Know Your Past By Michael A. Bengwayan Ph. D

Know Your Past

By Michael A. Bengwayan Ph. D

My daughter Frances once asked ‘Who are we Pa?” I paused and looked at her. I wanted to repeat what was told to me decades ago by my great grandma.  But I dared not. We were the people of the rich valleys, lush and thick forests; of the clear and prestine waters.  We were once true to The Way.

But then everything changed. Slowly, outsiders came.  A giant called “guvmint”came. Followed by others with forked tongues. Without hesitation, these took the lands. They had papers showing they own the lands. Lands that own us. Some of us were forced out to give up the lands forever—the valleys, homes and mountains. In (Ambuklao) Bokod, (Binga) Itogon, Mankayan, Boneng, Tublay, Tuba,  the people were forced to move to the setting sun, leaving a trail of tears. Not that our brothers and sister Ibalois cried when they were forced out. But the trail spoke of the sorrows of those who stood and walked in that trail.

All they did not leave though. Some, skilled in the ways of the mountains, fled back into the bosoms of the hollows and lived there. They farmed on the mountains, hunted, set up traps, planted and dug sweetroot from the ground. They fished with their hands under the banks of the cold creeks, and moved as silent as shadows. A people who were there but not seen nor heard.

In this rich Benguetland, slowly but surely as if evilly-designed, people called “poltishuns” and some called “eduketed” came. They did not love the freedom of the mountains and pines. They lusted for land and profit. They were bigger than the ogre “guvmint”. With their arrival, the century of our early Ibalois started to die. The time of surviving became more depressing.

I looked at my daughter. In her blood runs the strength and courage of the once-warring and head-hunting Bontoc warriors; her heart the peaceful, kind,  patient and humble heart of the Ibalois; and the perseverance of the Ibanags. There would be a new century for them. There would be a time for blood, fighting and death. It will be a new world. But she will be fighting different enemies. Like here sister Phyllis before her, she has chosen to fight diseases that will plague mankind. Like her elder sister Grail who is fighting ignorance by teaching so that our people will not be cheated by the giant “guvmint”.   Like her sister Abigail much ahead of her who is fighting for human rights. And; like her brother Michael Jr. ahead of her who is fighting retrogress using science and technology.

I looked far out in the mountains beyond our home, towards the west. The sun was setting, the tree spirits were rising. You couldn’t tell if it was the wind that whispered as it swooshed across the bent pines. I walked out of sight of the rims of the mountain Frances a step behind. I could feel the past spirits on the talking fingers of the trees. The sun was setting, I heard a mourning crow just above. My ancestors lived fully in these hills. But the hills will not be here long. Just a sight away, I could see destruction by a housing company called Go----en  as its machines plowed the land under unmindful of death it is causing.

Slowly we walked home in silence. Frances gripping  my hand.

Know Your Past By Michael A. Bengwayan Ph. D

Know Your Past

By Michael A. Bengwayan Ph. D

My daughter Frances once asked ‘Who are we Pa?” I paused and looked at her. I wanted to repeat what was told to me decades ago by my great grandma.  But I dared not. We were the people of the rich valleys, lush and thick forests; of the clear and prestine waters.  We were once true to The Way.

But then everything changed. Slowly, outsiders came.  A giant called “guvmint”came. Followed by others with forked tongues. Without hesitation, these took the lands. They had papers showing they own the lands. Lands that own us. Some of us were forced out to give up the lands forever—the valleys, homes and mountains. In (Ambuklao) Bokod, (Binga) Itogon, Mankayan, Boneng, Tublay, Tuba,  the people were forced to move to the setting sun, leaving a trail of tears. Not that our brothers and sister Ibalois cried when they were forced out. But the trail spoke of the sorrows of those who stood and walked in that trail.

All they did not leave though. Some, skilled in the ways of the mountains, fled back into the bosoms of the hollows and lived there. They farmed on the mountains, hunted, set up traps, planted and dug sweetroot from the ground. They fished with their hands under the banks of the cold creeks, and moved as silent as shadows. A people who were there but not seen nor heard.

In this rich Benguetland, slowly but surely as if evilly-designed, people called “poltishuns” and some called “eduketed” came. They did not love the freedom of the mountains and pines. They lusted for land and profit. They were bigger than the ogre “guvmint”. With their arrival, the century of our early Ibalois started to die. The time of surviving became more depressing.

