Quietly, without much fanfare, major French company aDryada — which develops, operates and finances such large-scale nature-based projects all over the world as reforestation, mangroves, wetlands and the like — has partnered with both government and the private sector here to launch one of the largest, most massive attempts to address climate change in the country.
Samar BioSPV, a company formed between aDyrada and the Samar Bamboo Corporation, will undertake the Green Samar Project which is primarily aimed at restoring some 90,000 hectares of degraded forest in the northwestern part of the 335,105-hectare Samar Island National Park (SINP).
The efforts of aDryada and its local partners — along with the worldwide network facilitator consultant group, Lausanne, Switzerland-based Audax Global — are commendable, particularly where it pertains to their intention to establish a multi-million giant (dragon) bamboo plantation that would transform Samar into the country’s bamboo capital along with the massive reforestation of portions of the SINP.
Located in Samar province, SINP, which contains the largest contiguous tract of old-forest growth in the country, lies within the Eastern Visayas Bio-Geographic Zone and the Greater Mindanao Faunal Region and is considered to be the center of biodiversity in the Philippines.
Containing some of the island’s famed natural landmarks and landscapes designated for protection, namely, the Sohoton Natural Bridge Park, the Calbiga Caves Protected Landscape, Taft Forest Philippine Eagle Wildlife Sanctuary, Jicontol Watershed Forest Reserve and the former Bulosao Watershed Forest Reserve, the SINP is home to a rich range of habitat and ecosystems which reflect Samar’s rich natural resources and biological diversity.
These ecosystems host valuable floral and fauna species; the park is also crucial to the conservation and survival of at least three critically endangered and vulnerable reptile species and at least five endangered mammal species which are Philippine/Mindanao-endemic.
Its lush forests provide refuge to 15 avian species which are Philippine/Mindanao-endemic, classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as vulnerable, endangered and critically endangered.
Also, the unique wildlife within the SINP rely on forest corridors that form invaluable watersheds, providing vital ecological service to the communities in Samar province and serve as a sanctuary for a virtual gene bank for Samar’s rich biodiversity.
Taking all that into consideration, the SINP has been included in the Tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage Site nominees.
To be included on the list, sites must be of outstanding universal value and must meet at least one of 10 selection criteria. The SINP has met three of these criteria, with UNESCO marveling at “the intensity of the park’s beauty extending beyond a single overwhelming feature...a symphony of land and water forms, cradled within six different forest types, each exhibiting a unique aesthetic value depending on the season of the year.”
UNESCO also took note of the representation of all known forest types within the park. “Together with the forests, the park is also home to headwaters, waterfalls, river systems representing significant freshwater habitat for site, regional and national endemic species,” it said.
That the SINP is substantially intact, owing to the designation of critical habitats and ecosystems within a contiguous core zone, is also an important point as far as inclusion in the tentative UNESCO World Heritage Site list is concerned.
“With over 300,000 hectares, the SINP is of adequate size and the core zone contains all the components of the park that deliver and contribute to its outstanding universal value,” stated UNESCO.
Still, challenges exist with regard to the preservation of a balanced sustainable development and the SINP’s irreplaceable natural resources as well as the conservation of the park.
National and local government authorities have tried to enforce legislation against logging but this continues to be a challenge owing to the lack of enforcement resources due to the vastness of the SINP.
There is also pressure to build a road transecting the SINP to connect the western and eastern parts of the island.
Likewise, the island’s desire to promote the beauty of Samar’s natural sites as ecotourism areas poses a potentially adverse infrastructural development impact.
Therein lies the perennial predicament — how to balance development and the conservation of fragile natural resources.
We can only wish the Samar provincial government and its private sector partners the best of luck in resolving this complicated situation even as they expend effort and material resources to attain their objectives in the Green Samar Project.
