Pelaezes nurture nature back to life

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY —Just over a decade ago, the sprawling ranch of Emmanuel and Edith Pelaez straddling Bukidnon and Cagayan de Oro City was mostly grassland. Today it has evolved into an environmental showcase of close to 1,200 hectares of natural and planted forests.

Ernie Pelaez, the couple’s second son, spearheaded the move in 1995 to transform Mapawa, which straddles Cagayan de Oro in Misamis Oriental and a part of Bukidnon, into a tree plantation. He secured an Integrated Forest Management Agreement from the government to transform the ranch, then being leased from government as pasture land for raising cattle, into a forest plantation.

He projected that in 10 years, the family would be earning from the trees harvested for timber, which would justify the venture. Over a decade later today, the business plan has not materialized but over 1,000 hectares has been planted to indigenous species such as narra, lauan, rattan, mahogany and falcataria.

When former Vice-President and ambassador to the US Emmanuel Pelaez acquired the property in the late ’50s, there were only 67 hectares of natural forest — as differentiated from planted forest — in the property. Today, the natural forest has grown to over 200 hectares and is home to countless indigenous tree species not including numerous native herbs and flowers. This biodiversity contributes to ecological balance, according to Jojo Primne, head forester and general manager of the Mapawa industrial forest.

Up close and personal, a pair of centuries-old lauan and balete trees that are part of the Mapawa Nature Park eco-walk inspire awe in the visitor. Primne tells us that baletes naturally kill off their host plants. That hasn’t happened in the case of this balete that towers four stories above us. Instead, it has co-existed and even literally embraced the ancient lauan. Somehow the tale of the two trees drive home the point that for all of man’s knowledge acquired through the centuries, the innate forces of nature require great humility and respect from man.

That respect for nature is evident in the recreational activities that have been put up by the Pelaezes in the area. Ziplines that leave the surroundings untouched entice the visitor to whiz through the forest canopy. Day visitors can enjoy a view of a waterfall as well as a walk through a natural forest which educators in Northern Mindanao have been using to teach students about the environment. Nevertheless, Ernie tells us that the most popular activities especially among young professionals are the river treks that include rappelling by a 64-foot waterfall, sliding down a natural rock formation into a swimming hole and an opportunity to encounter a 350-400-year-old Dao tree.

The abundance of water in the property is a direct result of the 200 or so hectares of natural and 1,000 hectares of planted forests that exist in the area. Each hectare of natural forest holds around 1,000 trees while planted forests host around 500 trees per hectare. All told, the 700,000 trees in Mapawa have brought not only water but countless other benefits to its surroundings.

In addition to providing water to three barangays and a number of surrounding communities, Mapawa is noticeably cooler than the rest of Cagayan de Oro. We shivered under our blankets in Mapawa in the wee hours of the morning early this month. Primne is quick to point out that trees reduce greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere through the process of carbon sequestration.

In fact, Mapawa is supported by the Steag State Power Plant which operates a coal-operated plant that generates electricity for Mindanao. Prior to operating its power plant, the Environment Management Bureau required Steag to plant trees to mitigate whatever contributions it would be making to global warming. Steag has complied with that provision by funding the planting of 20 hectares of forest every year in Mapawa. It has set a goal of 500 hectares of planted forest in 25 years.

Planting trees, Ernie says, is easy. What’s more challenging is growing them to full maturity. The hot winds and dry weather conditions of summer, for instance, give rise to bush fires that can easily wipe out years of hard work. In 2003, for instance, a group of picnickers outside the Pelaez property failed to properly stamp out the fire they made to cook rice. The fire reignited and spread to Mapawa fanned by winds. In four to five hours, over 200 hectares of planted forest was lost from that picnic fire.

Since then, Mapawa has enlisted the help of the surrounding communities in mitigating the risks of fire. In exchange for permission to cultivate crops in parts of the Pelaez property, the social cultivators help prevent and control grass and forest fires. The scheme has proven successful.

Mapawa’s story is best appreciated from the Pinnacle, one of the highest portions of the area that looks down into a number of valleys and ravines ringed by hills. The Pelaez portion is largely green and wooded, the tops of the trees looking like bushes from this distance. Outside the property line, bare hills covered by grass and the occasional tree are visibly lighter green and almost yellowish. Just over a decade ago, according to Ernie, one could not differentiate Mapawa from its surroundings. It now stands as clear proof that nature can be nursed back to life.

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On another front, lawyer Clara Rita A. Padilla, executive director of EnGendeRights, writes newspaper editors about the urgency of stopping violence and deaths. Her letter is as follows:

“The violence and the deaths related to the Maguindanao massacre are painful reminders of the deeply-rooted problems of private armies, election cheating, stealing from the government coffers, and the culture of impunity here in the Philippines .

“Lawyers, journalists, and other civilians were killed. A witness even said that the women were raped before they were slain.

“The slain women lawyers were human rights defenders — a great loss for the marginalized people of Mindanao. Atty. Connie Brizuela, whose life was suddenly snuffed out by armed men, was representing marginalized clients totaling to about a thousand cases. The slain journalists joined the convoy in their unknowingly last coverage of a fight against the reigning Ampatuans.    

“The culture of impunity must stop. The buying of votes, the selling of guns by the army to private armies must stop. The CAFGUs, CVOs, police auxiliary brigades — all these private armies - must stop. The appointment of police officers by mayors and governors must stop. The amassing of wealth — mansions and luxury cars — of the likes of the billionaire Ampatuans governing in one of the poorest provinces in a country where the majority of the Philippine population are living below poverty line must not be countenanced.

“Filipinos must stop supporting government officials who coddled and benefited from the likes of the infamous Maguindanao 12-zero senatorial votes and presidential votes. The violence and the deaths must stop.” -ATTY. CLARA RITA A. PADILLA, executive director, EnGendeRights, Quezon City

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