I looked at my daughter. In her blood runs the strength and courage of the once-warring and head-hunting Bontoc warriors; her heart the peaceful, kind,  patient and humble heart of the Ibalois; and the perseverance of the Ibanags. There would be a new century for them. There would be a time for blood, fighting and death. It will be a new world. But she will be fighting different enemies. Like here sister Phyllis before her, she has chosen to fight diseases that will plague mankind. Like her elder sister Grail who is fighting ignorance by teaching so that our people will not be cheated by the giant “guvmint”.   Like her sister Abigail much ahead of her who is fighting for human rights. And; like her brother Michael Jr. ahead of her who is fighting retrogress using science and technology.

I looked far out in the mountains beyond our home, towards the west. The sun was setting, the tree spirits were rising. You couldn’t tell if it was the wind that whispered as it swooshed across the bent pines. I walked out of sight of the rims of the mountain Frances a step behind. I could feel the past spirits on the talking fingers of the trees. The sun was setting, I heard a mourning crow just above. My ancestors lived fully in these hills. But the hills will not be here long. Just a sight away, I could see destruction by a housing company called Go----en  as its machines plowed the land under unmindful of death it is causing.

Slowly we walked home in silence. Frances gripping  my hand.

A Walk, Like What Trees and Bees Do, Is Learning to Survive
By Michael A. Bengwayan

(Written for The Ecologist, April, 2012)

It was a nice, soft morning today. the sun was up quicker than I thought so after a run, I decided to walk. There were silhouetted reflections on the dry road as soon as each breeze breathed so I was awash with fresh calm air that started to dry my wet shirt. The day was as smooth as morning water.

Overhead, the sky was blue, carrying big white cotton clouds reminiscent of a giant feather bed but on the horizon Cumulus cauliflower-like clouds threatened the afternoon. The leaves of the Alnus japonica are in full form while the young pine trees' fascicles are starting to clamber up. The leaves of a pine tree are evergreen needles, which grow from the branches in bundles (fascicles). The number of needles in each bundle is a key to pine tree identification. For example, the Benguet pine (Pinus insularis) has needles of mostly three but in rare cases four to five. Spruce pine (Pinus glabra) which I observed in the US has needles in bundles of twos, while the eastern white pine (Pinus globrus) has bundles of five needles each emerging from its branches. The needles differ in length and texture, with some long and rigid. others, like our Benguet pine, soft but taut.

I am walking at a road leading to Longlong Communal Forest in La Trinidad, Philippines. I just passed a small orchard that has a half a dozen orange and coffee trees. Before the road forked, I enter the forest fringes and ran smack into highbush blueberry shrubs. The blueberries are to my left and just entering full blossom and this brandy wine apple in front of me is in full flower. There are perhaps fifty painted lady butterflies that have been attracted to the nectar, now in full swing, on the berry blossoms. They dance from pink blossom to blossom, staying long enough to collect this sweet juice and unintentionally carrying pollen that will help to produce the apple fruit. This yearly ritual is a perfect example of symbiosis between a plant an animal. The butterfly needs the nectar for survival, the berry needs the pollination for future generations.

There was a time before flowering plants when spore producing plants dominated the plant world. Some ferns, horsetails, and clubmoss plants were huge. These plants, known as allies, could reach tree size; some being hundreds of feet tall. During the Carboniferous era, some 370 million years ago, these plants were the primary botanical residents on a very volatile Earth. This volatility helped to form their reproductive system that utilized spores that fell onto the soil. These spores grew into nonchlorophytic plants that developed beneath ground level.

It was these nonchlorophytic plants that bred and formed the green vascular plant that rooted itself in the earth and grew into this warm, even hot, carbon filled atmosphere. It is the remains of these plants from which we get our crude oil and gas reserves today. The advantage these plants had was the earthen buffer during their breeding cycle. Subterranean development of each new plant was a decided advantage in an era of volcanoes, earth quakes, and a heavy gaseous atmosphere.

About a hundred and fifty million years later flowering plants appeared. The atmosphere was much more settled; insects, mammals, and birds abound and dinosaurs rule but will completely disappear in the next five, or so, million years. The earth, as we know it today, has begun. Codependent relationships between plants and animals continue to develop, ever so slowly, and the blueprint was set for what we have today.

All of these strange and overwhelming facts run through my head as I stare at the wild strawberry blossoms. I am witnessing nothing less than a miracle and I am awed that what seems so simple is the result of the most complicated series of events imaginable. The wisdom of our planet is found in its sheer ability to change with time; almost endless time considering our planet is four and a half billion years old.

