By ERWIN ‘AMBO’ DELILAN
HAVE you heard about Wady? Maybe yes, maybe no.
Well, Wady is an Irrawady dolphin in the children’s book “Wady’s Epic Adventure to Save Home”. It’s a book by Karl Ramirez, a singer-song writer and music producer-turned-writer.
This 12-page kids’ book is quite humble. But the messages aren’t just superb but crucial as well. These include the following:
* There are 10-13 Irrawady dolphins currently thriving in the Iloilo and Guimaras Straits.
* They reach Bago and Pulupandan waters in Negros as their fave “playgrounds”.
* They’re facing extinction.
* Worse, they’ll end up “victims” or will simply vanish with the proposed Panay-Guimaras-Negros Bridge (PGNB).
This is the very reason why this Wady book was launched in Bacolod last week. The gist of the launching: Their threatened existence with the upcoming mega project – the P189.53-B PGNB.
CUTE BUT TRICKY
At first glance, this Wady’s book is so cute. There’s a wonderful story of Wady within. But the “underlying mission” could be tricky.
Talking to Robert Ray Medrano, advocate staff of the Earth Island Institute Philippines (EIIP), I can’t help but be amazed by the fact that Negros is truly beyond blessed.
Having these Irrawady dolphins, commonly called lumba-lumba, is indeed godsend.
Imagine that it took 10 years for the University of St. La Salle (USLS) in Bacolod to study these lumba-lumba in Bago and Pulupandan waters.
Their beloved playgrounds in Negros Occidental are part of the famed Wetland Conservation Area (WCA) of the province. But they aren’t secure. Sometimes they get suffocated due to plastic pollution, get hit by boats, or trapped in fishermen’s gear.
MARVELOUS, PRECIOUS
Well, everyone will surely love the story of Wady. So marvelous! More so, to know the very essence of lumba-lumba in our community.
But it’s “heart-wrenching” to hear that Irrawady dolphins have low reproduction rates.
“That’s why every single Irrawady is precious and must be completely protected,” stressed Karl in the book.
Irrawady came from Myanmar. All over the world, they’re just few.
In the Philippines, Medrano revealed, there are only three sites where they exist right now.
* Municipality of Quezon in Palawan
* Malampaya Sound in Palawan
* Iloilo and Guimaras Straits (up to Negros waters)
He, however, said, there’s no official head count yet in Palawan. That’s why the 10 to 13 lumba-lumba in Negros are, indeed, treasurable.
GREAT ROLES
Lumba-lumba, according to Dr. Ma Louella Dolar, a US-based Filipino scientist, has great roles in the ocean. They shake out dust and dirt at the ocean floor to feed other fishes with the necessary sea nutrients (just) within.
Likewise, a new study revealed that dolphin’s “poo” plays a significant role in boosting the health of the ocean’s eco system.
They, too, eat the secondary fish predators.
Hence, it’s notable, Medrano said, that NegOcc is enjoying fish yields of at least 50,000 metric tons annually.
However, Irrawady dolphin populations are rapidly decreasing globally. So, it prompted the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to declare the species as endangered.
Via Wady’s book, Dolar hopes, booth kids and adults in Negros and Panay will understand the urgency to protect them.
NO BOAT POLICY
Likewise, Medrano said, they aim for Bago and Pulupandan local government units (LGUs) to pass ordinance(s) re: No Boat Policy (NBP).
The shipping route in these two LGUs in Negros really affects lumba-lumba’s habitat, he stressed.
Local fisherfolk aren’t aware, too, of the significance of the Irrawady dolphins in their fishing community. But he said their group is thankful that the Provincial Environment and Management Office (PEMO) of NegOcc is stepping in this valuable environmental quest, and to Sen. Sonny Angara’s Senate Resolution No. 203. Such urges the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the LGUs of Pulupandan and Bago to declare Irrawady’s current habitat as a Marine Protected Area (MPA).
But the greatest challenge among the perceived challenges is the proposed PGNB. And per the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) in Western Visayas, PGNB will commence construction in 2025.
What’s DENR and BFAR take on this? Will there be “intense battle” as to the environmental compliance certificate (ECC) later?
Well, the so-called “mind conditioning” has just started. Abangan!/PN
