by: DONALD SEVILLA

CONCLUSION:LAST PART OF A SERIES

WHY I AM AGAINST ANY LARGE SCALE RECLAMATION ALONG TAGBILARAN BAY

Protecting and loving the environment we live in, is paramount if we are not to incur nature’s wrath. Many of the so-called natural disasters we suffer, are often the consequences of our reckless behavior and neglect.

It is nature’s way of holding us accountable for the things we do to the world around us. With climate change now established as an inevitable fact, all the more we should be careful with our actions that impact Mother Nature.

Impeding the flow of the waters along the bay, tampering with its natural topography by dumping filling materials to create artificial islands, is destroying the healthy ecosystem that has sustained generations, providing us food and a breeding ground for its marine life.

The envisioned islands as designed, act as a barrier between the open waters and the mainland, creating a narrow channel that could become stagnant as it impedes with the natural tidal flow.

This could eventually result in a “dead zone” killing precious marine life and affecting the mangroves, breeding grounds for the fish in the area. When this happens, the delicate ecosystem is upset and creates irreversible damage.

Moreover the free flow of runoff water from the mainland into the sea is obstructed and what do you think can happen to low-lying areas along the shore when water buildup occurs after excessive rains?

Tampering with nature time and again has shown us to be disastrous, yet we continue to do so in the name of progress and development. We have quarried into the hillsides and cut off trees to give way to high-end subdivisions and what do we get? Flooding in the lowlands and landslides.

It seems when we are up against business or the environment, we choose the former easily without thinking of the long term consequences. When we see dollar signs  in the air we get excited and lose our perspective. But is it worth it?

We may gain millions but we lose a lot more in the quality of our lives and that of future generations. We sacrifice the long term for short term profit.

While some see it as progress, is it really? The creation of new jobs and opportunities as touted by reclamation proponents may yet be speculative as to its numbers and outright financial impact, but the environmental impact of such undertaking must not be taken lightly.

Simplifying things, perhaps we can apply the Rotary’s Four-Way Test to this project. Is it the TRUTH? (Are proponents telling it all? No sugarcoating?) Is it FAIR to all concerned? ( Fair to our marginal fisherfolk and those who rely on the waters of the bay for their daily subsistence?) Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? 

(Will the project unite or divide the community?) Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned? ( Will it greatly benefit our society? Will it be for the greater good or will it only fill a few pockets?)

While it is good news that the City’s administration has categorically put a stop to it for now, we cannot let our guard down. Who knows when the dust settles, in the future it will resurrect like the mystical Phoenix?