Informal settlers endangering wildlife in Angat watershed

NORZAGARAY, Bulacan — "Lupa, langit, hayop, halaman, tao ay magkaugnay."

So goes a line from environmentalist-songwriter Joey Ayala’s song Magkaugnay, which underscores the way Mother Nature’s creations should live in harmony. But this balance is being threatened by the gradual influx of settlers at the Angat watershed and protected area.

A watershed protection expert of the National Power Corp. (Napocor), which oversees the wildlife reservation area inside the Angat watershed here, warned that if informal settlers continue to encroach into this supposedly restricted site, the ecosystem risks debilitation.

Mendel Garcia, officer-in-charge of the Angat Watershed Area Team, said the lowlanders have recklessly exploited the watershed resources, thus endangering the protected area.

Documents obtained by The STAR showed that the protection of the Angat watershed was mandated by Letter of Instruction No. 917, dated March 10, 1927 and signed by Governor General Leonard Wood.

According to the LOI, "all mossy forests, protection forests, critical watersheds and proclaimed watershed reservations supporting existing government dam projects or domestic water supply facilities are hereby declared wilderness areas and shall not be the subject of exploitation of whatever nature."

The LOI declared the towns of Norzagaray, San Jose del Monte (now a city), Angat, San Rafael and San Miguel, all in Bulacan; Peñaranda in Nueva Ecija; Infanta in Quezon, and Montalban (now Rodriguez) in Rizal as wilderness areas.

It also declared protected areas to be free from human intervention and worse, human exploitation, Garcia said.

On Dec. 4, 1965, the LOI was amended by Proclamation No. 505, signed by then President Diosdado Macapagal, transferring the management of the Angat Dam and its wildlife area to the Napocor.

At present, the Napocor manages a total of 62,500 hectares of protected land and wilderness area inside the Angat watershed, which is encompassed by the Grand Sierra Madre mountain range.

The area has been the home of the Dumagats, Bulacan’s only cultural minority group, who, in the early days, settled on the banks of the Angat River here and in Quezon.

The Dumagats earn a living by gathering rattan in the forests, which they sell to traders in the lowlands.

Garcia noted that this ethnic group has a high regard for Nature and respect for natural resources.

He said the ones abusing the area are the lowlanders, now numbering about 300 families, who depend on forest products such as timber and wild animals for livelihood.

Garcia said these informal settlers have resorted to the illegal cutting of trees, thus threatening the natural forest cover which protects the watershed from erosion and landslides.

He said his team has arrested several timber and animal poachers, but lamented that the law does not impose stiff penalties on offenders.

"Masyadong maliit ang penalties sa violators kaya pag nahuli, bumabalik din sila (The penalties for violators are extremely small, which explains why they repeat the offense after they are arrested)," he said.

He added: "Kami na nga lang ang binabantayan ngayon (We are now the ones being guarded). When we are on patrol, they watch for us and warn the timber and animal poachers kaya nakakatakas (that’s why they escape)."

Garcia said he is thinking of asking the military to deploy a special unit that will go after violators of environmental laws in the watershed and protected area.