Typhoon Odette (international code name Rai) devastated parts of Visayas and Mindanao in December last year.
The typhoon, which nearly reached the supertyphoon category, caused severe and widespread damage, killing at least 409 people, and damage of at least P39.3 billion or $794 million.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said Odette falls under the “typhoon category” with its maximum sustained winds of up to 195 kilometers per hour, while the “supertyphoon” has a maximum sustained winds of more than 220 km/hour.”
While the impact of Odette to people and the economy can be measured by the numbers, the same could not be said about ecosystems and the all-important wildlife that are equally vulnerable to such natural calamity.
Serious threat
Strong typhoons like Odette that cause widespread destruction of forests, landslides and floods are a serious threat to wildlife as they are to humans.
Forests are home to both plant and animal wildlife. Their capacity to shield the country’s already threatened wildlife depends on their capacity to withstand the devastation.
A healthy forest ecosystem or coastal and marine habitat means plant and animal wildlife are safe and sound even during the worst weather. But for those in an already damaged ecosystem, the wildlife are always in peril.
No scientific study
The lack of empirical data, before or after the occurrence of such natural calamity, is due to the fact that there are no extensive studies on natural calamities’ impact on habitats and wildlife in the Philippines.
The same could also be said about its neighboring countries in Southeast Asia.
In the case of the Philippines, an official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said that due to limited resources, the local government units (LGUs) are tapped in monitoring the impacts of typhoons to wetlands, caves and other ecosystems.
Dual positions
Anson Tagtag, OIC division chief of the Caves, Wetlands and Other Ecosystems Division of the DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB), said when it comes to natural calamities, wetlands and caves have dual positions.
Wetlands, for instance, is seen as a buffer for natural calamities, like flooding, Tagtag told the BusinessMirror on January 18.
“Wetlands are water basins and they are repositories of floodwater. If these wetlands, like river systems, remain intact or maintained, they hold water [that help in] preventing flooding,” he said in a telephone interview.
On the other hand, Tagtag said that when wetlands are already disturbed by humans, these ecosystems’ capacity to hold water is compromised, resulting in massive flooding.
The same can be said about caves.
“The dynamics of cave systems are dependent on natural vegetation. If the vegetation on top of caves are already ruined, hence, water easily sip through the soil, eventually affecting the caves below.
Ecosystems monitoring
Important ecosystems are being monitored by the DENR-BMB, but there’s no scientific study yet on the impact of a devastating typhoon, like Odette.
On the part of the Wetland Management Program of the DENR-BMB, which aims to manage and conserve the most important ecosystems, Tagtag said the first step was to identify the wetlands and conduct a physical assessment and learn the ecosystem services they provide.
“We already have a map of wetlands in the Philippines, but due to limited resources, we prioritize what can be managed. Of course, we want to manage them all, because that’s our target. But then, we identify priorities that we can manage,” he said.
No impact study
Wetlands are sometimes subsumed in protected areas like Naujan Lake.
Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary and all Ramsar Sites are being monitored, he said. However, there’s no extensive study on the impact of every disastrous event or natural calamity.
“I can’t remember if we have [an impact study of natural calamities]. In wetlands, we check and monitor. For caves, I mean the managed caves, monitoring is regularly done,” Tagtag added.
“When there’s a disturbance, we are able to know through monitoring through our partnership with LGUs. We have 3,000 plus caves in the Philippines but only around 700 are classified,” he explained.
He said the practical thing in monitoring important ecosystems is through partnership with communities.
Conserving ecosystems ‘a must’
Tagtag highlighted the need to conserve wetlands, caves and other important ecosystems, saying their capacity to cushion the impact of natural calamities and protect plant and animal wildlife depends on their condition.
“If rivers are silted, naturally, their capacity is reduced. This causes flooding that may affect wildlife,” he explained.
“The best way to use natural resources is by not using them at all,” he said.
No targeted research in AHPs
Executive Director Theresa Mundita S. Lim of the Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) said even in other countries there are no targeted research studies on the impact of natural calamities in Asean Heritage Parks (AHPs), which represent the best of the best of protected areas in Southeast Asia.
However, Lim, a former DENR-BMB director, said natural calamities have always direct impact on natural ecosystems and wildlife.
Lim said there used to be a plan to conduct a study on the impact of natural calamities to a select area and the wildlife that thrive in that area.
Not enough literature
The plan, she said, was conceptualized by ACB’s Knowledge Management chief, Dr. Arvin Diesmos, who used to be with the National Museum of Natural History but there was not enough literature as basis to pursue the plan.
Nevertheless, Lim said that though it will probably have to be a long-term study, she said it is a good time to start now, with the support of ACB.
“I think this is a good time to start it and ACB can support such an initiative,” she pointed out.
A question of resiliency
“But of course, there is always an impact of these disasters on wildlife, on natural ecosystems. The question is how quickly they can recover or if they can even recover at all. This is what we call ‘resiliency,’” Lim told the BusinessMirror via Messenger on January 17.
Lim said ecosystems that are still intact or healthy have the capacity to recover faster.
On the other hand, she said wild animals can always move into thicker growth to shelter themselves from areas being battered by the storm, citing, for example, the movement from the eastern portion to the western portion of a great forest along the Eastern seaboard.
Performing ecological function
Lim said when wildlife survives the wrath of natural calamities, they continue to perform their important ecological function, helping restore forests—the home to plant and animal wildlife.
“If the pollinators and seed dispersers survive the wrath, they will continue to perform their ecological function and restore the forest in time for the next storm,” she explained.
“But as you know, the state of the ecosystems accessible to humans is no longer as pristine, and so the wildlife’s range to seek safety is already more limited than ideal,” she noted.
Aggravating this, she added, is the frequency of natural calamities, “which makes them vulnerable even more.”
“But if we are aware of the thresholds, so we keep enough high biodiversity-protected areas to retain their ecological functions, then we not only have more resilient protected areas and wildlife populations, but more resilient communities and infrastructure, as well,” she ended.
Image credits: Wikimedia Commons