Reaping rewards from protecting forests

By Maurice Malanes Philippine Daily Inquirer FOR DECADES, they have regarded the forests as their lifeblood, and have never lusted for the big volume of logs and lumber they could extract. Instead, they have harvested only fruits and other edibles from the wild to be processed for selected markets. As responsible stewards, they get just enough to help keep the balance in the ecosystem. This is the way of the indigenous Ikalahan (population: 49,000). Home to most tribal members is the forested community of Imugan village in Sta. Fe, Nueva Vizcaya. Their place is part of the Caraballo Mountains, which link the Cordillera and the Sierra Madre mountain ranges in northern Luzon. During a recent national indigenous peoples’ conference on ancestral land rights in Baguio City, the Ikalahan have been cited for their “ecosystems approach” toward managing and protecting their land and resources. “We view ourselves as part of ecosystems, so what we do to one species affects the rest of us,” their leader, Sammy Balinhawang, said. The meeting was organized by the Tebtebba and the Philippine Traditional Knowledge Network, two nongovernment groups helping to educate indigenous peoples about their rights as enshrined in the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (Ipra) and in international conventions, such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Sustainability The Ikalahan have been asserting that, as part of their collective right, the land where they now live and its resources belong to the community. “But alongside this right, we know our responsibility: To protect our watersheds and every nook and cranny of our domain,” Balinhawang said. The livelihoods the forests provide are the main incentives for doing their responsibility. For example, water from the mountains irrigate their farms, which produce food for their families and bring income if they sell their surplus. By asserting this collective right and the livelihood and other benefits they derive from the forests, the Ikalahan have stopped government plans to reroute a national road that would have cut through their community. But they cannot expand their farms and pasture lands because the ecosystems of their community would suffer from imbalance. So they resort to gathering wild fruits, processing and selling them as guava jams, wines and vinegar from wild berries, and dried bignay (which resembles raisin). The products have reached not only markets in Metro Manila and other cities but some overseas markets as well. The Ikalahan harvest only 15 percent of the wild fruits. The rest belong to the bats, birds and other wild animals that help propagate the very sources of their food and income. With seedlings from their nurseries, they have reforested areas under threat of going barren. They cull or remove disease-infested trees and replace them. To safeguard the ecosystems and keep their food chain clean, the Ikalahan have long maintained a natural and organic system of raising vegetables and other crops. Still in poverty Despite the community-based enterprises they have started, the Ikalahan have remained poor, Balinhawang said. In some developed countries, people who maintain watersheds, which supply the water needs of lower communities, are given incentives and monetary rewards by their governments. Not in the Ikalahan community, whose well maintained watersheds and headwaters also supply the water needs of wealthier lowland communities in Central Luzon. Since 1994, the Ikalahan, through the Kalahan Educational Foundation, have explored the possibility of engaging in carbon trading. An American Protestant missionary, Rev. Dr. Delbert Rice, helped establish the foundation. At the same time, they have begun protecting another 10,000 hectares of forests for the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) project by the UN Environment Program (UNEP). The REDD, according to the UNEP, is designed to support countries “to develop best practices for avoided deforestation and forest carbon stock retention initiatives.” It encourages environmental and social safeguards through improving community livelihoods, conserving biodiversity and protecting water resources. As responsible stewards, Ikalahan folk harvest only a certain amount to help keep the balance in their ecosystems Published in Philippine Daily Inquirer August 25, 2010.

Tiwi: The birthplace of Geothermal Energy

By HENRYLITO D. TACIO

August 14, 2010, 10:33am

Power from the steam

In the past, hot springs were the main attractions of Tiwi, a second class municipality in the province of Albay.

“The popularity of these hot springs has diminished in recent years due to the nearby construction of a geothermal plant,” current mayor Jaime Villanueva told the visiting members of the Philippine Network of Environmental Journalists.

History records show the Philippine Congress, recognizing the potential and benefits of geothermal development, enacted Republic Act No. 5092, otherwise known as the Geothermal Law in 1967. That same year, Dr. Arturo P. Alcaraz and his team came to Tiwi and lit a light bulb using steam-powered electricity coming from Mount Malinao.

That was the first geothermal power generated in the Philippines. By 1982, Tiwi became the world’s first water-dominated geothermal system to produce more than 160 megawatts (MW). Its currently installed capacity is 289 MW.

Electric power is measured in units called watt. A watt is equal to one joule (the quantity of energy that can be generated from a fuel such as oil or gas) per second. The total generating capacity of a power plant is measured in kilowatt (KW) for 1,000 watts, and megawatt (MW) for one million watts.