One recent change is the tremendous decline in honey bees. These imported bees were our primary pollinators for the last fifty years but as I stand here I can see a few bumble bees, a few mason bees, and a few miner bees along with the painted lady butterfly working the nectar in the apple blossoms. We are likely all aware that there has been a world wide bee colony collapse when it comes to the honey bee populations. It is a matter of grave concern for those in agriculture. While it is true that many crops are wind pollinated, for instance almost everything in the grass family like corn, it is also true that many of our flowering crops are dependent on natural insect pollinators. Bee colony collapse has been going on for about ten years. It has been the subject of serious study.

Some of the planet’s best ecologists and entomologists have been dedicating their careers to solving this mystery and we still do not know the cause. One major theory suggests that honey bees have lost their genetic diversity. This may have been caused by large bee breeders that took over the markets and lessened the genetic stock. Another theory blames the collapse on pesticides and herbicides. One study within the pesticide theory suggests that bees are getting lost and not returning to their hive because the chemicals somehow impact their homing instincts and leave the bees in a state of confusion. There is no absolute proof of the cause of this terrible malady yet but it is very serious turn of events and should not be taken likely.

The fact is that for millions of years wild bees did all of the necessary pollination for the natural world. These creatures can do the job for at least some of our crops, unless of course, wild bees become effected by whatever is causing bee collapse as well. New evidence points to this being a very real possibility. Here in the Philippines, there is a strong decline in bumble bee populations, likely caused by insecticides.

I take a deep breath and look around me. The blossoms, all pink and white, fill the air with a sweet aroma. Wild bees and butterflies fly from flower to flower in pursuit of their nectar. The sky is still blue. The trees are still green. And the birds are still singing.

And at this precise point in time I am happy to appreciate the moment. Life is beautiful.

But I can’t stop wondering what the future holds for these plants that depend on insect pollinators for future generations.

Thor's Thunder A Reminder by Michael A. Bengwayan

Thor's Thunder  A reminder
By Michael A. Bengwayan

A few seconds before dead of the night, it came. Lightnings on the east followed by rolling thunder like God playing bowling. The sky trembled, the world moved and pandemonium started to break loose. the typhoon's shafts of lightning and roars of thunder have come. The stormy season is here. And will be for a long time.  

I looked out, nay peered, is most likely. Cold pulses of air stab through the thick blanket of humidity that lays on this region like a wet feather mattress. Even on the northwest side of this mountain I can see moist air being lifted by sinking cold air that forces the the dank atmosphere skyward. The battle between these two atmospheres creates static and I can feel the hair standing up on my arm as if I’d just seen a ghost. There will be a thunderstorm today no doubt; but there are unanswered questions. Where? When? How bad?
King Kong , the king of Longlong, my five year old German Shepherd is nervous, and hides in my office. My cat Cooper stands on the deck with his nose in the air. It seems he senses danger. It took me years to learn the recipe for a strong storm but dogs recognize the necessary ingredients long before humans know what is going on.
I wander out onto our deck and look northwest. The sky is dark and angry. PAGASA National Weather Service has issued a storm watch for the Cordillera country but I  often laugh at how the weather forecasters  issue warnings. It is as if they expect a storm to respect a political boundary; this is human nonsense at its greatest proportion. The dark clouds have long spiral tails that hang down. What I really am witnessing is all of the warm moisture being lifted into the clouds. The speed of the cloud movement, from west to east, is astounding. The clouds are no longer separate. The delineation from one condensed mass of moisture to another has been smudged into a carpet of black and gray.

I watch mashed black clouds with menacing tails rush east. The skies open up. Rain falls like there is no tomorrow. I am reminded of the the typhoons tornadoes that struck an area half a mile from me called Kibungan village almost exactly a year ago. They stayed on the ground for forty miles; F-4′s that blew away the past, present, and future of hundreds of people. A wide swath of destruction that will be evident for a generation was formed in moments; homes lost, lives dashed, dreams sent to the middle of the China Sea. Hopefully not today, not this time. Lightning careens down and cracks open the earth. Thunder pounds this part of the planet with the force of ancient Gods. Winds force the heavy rain horizontally. Our house lights flicker and then they are gone. The only thing we can do is watch, listen, and take the storm into our hearts and minds. Absorbing a bad storm lessens the fright. Fear has no place here. We sit quietly. The storm pounds on and on.

.

It is almost July.. This changing of weather this time of year, from cool to warm to cool, is normal. There have been many storms like this. Perhaps thousands in my lifetime that I have endured. And each time I wonder what is in store. When the atmosphere feels dangerous we all stand alert.

I think back to my childhood. When I was very young and frightened by a storm my older sister would get in my bed at night when the thunder and lightning storms raged on and tell me that God was bowling. That used to make me laugh. I pictured a giant bowling alley, with ginormous pins, and gargantuan bowling balls being cast about making loud crashing noises. The image of God bowling was hilarious!

