the mountain of  Bulusan. The  road of an eco warrior is a road less traveled.

Photographs borrowed from AGAP and Philip G. Bartilet
text by Alma P. Gamil
Bulusan, Sorsogon Philippines.

Abbreviations
BVNP-Bulusan Volcano Natural Park
AGAP-Bulusan,  Aggrupation of Advocates for Environmental Protection
LGU-Bulusan, Local Government Unit
P – Participative community based organizing, linkaging, and mainstreaming;

R – Restoration, protection, and maintenance of identified and targeted conservation sites;

E – Eco-friendly ventures and livelihood promotion;

S – Support for additional provisions for poverty alleviation mechanisms;

E – Education and Information Campaigns; and

R – Research and databanking of relevant ecological and socio-economic data; to

V – Vitalize our

E –Ecosystems of Bulusan Volcano Natural Park (BVNP) 

Lake Aguingay in my mind

Lake Aguingay during drier months. Photo credit: Philip G. Bartilet 

Lake Aguingay still showing the receding waters after the rains. Photo credit: Pinoymountaineer.com

Imagine a lake three times the area of Bulusan Lake, her sister lake from the same mountain.

Imagine it on top almost 200 feet higher than her famous sister. Imagine a vast plain when the water receded on drier months. 

Imagine a lake bed like a vast plain savannah. 

Imagine it  surrounded by rainforests. 

Imagine the flora and fauna dancing with the ebb and the tides of these landscapes constantly changing. 

Imagine a lake for all seasons!

Imagine. The marvelous beauty of Lake Aguingay!


Facts:

Lake Aguingay

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lake Aguingay

Location               Luzon Island

Coordinates       12°44′57.55″N 124°04′23.04″ECoordinates: 12°44′57.55″N 124°04′23.04″E

Lake type            Seasonal Crater Lake

Basin countries Philippines

Surface area       76 hectares (190 acres)

Shore length1   3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi)

Surface elevation            410 metres (1,350 ft)

1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Lake Aguingay is a vast plain at the center of Bulusan Volcano National Park located near Bulusan Lake at the Municipality of Bulusan, South central part of the Sorsogon Province, Southern Luzon, Bicol Region, Philippines. It is called The Lake because it is occasionally flooded during wet season and dries up during summer. When it is wet it resembles a big lake located right at the foot of Mt. Bulusan. The area is home to various endemic birds, reptiles and other mammals. It is surrounded by lush vegetation and a tropical rain forest. It is only accessible by foot from Bulusan Lake and from the villages of Kapangihan and San Roque

" Bulusan Lake, on the southeastern side of Bulusan Volcano, is 635 meters above sea level.  The lake occupies the depression between two lava flow lobes abutting a hill on the southeast slope of the volcano.  With a depth of 33 meters, the lake covers an area of 16.5 hectares and has a circumference of 2,000 meters.  The intermittent Lake Aguingay is situated at a higher elevation about 1,100 meters above sea level.  This lake appears and disappears depending on the weather condition and even expands to three times the area of Bulusan Lake during extreme rainfall depths."      

Source:The Bicol Regional Physical Framework Plan (RPFP) NEDA 5

Bulusan, Sorsogon, Philippines

To Mount Bulusan: Geothermal Lessons from Mount Kanlaon

"The Save Mount Kanlaon Coalition and some Negros environmentalists share the same sentiment as the Bulusan people and local government‟s. The geothermal project of the National

Negros Geothermal Power Plant (NNGPP) is accounted for the cutting down of thousands of trees, direction drilling underground, and displacement of the wild flora and fauna with the contamination of the waterways." (source: www. academia.edu paper by Cris Sarmiento)

Avatar-like rainforest of Mount Bulusan.

A reference to this point is the Statement jointly released by Save Mount Kanlaon Coalition and the New Environment Watch, July 22, 2011 that reads:

"Despite its numerous claims and reassurances, supposedly backed up by extensive scientific studies and technical findings through the last 17 years, the geothermal project has dismally failed to produce EDC’s original target of 80 MW. This was drastically reduced to 49 MW in 2007, and was even further reduced to 40 MW when the EDC insisted to enter the primary forest, which was successfully mislabeled and renamed as the “buffer zone” with the passing of the Mt. Kanlaon Law.