“Geothermal energy offers significant environmental and economic advantages over fossil fuels in generating electricity,” said the Chevron Geothermal Philippines Holdings, Inc. (CGPHI) in a statement. “As a renewable energy source, geothermal energy creates significantly less greenhouse gasses.”

Greenhouses gases include carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels, chlorofluorocarbons from air conditioners and refrigerators, methane gas from landfills and rice fields, and the nitrogen compound, nitrous oxide, from burning fossil fuels and fertilizers. Global warming is believed to be caused by increased concentrations of these gases emitted by human activities into the atmosphere.

Geothermal energy also offers substantial economic benefits. Since 1977, geothermal energy has saved the Philippine government over US$7 billion in costs associated with the import of fossil fuels.

You can have a good view of the Tiwi Geothermal Power Plant by visiting the Naglagbong Geothermal People’s Park (more popularly known as Nag Park). According to locals, the park used to have hot springs, vents, boiling mud pools, and silica center mounds. People visiting the place would boil eggs from steaming holes.

A hydrothermal eruption in 1980 ended the park’s thermal activities. Since then, it has been transformed into a park with the combined efforts of the local government, National Power Corporation, and Philippine Geothermal, Inc.

Tiwi is known not only because of the geothermal plant, but also for its coron, those pottery products that are shaped in different forms and sizes either in round or hexagonal shapes.

This traditional industry can be traced back to the early part of the 17th century when the sticky clay dug from the hilly place near the sea was discovered to have various uses. Early settlers formed them in different shapes and used them for cooking, eating, or drinking.

Today, making coron (a Bicol dialect which means “claypot” or “pottery”) is one of the good sources of income for the people. At barangayPutsan, you can visit Philippine Ceramics, a big warehouse cum factory of these products. Visitors are allowed and you can even take pictures and see how the pots are actually made. You can get a glimpse of its modern oven used for cooking art-formed clays. There is also a display area for the finished products, where you can select and buy.

It was good that during our visit, the town was celebrating the Coron Festival. Actually, it is a showcase of events highlighted by a street presentation participated in by the different public and private schools and various sectors. The celebration is capped by a long maritime procession of different local sea vessels passing the Albay Gulf going to the quiet barangay Joroan, the home of the miraculous image.

Carol Carullo, the town’s tourism official, says there are several places of interest in Tiwi. For one, there’s the Bugsukan Falls, a good picnic site for most travelers. However, it can only be reached by watercraft.

For the thrill fanatics and adventure loving visitors, there's Busayan Falls. “The route is beautiful but can be challenging for those who are not familiar with the place,” the tourism brochure states. Travel time is about 10 to 12 hours; an overnight stay in a camp is required.

The tourism office shares these tips when coming to Tiwi: Light casual wear is always practical when touring around. Bring warm garments during rainy days (July to September) or when visiting mountainous areas where nights can be cool and chilly. On hot summer months (March to May), wear a hat and a pair of sunglasses. Carry insect repellant, bottled water, and a flashlight when visiting remote and forested areas.

Carullo also advised visitors to register at the Visitor’s Information Center when visiting tourist spots “for better facilitation and assistance.”

Tiwi has such a colorful history. Wikipedia shares this information: “Before the establishment of the municipality of Tiwi by the Spaniards, the present poblacion and the barangays of Baybay, Libjo, Cararayan, and Naga were part of the Pacific Ocean, and the hill shared by barangays Bolo and Putsan was an islet. A volcanic eruption of the now dormant Mount Malinao filled up this part of the sea joining the hill of Bolo and Putsan with the mainland of Luzon.

“This place began as a barrio of Malinao before it was formally organized as a politically independent pueblo in 1696. As a Catholic parish, it was administered by a secular priest under the then Diocese of Nueva Caceres, now an archdiocese. In its primeval stages, it had some 1,105 houses, a parish church, a community-funded primary school, and a cemetery outside the town proper.”

How did it get its name? In 1658, Spanish Franciscan friars planted the cross near the shore north of Malinao. The friars called the place Tigbi, after an abundant local plant. The name later evolved into Tivi, and finally evolved to its present name Tiwi.

Tiwi is located about 300-kilometer southeast of Manila. It is accessible by air from Manila (travel time is 55 minutes). Both Philippines Airlines and Cebu Pacific fly daily from Manila to Legazpi City, the province’s capital.

From the Legazpi airport, visitors can take a tricycle to the Bus/Filcab terminal bound to Tabaco City. From Tabaco City, they can ride a jeepney bound for Tiwi.

