Greening Bohol Naturally

[benelynne]

Natural Reforestation Succeeds in RP Sites
Written by Willy Rodolfo III / Reporter   
Thursday, 18 June 2009 01:45

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol—Diosdado Abergosado is a typical farmer. Early mornings he usually goes to his small rice field in Danao town in central Bohol with his young wife and two kids.

This day, however, is different. Abergosado is meeting three other farmers and walking a few hours to the hills for their weeklong tour of duty.

Arbegosado and other farmers from San Miguel village take weeklong turns up in the hills, armed with lunch and a plywood board. Their objective is the pesky cogon grass. Their mission: to restore the once lush forest that they’ve heard of only in stories told by their elders.

“Our parents told us they used to see many animals in these forests. Now the forests are all grass,” he said. “I want my children to see those forests once again.”

The Philippines’ once-spectacular forests have by now disintegrated into patches or grooves mainly in Palawan and some parts of Luzon. Around 7 million hectares of forest remain in the country, a number that is dwindling fast. Rampant logging and burning by farmers to clear plots brought down the country’s forest cover to just around 20 percent of what it used to be.

There were efforts at reforestation, according to Environment Undersecretary Jeremias Dolino, particularly in the last two decades when the government spent billions of pesos to pay organizations and farmers to plant seedlings and take care of the trees.

He admitted, however, that the effort had their limitations. Once the funding stopped, the trees were left on their own. “The biggest challenge for us is to get the community involved,” Dolino said.

Farmer Arbegosado is part of a growing movement in Danao and in the Philippines to revive the country’s forests by not planting trees. Instead, he allows nature to run its course uninterrupted via a practical, cheap and sensible method called assisted natural regeneration (ANR).

According to Dr. Percy Sajise of Biodiversity International, ANR has long been presented as an effective way to revive Philippine forests but was put in the back seat by the more tangible tree-planting activities.

“Now ANR is getting the attention as the most cost-effective way to revive the forest,” said Sajise.

The ANR method helps nature rejuvenate herself. Sajise said by natural dispersion, seeds are scattered in random places and are left to grow and mature.

However, some of the saplings are covered by thick cogon grass so they wilt and die. To help ANR, volunteers look for these “naturally planted” seedlings, clear the pesky cogon, and allow the future tree to get all the nutrients and sunshine it needs to grow by on its own.

Sajise explained that with ANR, trees grow in their natural habitat, unlike tree-planting where new species are introduced in areas, which often leads to imbalance with other species. Most of all, ANR is cheap.

Conventional tree-planting requires the establishment of nurseries before transporting the seedlings to the mountains. Including the care for seedlings, the effort costs around P35,000 per hectare. ANR costs a little less than half of the amount.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) saw how important the forest is and ANR in supporting livelihood in rural areas. So it funded a three-year program to pilot ANR campaigns in Bohol, Davao del Norte and Bataan.

According to Kazuyuki Tsurami, FAO representative in the Philippines, the total project cost for the three-year program was P240,000.

“ANR is one of a few methods to revive the forest and mitigate the effects of climate change without affecting the livelihood of the people. In fact, ANR allows the people to earn more,” Tsurami said. “Most of all, it is very cheap.”

According to Patrick Dugan of Bagong Pag-asa Foundation, which is helping UN FAO implement the ANR pilot programs, the three sites in the Philippines are reaping the economic benefits from ANR. Bataan is having pineapples and bananas, rubber for Davao, and Danao is reviving its forest to support its bid to be an ecotourism destination in Central Philippines.

“There is no bigger motivator than the economic reward,” Danao City Mayor Louis Thomas Gonzaga said. “Talking about climate change and global warming is too complicated for the people. But when you tell them we will all benefit economically because of the project, they will all support it.”

And with ANR and other support mechanisms in place, Danao has already earned more than P2 million from its EAT Danao ecotourism project in the first few months of the year as adventurers, bikers and families from nearby urban centers like Metro Cebu and Tagbilaran City flock to the town for a green recluse and an adventure in nature.

Its tourism industry has earned more than the total income from taxes in its public market—usually the biggest-earning enterprise of any local government unit. The project has also employed 50 people.

Tourists come to Danao to go hiking, kayaking, water-tubing, mountain biking, and run down a zipline and visit caves. The sites are in prime condition because of efforts by the locals to protect the environment.

As is the case with other projects, the challenge for ANR in the three pilot areas is sustainability. At present farmer Arbegosado receives P40 in allowance for every tour of duty. It will soon be over as the project is over.

Mayor Gonzaga and his town council, however, vowed to continue the program. He said proceeds from the ecotourism revenues will be placed in a special fund to expand the ANR areas and protect them from fire—the biggest threat to the young forests.

 The national government is also starting to see the benefits of ANR. For the first time, a P2-billion fund has been allotted for ANR across the country that includes a 50,000-hectare upland reforestation effort, according to Undersecretary Dolino said.

Tsurami said the UN FAO program opened the dam for funding agencies to get interested in ANR. UN FAO itself is considering extending the program in a second round.

