EDITORIAL — Protecting Masungi

Citing irregularities, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has canceled its joint venture agreement with the private contractor working with the foundation that is spearheading development and conservation of the Masungi Georeserve. The DENR gave Blue Star Construction Development Corp. 15 days to vacate the georeserve in Tanay, Rizal.

Among other things, the DENR cited Blue Star’s failure to develop an initial 130-hectare site as well as deliver a total of 10,000 housing units, based on agreements signed in 1997, 2002 and 2022. The housing project was supposed to be for employees of the DENR and several other government agencies.

Blue Star and the Masungi Georeserve Foundation may challenge the cancellation of the contract signed in 2002. Resolving the controversy, however, could take months or even years, during which conservation efforts in the popular geological park could suffer.

The DENR, which has said it is ready to manage the park without the foundation, must ensure that such fears are unfounded. Trustees of the foundation are not alone in lamenting that with so many environmental problems to address, the DENR has targeted one of the few success stories in environmental conservation.

The foundation has been battling illegal quarrying, commercial development and other vested interests in Masungi – tasks that the DENR should be spearheading. But the DENR cannot even stop frenzied reclamation activities around Manila Bay and Laguna de Bay, which are exacerbating flooding and endangering food supply and, in the case of the lake, the water supply in Metro Manila. These problems are just in the National Capital Region.

Elsewhere across the country, there are so many environmental problems needing urgent attention. The country continues to lose its forest cover at an alarming rate, and coral reefs were being destroyed even before the Chinese began constructing their artificial islands in the West Philippine Sea. Protected areas such as the Chocolate Hills of Bohol are being encroached upon by commercial developers.

There is creeping commercial reclamation even of protected wetlands. So many wildlife species are in danger of extinction because of the destruction of their habitats. Illegal mining activities are not only causing environmental damage but also putting communities at risk of deadly landslides.

Experts have said the country is one of the most vulnerable to the destructive impact of global warming. In addressing climate change alone, the DENR already has a lot on its plate. It needs all the help it can get, and it should welcome partnerships with the private sector. In Masungi, it must show that it can do a better job alone.