‘Lung of Negros’ suffers due to land conversion, rapid upland development

The warning comes a month after flash floods inundated several northern areas, including communities in the cities of Silay, Victorias, Cadiz, and Sagay, as well as the towns of EB Magalona and Manapla, on December 22 and 27, 2024.

Cadiz was the hardest hit, with nearly 2,000 residents from five villages rescued, many from their rooftops, at midnight on December 22.

Rojo said the floodwaters that submerged communities in Negros Occidental originated from the NNNP, where remaining forest cover is no longer sufficient to absorb heavy rainfall.

The park is home to key watersheds, including the Himogaan in Sagay, the Sicaba in Cadiz, and the Imbang-Malogo in Silay, EB Magalona, and Victorias.

Rojo warned that upland development – including high-end resorts, vacation villas, coffee shops, and restaurants – is turning NNNP into a “concrete jungle.”

As early as 1992, GOES said, Swedish satellite data already showed that the forest cover across Negros Island, including the NNNP and Mount Kanlaon Natural Park, was just 4.77% – far below the 40% threshold set by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Aside from its waterfalls, NNNP serves as a refuge for four wildlife species classified as critically endangered by the DENR: the warty pig, Visayan spotted deer, Negros bleeding-heart pigeon, and Rufous-headed hornbill.

Joan Nathaniel Gerangaya, head of the Negros Occidental Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO), told Rappler that many of problems surrounding the natural park started after the logging firm Insular Lumber Company (ILCO) left Negros Occidental in 1976.

He said land conversion and upland development became issues after ILCO halted its operations at the NNNP. The problems, he said, were complicated and difficult to resolve immediately.

ILCO, once the largest lumber company and sawmill, headquartered in Fabrica, Barangay Paraiso, Sagay City, Negros Occidental, had started logging operations in the province in 1900s. But after several decades of commercial logging operations, it left the province with dwindling forests, among other serious environmental problems.

To aid reforestation, particularly in northern Negros Occidental, the environment department granted certificates of stewardship contracts (CSCs) to many locals, including Negrenses, Gerangaya said. The contracts were intended to help restore areas vacated by ILCO.

However, Gerangaya said those entrusted with reforesting what used to be known as North Negros Forest Reserve (NNFR) sold their CSCs to rich families, including politicians.

But even before then-president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared the natural park a protected area in 2005, land conversion and upland development were already underway, with developers claiming to hold CSCs. Gerangaya said this caused problems for the DENR and local governments.

Gerangaya said upland development was only part of the problem at NNNP. He pointed to land conversion from forestland to agricultural use, where CSC holders have planted sugarcane, coffee, and other high-value crops.

The NNNP spans 70,826.15 hectares across 12 northern localities in Negros Occidental, including Murcia, Don Salvador Benedicto, Calatrava, Toboso, EB Magalona, and the cities of San Carlos, Sagay, Escalante, Silay, Talisay, and Victorias, along with a portion of Bago in the south.

Gerangaya said only 20,000 hectares of the park’s total area are classified as a strictly protected zone, while 50,000 hectares have been designated as a multiple-use zone.

“Technically speaking, if we say protected area, supposedly, it should be a no man’s land. But since the problems were already there prior to the declaration of NNNP as a protected area, they remain until now as hurdles for the government,” Gerangaya said.

The Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) for NNNP has adopted a “60-30-10” forest rehabilitation scheme.

Under the scheme, approved by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), CSC holders are required to follow the policy implemented by the Protected Area Management Office (PAMO). The policy mandates that 60% of their occupied lot in NNNP must be planted with endemic trees, 30% with fruit-bearing trees and vegetables, and only 10% for concrete structures.

Since 2005, Gerangaya said forest cover in Negros has increased from 4.77% to 8.4%.

Gerangaya said the 60-30-10 scheme for rehabilitating NNNP is making progress, but not quickly.

Rojo has rejected Gerangaya’s claim that rehabilitation efforts are making progress, accusing environmental officials of concealing the truth about the current state of NNNP.

CSC holders are not just those from 1976, but many more have recently been granted this tenure instrument, leading to the continued growth of illegal structures at NNNP, which have spiraled out of control, Rojo said.

“That’s why we want DENR Secretary Loyzaga to take a look at NNNP and the many challenges it faces, and then implement viable actions to save this protected area from becoming a concrete jungle,” he said. – Rappler.com