In May, the UN FAO’s ANR project concluded with an international workshop in Bohol, attended by participants from Asia and Europe. Everybody agreed that ANR is the most sensible solution to recovering the lost forests of the world.

Arbegosado said he was happy to see a busload of foreigners and scientists visit his hilltop outpost in barangay San Miguel and see him work. But he couldn’t care less. For him, it’s all about his children and the forest that his family could see and enjoy in the future. Fortunately, that is more than enough.

[grazie7y]

Mr. Abergosado is a very noble man.  We need more people like him.  We should be like him.  I hope he can inspire more people in our province.  Good job, Mr. Abergosado!  Keep it up!

[jamo2x]

“There is no bigger motivator than the economic reward,” Danao City Mayor Louis Thomas Gonzaga said.

cebuano kaha kagikan ila mayor.....hehehe
basi oyoan naho na...hahahaha 
daghn jud lagi kog pariente dri, mao ganahan ko dri sa TB 

[fdaray]

This is observation when I had a vacation to my hometown last  2008:

Sa amomg lugar , boudary sa Sikatuna ug Corella is turning greener. Nagsigi ug pamanon og kahoy ang mga farmers . Wala nay mga kaingin. MIbalik ug kalasang ang lugar.

What is the result? Daghan nang mga onggoy ug manok  ihalas.

Ang mga onggoy mopaduol na sa mga kabalayan, sila na ang mamutong sa mga lubi.
Kon sanggi-on na ang mais, ang unang mananggi ang manok ihas ug onggoy. Mao ni karon ang problema sa maong lugar.

In this situation, is there a balance in the ecosystem?

[Raquelproud boholana]

Sa amoa pud bitaw isla perti nang labonga ug daghan kahoy kay segi pud pananum lagi.Apil ang dagat gitamtan ug palibot ug mangrove namaot nuon unya lapok.Nindot man to sa una kay daghan kinhason karon wala na halos kay ang kinhasanan sa una puro naman mangrove murag nangawala man nuon ang mga kinhason.Tangkig nuon daghan ug mahadlok na nuon ta maligo.

[Mulligan]

Lingaw kog basa ani sir FD.

Nananum -> Nitubo -> Nidaghan ang unggoy -> Problema ... hehe

Next step:  Maghimo ta ug tourist attraction diha sa inyo sir.   j/k 

This is observation when I had a vacation to my hometown last  2008:

Sa amomg lugar , boudary sa Sikatuna ug Corella is turning greener. Nagsigi ug pamanon og kahoy ang mga farmers . Wala nay mga kaingin. MIbalik ug kalasang ang lugar.

What is the result? Daghan nang mga onggoy ug manok  ihalas.

Ang mga onggoy mopaduol na sa mga kabalayan, sila na ang mamutong sa mga lubi.
Kon sanggi-on na ang mais, ang unang mananggi ang manok ihas ug onggoy. Mao ni karon ang problema sa maong lugar.

In this situation, is there a balance in the ecosystem?

[hofelina]

ANR seems to work, is more practical, involves the local community, offers livelihood, and is reportedly cheaper!
Not everyone can afford the more expensive and labor-intensive tree planting.  If the report is true, we should adapt ANR and continue with it.  What counts in the end is that we see more forests, more trees not less, better opportunities for local
community growth!  The magic word is SUSTAINABILITY of the reforestation undertaking that gives green tree cover to our
vanishing forests!  Let's support ANR!

------------------------------------------------------------
This is an email from a friend who buys lands in Bohol and plants trees. He  is an expat, this time he is buying land in Sikatuna and will plant mahogany.( I requestd some comments on this postings).

[fdaray]

Many trees, mahogany ang gemelina were planted by land owners in Corella, the nearest town of Sikatuna.  The area now is becoming a virgin forest, most farmers stop raising corn , rice and rootcrops because it is shady and plants will not growwell. Would trees substitute for agricultural crops.?

But some traditional farmers still cultivate  some crops and were infested with wild chickens and monkeys. Thus, farming is declining in Canangca-an, and some barangays within the boundary of Sikatuna and Corella. Coconut trees near the forest starts dying because of the shade.

In the early 1970s, ubi was so productive in these places. BUt now, it becomes scare. You can not see kaingin where these crops are  planted. It's a part of Bohols greening.

Again , I would say, "can trees substitute  for crops ? Moabot ang panahon, kahoy na ang daghan ug wala nay crops.

[Raquelproud boholana]

Tinuod na sa amoa sad isla ang mga farm ground sa una gipanamnan ug gemmelina ug mahogany karon naingon na ug lasang.Wala nay nagbaol or nag uma ug di man gani kahoy ang gipangtanum kamanggahan. Maabot ang panahon ang mga bag ong tubo di na kaila unsay kamote ug balanghoy.Giunsa kaha pagkwenta no?Sa una tanan tawo sa amoa naay kamotehan,balanghoyan ug kamaisan karon wala na jud.

[Koddi Prudente]

Sa amoa pud bitaw isla perti nang labonga ug daghan kahoy kay segi pud pananum lagi.Apil ang dagat gitamtan ug palibot ug mangrove namaot nuon unya lapok.Nindot man to sa una kay daghan kinhason karon wala na halos kay ang kinhasanan sa una puro naman mangrove murag nangawala man nuon ang mga kinhason.Tangkig nuon daghan ug mahadlok na nuon ta maligo.

