Saturday, March 15, 2008 Vice Guv warns of looming water crisis
THE diminishing forest cover in Negros Oriental has made water a critical resource.
Vice Governor Jose Baldado in a Kapihan forum held March 12 by the Philippine Information Agency warned that the remaining forest cover in the province is now only 4 percent, a far cry from the 90 percent wooded areas in Negros Oriental in the 1880's.
"One of the main sources of water is the forest," Baldado said. He explained that the lack of trees results to the rainwater flowing directly to the ocean, instead of getting absorbed into the soil. With the presence of the trees, the rainwater is gradually absorbed into the soil, forming into water tables, a process that Baldado described as a re-charging effect.
But without trees, the water flows into the ocean, bringing with it tons of topsoil, he said.
"Ang tawo ilogan sa iyang yuta nga one hectare, makig-buno na. Pero kada ulan, he's being robbed of tons of fertile soil from his lot, and he does not have any reaction," the vice governor lamented. He also noted the lack of government-initiated programs on water management.
"Right now, there is no concrete program on how to sustain our water sources," Baldado noted.
Recognizing the threat of an impending water crisis, the provincial government together with the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) has formed the Provincial Water Sanitation Development Council (PWSDC), which aims to take aggressive steps in ensuring water resource management in Negros Oriental.
The PWSDC is composed of government agencies concerned with water like the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), National Irrigation Administration (NIA), and the health and academe sectors.
PWSDC is expected to address the alarming state of water sources in the province.
During the forum, Baldado noted the illegal water diversions in Balugo, Valencia and Sibulan as one of the problems faced by water sources here, including Banica River and its proximity to the Dumaguete City dumpsite.
Another problem cited by Baldado is coliform contamination. According to data he presented during the forum, between 1995 to 2004, 95 percent of the sampling sites along the Negros Oriental rivers have reached a high degree of total coliform contamination, that only a classification according to the worst possible DENR water quality would be applicable.
The same data also showed high fecal coliform contamination (directly derived from human or animal waste) from all sampling sites along the Negros Oriental rivers which are way beyond the Class B water quality standards.
In 1993, the United Nations has declared 2005 to 2015 as Water Decade after it acknowledged the threat of an impending global water crisis. Since then, World Water Day has been observed every year to highlight the looming crisis on water supply.
The national government has recently committed to direct its efforts on conservation and reforestation.
In her speech during the launching of the Giant Turtle Conservation Program at the Pawikan Center in Nagbalayong, Morong, Bataan, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo stressed the need to purify our water and clean up industrial sites that are both unhealthy and aesthetically unpleasant.
The President also committed to recovering lost forests through massive tree planting with the help of communities.
"The DENR budget sets aside P300 million for reforestation. We have also convinced several countries like New Zealand to give their grants as reforestation projects. Inatasan din natin ang PNOC na gumastos sa forestation upang bawiin ang oxyen na kinakain ng langis kaya nagkakaroon ng global warming," she added. (Press release)