The EDC project has only succeeded to degrade a wide swath of Mt. Kanlaon, alter its boundaries, cut down thousands of old forest trees, destroy critical wildlife habitat, defy environmental laws, and eventually, wasted billions of pesos worth of public funds. Worse, EDC’s encroachment into the 169 hectare “buffer zone” of Mt. Kanlaon is patently illegal as the project’s 1995 ECC (Environmental Compliance Certificate) is not for the 169 hectares of primary forest but for areas described in the 1995 Environmental Impact Statement as 50% grassland and open areas, 32% cropland, and 18% secondary forest. (Note: Under Presidential Decree (PD) No. 1586 establishing the Environmental Impact Statement System and Presidential Proclamation No. 2146 defining the scope of the system, Environmentally critical projects (ECPs) located in environmentally critical areas (ECAs) like a primary forest require an Environmental Impact Assessment to give said areas the highest protection especially from resource extractive activities.)

EDC has made a name for itself and for the Lopezes, both nationally and internationally, for its Green Energy projects and its partnership with the World Wildlife Fund and the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources, but contrary to this repution, EDC ‘s maintaining of its geothermal wells inside a “buffer zone” that is actually 169 hectares of primary forest with high biodiversity only perpetuates the continued rape of Mt. Kanlaon and of democracy itself.

In view of all these, we demand that EDC remove all of its civil works from the “buffer zone,” rehabilitate the area, and account or pay for the destruction perpetrated in Mt. Kanlaon and its environs. EDC should also turn-over the 169 hectare “buffer zone” to the MKNP PAMB, in compliance with Section 5, RA 9154, which states: “…areas within the buffer zone which shall not be used directly for the development and utilization of geothermal energy shall remain under the control and jurisdiction of the PAMB.”

We further call on our governor and the members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to terminate the 2008 Memorandum of Agreement with EDC and to require EDC to immediately discontinue its operations in the “buffer zone.” We also call on our Congressmen with the strong support of our governor and Provincial Sanggunian, to amend RA 9154 so that the 169 hectare “buffer zone” is re-established as part of the protected area of the Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park, a correct buffer zone established outside of its perimeter, and the EDC is removed as a permanent member of the MKNP PAMB and PAMB Executive Committee."

Mount Bulusan rainforest.

Bulusan, Sorsogon, Philippines

Pili: Bicol's Heritage Flora

"If forests were not disturbed, this would

have been the safest place to permanently

keep these valuable plant resources."

                    -Roberto E. Coronel, foremost fruit scientist of Asia                
                 

A volunteer Pili tree standing tall along with coconut trees in a farm located in the fringes of Mount Bulusan.

A very strong argument on why the rainforest of Bulusan must be preserved is the definitive scientific paper on Pili authored by Roberto E. Coronel. This study (1996) was made possible by the Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Gatersleben/International Plant Genetic Resources Institute,Rome, Italy. The study aims to promote the conservation and use of Pili.

Buttressed trunks of Pili trees are most adapted to typhoons. Pili is a resilient plant antedating climate change adaptation.

The stony shell of  the Pili  nut is not a problem in Bulusan. The 'paratilad' or manual de-shellers can retrieve the kernels within seconds by using only a simple bolo.

Part of the study reads:

"Origin and geographic distribution:

The pili is indigenous to the Philippines (Merrill 1912, 1923; Wester 1921; Brown 1954; Li 1970). The crop’s centre of genetic diversity is the Bicol region, possibly in the virgin rainforests surrounding Mt. Bulusan, in the Province of Sorsogon. In the forests of this province, very old pili nut trees measuring more than 50 m in height can still be found today." 

The pulp of the ripe pili  fruits are also source of food  and oil. But the kernels are the most prized.

The planned conversion of the surroundings of Mount Bulusan into a Geothermal Field zone will alter irrevocably the natural habitat chosen by the Pili in its course of evolution that probably took million of years to complete. The species' choice of place is a cocktail mix of many variables : volcanic heat, heavy dose of rainfall, tropical Pacific Ocean, dense rainforest and just being in the right geographical location preferred by the pili.

Pili resin is internationally known as Manila elemi, ingredient for perfumes and pharmaceuticals and  recently for beauty products.