Mas daghan og benefits ang mga katunggan, Raqz, kay itloganan man ni siya sa hapit tanang matang sa mga mananap sa dagat tungod kay abunda man ni siya og mga pagkaon alang kanila.  Kon baga ang katunggan ug kalusayan, mas daghan og isda sama sa danggit, ug mga kasag, imbaw ug kinhason. Naka compare jud ko ani dihang nag work ko sa una sa USAID-funded nga Coastal Resource Management Project.  Apil man gani ang Madangog ug Lomboy ani. Kon baga pud ang katunggan, modaghan pud ang tawo (he he, joke). Kay adto na man mag-date! Talk about "itloganan", ha ha ha!     

[ryxin01]

Sa amoa diri nga lugar kay daghan kaayo mga kahoy ug linaw ganahan ko mopuyo.

[hubag bohol]

  Kon baga pud ang katunggan, modaghan pud ang tawo (he he, joke). Kay adto na man mag-date! Talk about "itloganan", ha ha ha!     

He he he, tungod sa biodiversity sa healthy nga katunggan, mahimo ning itloganan ug mao nga naay daghang klase sa mananap. Mao nga dili tingali problema ang pagdagsang sa mag-date, kay sa akong paminaw modaghan man pod ang tungaw! Ha ha ha, kon naay pabuang-bu****, nah, patay kang itlog ka! 

 

[hubag bohol]

But some traditional farmers still cultivate  some crops and were infested with wild chickens and monkeys. Thus, farming is declining in Canangca-an, and some barangays within the boundary of Sikatuna and Corella. Coconut trees near the forest starts dying because of the shade.

Dili problema ang mga unggoy! Dakpon ni sila unya tudloan pag-harvest og lubi.
Sa Indonesia, mga unggoy nga nakaagig seminar maka-harvest og 1000 coconuts a day!

Sulbad pod ang problema sa mga mananakahayg lubi nga delikadong matagak. (Diha koy nabal-an sa gamay pa ko nga natagak kay ija untang kawton ang gilok niyang kigol.)

Ay, dia ra diay ang poster boy sa monkey coconut harvesters:

monkey coconut harvester in action




monkey coconut harvester at break time

[Koddi Prudente]

OK man kaayo ang pagtanom og exotic or introduced tree species like mahogany and gmelina (yes, it is spelled without an "e"), especially if we look at the economic benefits, but the problem is these species have allelopathic effects on our endemic or native species of plants including trees. Allelopathy is the inhibition of growth in one species of plants by chemicals produced by another species. When these allelochemicals are produced as secondary metabolites and released into the environment (soil), they inhibit the development of neighbouring plants. 

On the other hand, farming has become an unattractive industry especially among the youth who prefer to find work elsewhere. Diri sa Bohol daghan na kaayong mga abandoned farms, especially kadtong mga rainfed. Ang makasalbar ra gyud tingali sa atong agriculture industry is to plant perennial crops like fruit trees.

[Raquelproud boholana]

Sa amoa daghan na nananom ug mangga.Tagsa nay nag uman kay puro naman naay abroad unya ug mag uman pud ka naay mouna ug harvest nimo mga tawong tapuwan maghuwat rag anus a ma ready ang ilang di hinaguan..Sop kaajo na among isla pwede pud mag date sa ilawom sa kabayabasan.Murag ug akoy daga di ko makigdate sa katungganan kay itloganan jud bitaw na unya daghan tangkig plus ang hokhok perti mapuno ka ug paak.

[fdaray]

    Bohol now is turning to be a green forest

[Koddi Prudente]

. . . ug akoy daga di ko makigdate sa katungganan kay itloganan jud bitaw na unya daghan tangkig . . .

Day Raqz, mogawas ra man nang tangkig kon thrilling na. Mag-date lang gud. Dili lang mag thrilling-thrilling.

[hubag bohol]

Day Raqz, mogawas ra man nang tangkig kon thrilling na. Mag-date lang gud. Dili lang mag thrilling-thrilling.

Duda na ko aning tangkiga, da. 

[Raquelproud boholana]

Peligro ning tankingga kinalahan hehhehe.Ug sa kakahuyan pud magdate daghan pud has (snake)mas lah(poisonous pud) Inay Greening Bohol Naturally nahimo naman nuon ning populating bohol naturally.

[bolingitboy]

quote from fdaray: Again , I would say, "can trees substitute  for crops ? Moabot ang panahon, kahoy na ang daghan ug wala nay crops.

a balance between planting trees and agricultural crops will have to be struck to ensure that people continue to have basic food source - unless people are ready and willing to munch on tree leaves when they get hungry.

the best way to maintain said balance would be to plant trees in watersheds and areas that have steep inclines that are prone to erosion and therefore not conducive to farming, and establish farms where the terrain is flatter and more suitable to agricultural production.

in plain and simple terms: mananon tag kahoy sa bukid ug bakilid, mag farm ta sa patag.