There are also air-conditioned buses plying the Manila-Tabaco route. Travel time is about 10 hours. Terminals of these buses are located at the Araneta Center, Cubao, Pedro Gil Street, Manila, and EDSA, Pasay City.

Published in Manila Bulletin August 20, 2010.

Islanders see renewable energy as solution to daily brownouts

By Fernan Gianan Inquirer Southern Luzon SAN MIGUEL, CATANDUANES —The daily brownouts, especially those that occur in the mid of work or in the deep of the night, have so numbed residents and local businessmen that only silent curses could be heard. PHILIPPINES: Construction plans for proposed 19 Mw hydropower plant, PHILIPPINE NATIONAL OIL CO. (PNOC) [Philippines) - Order #: 107804.: An article from: ... & Plant Operations in the Developing World This month, they are hopeful relief is coming as two new privately-owned hydropower plants begin delivering on the promise of reliable and cheaprenewable energy. The multimillion-peso power generation facilities of the Sunwest Water and Electric Co. Inc. (Suweco) will be switched on this month in the towns of San Miguel and Caramoran. An affiliate of the Sunwest Group of Companies chaired by Bicolano businessman Elizaldy S. Co, Suweco intends to supply half of the island’s energy requirement of 6.5 megawatts (MW). The company’s P314-million hydropower plant in Barangay Solong in San Miguel has a rated capacity of 2.1 MW while its P213-million plant in Barangay Hitoma in Caramoran has a rated capacity of 1.5 MW. Jose Sylvestre Natividad, Suweco president, said these facilities will help alleviate the decade-long power problem in Catanduanes. According to engineer Edwin Tatel, cluster head of the Catanduanes Grid of the National Power Corp.’s Small Power Utilities Group, the maximum system demand last July was 7 MW during peak hours, with an off-peak demand of 5 MW. Catanduanes, with its 232,000 inhabitants, has a power demand that grows 10 percent annually. Its local power cooperative, the First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative Inc., has 33,000 member-consumers. Power supply Presently, Tael says, the grid’s generating system consists of two diesel power plants in Bato and Viga, the Balongbong hydropower plant, Power Barge 110, four mobile gensets rented from Monark and a 3.6-MW bunker-fuel genset operated by the private company Catanduanes Power Generation Inc. However, of the total rated capacity of nearly 20 MW, only half is being generated due to frequent shutdowns of the old diesel gensets. The three-decade-old Balongbong hydropower plant, on the other hand, produces only 1 MW out of its rated capacity of 1.8 MW due to low water intake at the forebay as a result of the prolonged El Niño phenomenon. Last summer, it was operated for only three hours a day as it experienced the lowest water level since it was built by a Chinese company in 1978 during the Marcos regime. Tatel says that at present, 70 percent of the total power generation of the grid is produced by fuel-fed power plants, with Balongbong accounting for the remaining 30 percent. With the commissioning of its two hydropower plants, Suweco will seek to overturn this ratio into 60:40 in favor of hydroelectric power. Learning affected Agnes Doblon, principal of the Paraiso Elementary School in San Miguel town, says the power outages affect the learning environment of the students. She says whenever brownouts occur, teachers and students would grope in the dark but they could not cancel classes or the students would be left behind. “For the past two years, we didn’t have electricity during our graduation rites. Our students marched without music. We called out names of the graduates without a sound system,” Doblon tells the media who were covering Sunwest’s distribution of bags and educational supplies last July 22. There was also a brownout that same day. On the other hand, Vice Mayor Mary Ann Teves says the hydropower facilities would be a key to development in the fifth-class municipality. “We are thankful because the Suweco power plant will not only provide a stable supply of electricity, it could also bring revenues to our town. Soon, when power is stable, more investments will come. We will no longer be a sleepy town,” Teves says. A small-scale hydroelectric power plant for the city of Alamogordo, New Mexico: Final report Mitigating climate change Natividad says that since the hydropower plants produce renewable energy, it will help save the environment and mitigate the impact of climate change. Tatel agrees, as the power to be generated by the company’s hydropower plants would help reduce the national government’s fuel subsidy of P79 million a year for the Catanduanes grid’s rental of the four Monark mobile gensets. The government has called for individual power producers or private investors to venture into renewable energy production through hydroelectric, windmill, solar and other means. In 2012, another hydropower plant with a rated capacity of 2.4 megawatts will be opened in the villages of Progreso and Paraiso in San Miguel, Catanduanes. The commissioning of the Suweco projects would likewise allow NPC to decommission its rented gensets by the end of the year and its diesel power plants in the next two years. Published in Philippine Daily Inquirer August 15, 2010.