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BY IKE SEÑERES
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Monday, January 30, 2017
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ENVIRONMENTALISTS are both surprised and happy that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has ordered the dismantling of illegal fish pens and fish cages within Laguna Lake.
As far as I am concerned, it is like a dream come true because I did not think that it would ever happen, considering the power and influence of the politicians and military people who owned those fish pens and fish cages.
But happen it did, and in my mind, it is one of the most forceful and successful expressions of political will in this country, aside of course from the anti-drug campaign. How I wish that President Duterte would also set his eyes on the clean-up of the Pasig River and Manila Bay, after all, there is already a continuing mandamus that was issued by the Supreme Court, just waiting to be implemented.
If there is a term like “many-in-one”, it would apply to the Laguna Lake clearing project, because it would lead to not just one, not just two but many, so many benefits that may be too many to count, at least as of now.
Just to list a few, the most obvious is the opportunity given to the small fishermen who could now reclaim their livelihoods after they were deprived of it because of those illegal fish pens and fish cages. That would also include the small farmers who make a living by planting water spinach (kangkong) near the perimeters of the lake. Aside from that, it is now possible to travel around the lake, another opportunity that could lead to tourism in the area.
Just as surprised we were about what Duterte did all of a sudden, we were also surprised about the sudden statement of the former owners of the fish pens and fish cages that their removal would cause problems in our food security. After decades of quietly making money illegally and being silent about so many social issues, they now suddenly start making noise, and now appearing to be socially conscious.
Those former owners argue that the dismantling would cause a decline in the supply of fish, an argument that does not hold water, because only the illegal fish pens and fish cages were removed, and not the water itself. Obviously, the fish could still flourish without those structures. As a matter of fact, the smaller fish pens are still allowed, for as long as these are owned by the small fishermen.
Talking about food security, it does not take a genius to realize that water is needed to grow food, and that includes fruits, vegetables, poultry and livestock. Without water, food could not be produced, and that would really be the bigger threat to food security.
Aside from that, we could not cook food without water, and that would even be a greater problem. I am mentioning all these, because it is a known fact that as of now, Laguna Lake is no longer considered to be a source of clean and safe water. I say that that is the case as of now, because there is now a chance to remediate the pollution in the lake, so much so that it could become a good source of water for agriculture and irrigation.
Pardon me for sounding a bit sarcastic, but it would not also take a math wizard to figure out that as of now, we have reason to believe that in the near future, there could probably be a short supply of clean and safe water as opposed to the growing demand for it.
Yes, this is really just a simple case of supply and demand or subtraction and addition if you please, but it does not seem easy to make people understand it. Based on the assumption that residential homes, commercial establishments and industrial factories will no longer dump polluted water, solid wastes and post consumer waste (PCW) into the lake, there is a possibility that the lake would heal itself, with some help from bioremediation technologies.
“Clean Water and Sanitation” is goal No. 6 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as defined by the United Nations (UN).
“Life Below Water” is goal No. 14 and “Good Health and Wellbeing” is goal No. 3.
Although goal No. 3 is not directly specific about water, it goes without saying that good health and wellbeing is not possible without good nutrition, and good nutrition is not possible without healthy food.
Going straight to the point now, it is not possible to grow healthy food without clean and safe water. It also goes without saying that goal No. 14 will enable life below water to prosper, and that includes unpolluted fish of course.
Not that I would want to cause a food scare, but there is reason to believe that the fish and vegetables that are now being harvested from Laguna Lake are highly contaminated by mercury and other dangerous chemicals.
Although it could be said that this problem is a threat to human health, it could also be said that it is also a threat to our food security, and I wonder why the former owners of the fish pens and fish cages did not make an issue about this in the first place. I also wonder why the past Presidents and the past General Managers of the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) did not do anything about these problems during their watch./PN
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