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Saturday, March 19, 2005
'Preserve Sampunong Bolo bird sanctuary'
A SMALL watershed in Sara, Iloilo seems to have been forgotten but it was the pride of Western Visayas in the '80s.
At that time, both local and foreign visitors had been visiting Sampunong Bolo bird sanctuary, climbing the more than 200 steps of well-built stone and wooden stairs going up to the highest peak.
And there, they take a glimpse of the birds and bats residing in the area. With a clap or a whistle, these birds and bats fly around the perimeter and go back to the trees growing along the slopes of the mountain where they nest and rest.
According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources 6, Sampunong Bolo Bird Sanctuary was proclaimed a watershed area through Proclamation Order 692 dated May 21, 1934 by Governor General Frank Murphy and Bureau of Forest Development Regional Special Order 25, series of 1987.
The area, about 60.5694 hectares and classified as timberland, is located at Barangay Juaneza and Aposaga and surrounded by alienable and disposable lands.
It has a waterfall along its periphery where a man-made stairway was built along the sides of the waterfall. It is a source of potable water for the town of Sara and water used to irrigate the rice fields nearby.
Sampunong Bolo is one of the local eco-tourist attraction used by the residents for field laboratory studies. It is also a home for the Purple Heron, Rufous Night Heron, Black Crown Night Heron, Fruit Bats, Monitor Lizards, and Reticulated Python.
When Rogelio Trinidad was still chief of Community Environment and Natural Resources Office in Sara, he worked to develop the sanctuary by constructing cottages and a training hall in the area.
But the area's development was relegated due to changes in management and priorities of the office.
The sanctuary is still a favorite tree-planting site especially for children. However, little attention was given to its aesthetic value like the bird-watching site and watershed research area.
Sampunong Bolo bird sanctuary and watershed needs to be preserved and protected before its too late and before its beauty will be lost forever.
(March 19, 2005 issue)
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