Pili was aptly described  as growing "at the heart of the Pacific Ocean, the island of Luzon..." by an international beauty product ad. The product utilizes the manila elemi, the resin from the pili tree as an ingredient. It highlighted the place of origin of the natural plant resource--the Philippines.

This and many others international recognitions underscore the importance of the Pili as an indigenous plant. And thus, Mount Bulusan being the keeper of the Pili's original genetic pool needs utmost vigilance from the continued threat of 'industrial development' to guarantee that the Pili of the ovatum kind will continue to flourish in perpetuity.

The eminent scientist, Doctor Roberto E. Coronel articulated the following in one of his seminar lectures:

Biodiverslty Conservation Systems

 In Situ Conservation

- All fruits and nuts have evolved as plant

species in the forests.

-If  forests were not disturbed, this would
have been the safest place to permanently
keep these valuable plant resources.

Photos by Alma P. Gamil
Bulusan, Sorsogon

Vignettes of Bulusan Rainforest

Leaves line each giant frond.

Tendril like young shoots of giant ferns in Bulusan  rainforest.

A furry bow to everyone who passes by.

 Giant fern leaves form patterns against the sky.

Feather like leaves of giant ferns in Bulusan Volcano Natural Park

Like seducing fingers the young tendrils of giant ferns swirl there and curl here on top of  feather like crown of leaves in different grades of fineness. It provide a soft contrast to the endless entangling of vines in trees and bushes that spread like an amazon wilderness in the vast greenery of Bulusan rainforest. Its edges frame the park's pathway like emerald vignettes.



Photographs by Alma P. Gamil
Bulusan Volcano Natural Park (BVNP), Bulusan, Sorsogon, Philippines

Acoustic Ecology: The Sound of the Forest

There is a space and time in the zone of the twilight when the last rays of the sun are slowly engulfed by the crawling darkness in the forest when the sound is most intense. It is as if you can feel the collective 'raging against the dying of the light'. It is the sound of the collective sounds of insects from cicada to crickets, bats and some birds species and maybe some nocturnal creatures welcoming the dark. This magical hour is familiar in the rainforest of Mount Bulusan. It is referred to as the 'dusk chorus' in acoustic ecology.

Acoustic ecology is a branch of study for this seemingly unknown aspect of the forest. It is an  area that deals with sound as it relates to the lives of the wildlife living on it:

One specific study is this: insects.oeb.harvard.edu/farrell_lab/undegrads/bseah/lit_review.pdf

It underscores the function of sound as stated at the start of the introduction:

Animals communicate by producing and receiving signals of various kinds, one of them
being sound. A wide variety of animals produce sounds – birds, mammals, amphibians,
arthropods, and even fish. These calls serve various functions, which are mostly
intraspecific: (1) advertisement calls – for males to attract females over long distances,
aids in localization, also involved sometimes in male-male aggression and competition,
(2) aggressive signals – specifically for aggression between competing advertisers, (3)
release calls – especially among anurans, produced by unresponsive individuals when
they are clasped by a male for mating, (4) courtship calls – sometimes also produced by

females, act over a shorter range, produced just prior to mating, (5) distress calls – also
called handling calls, when grasped by predators. (cf. Gerhardt and Huber p.12)


Animals produce acoustic signals for various purposes. Their calls are presumably subject to natural selection. Acoustic ecology is the study of the selective pressures that act upon the calls that animals make.

Thus, to my mind, to alter the acoustic ecology of a pristine area like Mount Bulusan rainforest with the planned introduction of industrial activities of a Geothermal power plant (with noise levels from their industrial operations reaching higher than the decibel range of urban noises) is tantamount to environmental invasion worse than introducing an invasive species of flora and fauna. Its impact to the wildlife residents of the forest is disastrous considering that almost all of these creatures are dependent on sounds for their survival from mating calls to the caring of their youngs.

Note:
For actual sounds of a South East Asian forest in the above mentioned study, this link:  insects.oeb.harvard.edu/farrell_lab/endergrads/bseah_aepf_sounds.html provides a sound gallery (in mp3 format) ranging from sounds of insects such as cicadas and mammals such as bats. The time of the sound recordings differs to get a feel of the actual sound settings. The dawn and dusk chorus for example when the intensity of the sound  of the forest is most pronounced is noted by the study.


Photographs by Alma P. Gamil
Bulusan Volcano Natural Park (BVNP), Bulusan, Sorsogon, Philippines