A crested honey buzzard is seen from a distance, one of the many things Masungi Georeserve, located in Baras, Rizal, has to offer to the those who are looking for an adventure. That adventure includes a four-hour trek inside the limestone park situated at the foot of the Sierra Madre.
According to a recent study conducted by a group of researchers and experts in the Masungi Georeserve, the sighting of the Oriental Honey Buzzard (with the scientific name Pernis Ptilorhynchus) is rare. “In fact we have only been able to clearly document this raptor species only twice,” said Renz Perez, Communications and Project Associate of Masungi Georeserve Foundation (MGF).
Romeo Delasada, 48, is an Aeta-Dumagat who works as a tour guide inside MGF said medicinal plants abound in the area. On a lucky day, visitors can also catch a glimpse of rare breeds of eagles and birds.
One of the best parts of the park is scaling the Sapot ni Ric and Sawa where you can enjoy the 600 meter above sea-level view of the Laguna lakeshore areas, the Sierra Madre and the nearby Bundok ng Susong Dalaga.
In the middle part of the forest almost halfway through the four-hour trek, you can see a cut Dungon tree, a hardwood tree endemic to the Sierra Madre.
“We could hear the chainsaws of the illegal loggers. This made us cry because before, we could hear the chirping of the birds. But now, all you can see are the remnants of Dungon trees which have tell-tale signs of being cut by these illegal loggers,” he said.
World fame for conservation
“For conservation leadership is everything,” shared Billie Dumaliang, a conservationist and Trustee of the MGF.
She welcomed the change in the administration. In fact, after working as a conservationist for five years she learned that one the best tools in conservation is to engage the leaders in government.
She said that in this world of uncertainty, “I think I know how to adapt, anticipate change and be ready for it. That’s something environmentalists should embrace to face the challenges of the future.”
Speaking at the recent World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), at the Marriott Hotel, she said that although nervous, “we were able to speak our mind, to say, that there is a lot of pressure, I felt very happy we were given a chance.”
Fighting on the ground
The Masungi Georeserve has been the site of much illegal activities. In 2016, it was reported that some land grabbers, with the help of a private army, tried to encroach on the property. They sought police and government help through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) these requests fell on deaf ears.
In 2017 the late DENR Secretary Gina Lopez and the Masungi Georeserve Foundation Inc. signed a memorandum of agreement covering the 2,798 hectares of land situated inside the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape (UMRBPL).
The UMRBPL, in accordance with the passage of the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System or ENIPAS Act, was declared a protected area in 2018.
Dumaliang related that a number of illegal resorts had sprouted inside the watershed area, adding that this might have a negative impact on the ecosystem.
“We are here in this karst limestone ecosystem which is made up rocks, forest and a unique biodiversity. It is very sensitive to our hydrogeological system. Whatever you do in the watershed, especially large quarrying, mining, the construction of resorts, will have an impact on the karst ecosystem. Actually it might sound that it is huge already but the additional 430 hectares to the MGF protected area is actually small. There should at least be 3,000 hectares but in the context of karst ecosystem, trees, wildlife, bats, snails and birds should be allowed to live free of human disturbance,” she said.
She claimed that people holding government positions have built structures inside the protected areas without shame. “They were building reservoirs for swimming pools where water is supposedly for the use of the community not for recreation. The existing dams were built to control water after the Ondoy disaster, imagine it is a critical watershed.”
Sustainable tourism
Dumaliang reminded the government that their mandate is “to safeguard for the Filipino people, protect and conserve our natural resources, not to exploit them.”
“Sometimes the government forgets this because of the personalities or the interests involved. And then there is this issue about personal values and culture. If you have the right values, you will know that there is a connection between the people and the environment,” she said.
Prior to the pandemic, MGP welcomed visitors through their booking of advance tours. Since they wanted to preserve the limestone part, which is part of the karst terrain, the park only entertained a maximum of 10 visitors a day back in 2015. Now they can accommodate up to five groups or 15 to 20 people a day.
“Because it is outdoor, everything is pre-booked, low volume, it wasn’t hard for us to adjust, when the government started issuing different restrictions. in short they adapt and reinvent and they sustain the tourism to keep it alive not just for the MGF but for the community,” she said.
Come Together
Dumaliang strongly believes that tourism and the environment can co-exist. It not a trade-off between the two, it is a myth to sacrifice the environment just to earn profit. This is how they stood out during the recent WTTC forum. Low volume tourism can sustain the preservation of the environment.
She adds that while there are departments (in the government) that can talk about industries and economy, there is only one department that can address wildlife, about the communities that depend on wildlife and its environment. This department can can fight for conservation and threats and thinking that nature and conservation can also become an investment not a liability.
There is a multiplier effect on tourism as it will generate jobs for forest rangers from the nearby barangays. Local Aeta-Dumagats of the Sierra Madre can also be tapped as part of the ranger and tour guides.
“We strongly hope that the next DENR secretary will become a voice, someone who will be able to carry out its mandate. I truly believe that conservation tourism and other sustainable enterprises based on nature can help uplift people from poverty,” Dumaliang said.