This series of storms has ebbs and flows. Cold fronts seem to come in waves, like the sea rolling to shore. With each wave there is another line of thunder boomers. The sky goes from gray to black to gray. The sound in the sky goes from quiet to loud to quiet. And even though the clock tells me it is still the afternoon the view out our windows is dark. Each bolt of lightning produces a strobe-like flash.

Since the days of my childhood I have counted the time between a flash of lighting and the sound of thunder. I count slowly, about once per second. Sound travels at 1126 feet per second. A count of five means the storm is roughly a mile away. A count of fifteen means it is roughly three miles away. This is something I learned from my grandfather. He was a soldier and knew the dangers of an electrical storm. Counting through these storms is valuable. I can tell how far away storms are after they have passed and I can tell the distance of storms as they approach. Like waves crashing to shore they keep coming.
I look outside. The wind blows and the white underneath side of the leaves on the trees is exposed. This contrasts sharply against the darkness of the day. It is dramatic but familiar. I remind myself that I’ve been here before when not in the safety of a house. Being caught in a lightning storm near a river or lake is dangerous. Especially in an aluminum boat.  You can’t be too careful when it comes to lightning. A bolt of lightning can be a billion volts at 200000 amperes. It can turn a human into charcoal. Not a pleasant thought.
Even being inside can be dangerous.

Light at the end of the storm tunnel.

And without notice the storm stops. Lightning can be seen to the east. The thunder is many counts behind the lightning. The heavy rain dies. The dark skies turn blue. But the winds stay blustery.
Even God has to cool down after a rowdy bowling match.

Fun, teaching go hand in hand in lessons about environment

Michael A. Bengwayan

Not all staid stuff: Learning about the environment need not be just about reading books. Trips to the jungle can foster understanding of nature, even among younger children, but such trips should also be fun. Picture: www.mayuc.com

Michael Bengwayan

BRUNEI is blessed with its untouched forests, clear pristine rivers, open valleys and bountiful biodiversity. It is a beauty to behold and a paradise for environmental teachers.

It is also a learning laboratory for pupils who can have fun and appreciate nature and its importance to humans and the world.

As an environmentalist in the Philippines for many years, I have planned and carried out several educational environmental trips with elemenatry, secondary pupils and college students.

It is important that in planning an environmental educational activity, it should be fun. Students should be able to learn. And finally, students should be able to correlate their learning to life's realities.

Here are some pointers for teachers in planning and implementing a fruitful environmental trip.

Set a goal or objective

There must be an educational objective. It must be SMART: meaning it is Simple, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound.

An example can be: To increase environmental awareness of Grade 5 and 6 pupils by introducing them to the beauty of Brunei by visiting the Ulu Temburong National Park on October 15.

Get the permission of your school head before you plan the activity.

Note down the pupils' expectations

The children's expectations are important. Make a list of what they expect to see, know, learn. Know their wishes. Based on these information needs, you can logically and sequentially plan the activities.

Later on after the educational trip, check whether these expectations have been met or the pupils questions answered.

Orient your staff

Since you will work with some staff or co-teachers who will assist you, make sure they know the objectives of the activity. They should also have a common understanding of the activities goal and objectives. They should at least be knowledgeable in environmental issues, and trained in first aid and disaster management.

Allow them to make the trip fun and enjoyable for the pupils. Identify their roles and tasks individually. If a docor or nurse can volunteer to participate, include her or him.

Make your budget

Identify and list the things that will be needed and how much these will cost. These should include transportation, meals/food, first aid kits and medicine, water, flashlights, rope for rapelling, matchboxes, pocket knives and jungle bolos, insect repellants, pupils notebooks and pens, camera, cell phones, compass.

Identify Your itinerary and how long you will be in said place

If the children are visiting several sites, be sure they will not stay too long in one place or else they will not have enough time for other places. Spread out your time in each place equally or dependent on the significance of the place or the things they want to see or learn.



Orient the pupils a day before the trip

Before the trip, the pupils should be informed beforehand where they will go, when, what they will see, learn, observe and write and do, how should they ensure safety and why are they going to these places.

Make your letters to each individual parents and make sure you have their permission allowing their children to join the activity.

Group students in pairs to be buddies and explain that for the whole duration of the trip each buddy is responsible for his or her partner.

Tell the pupils what to bring and what not to bring, what to wear, what to do and what not to do. If there are rules and regulations in the nature parks that they will go to, get those rules and read it to the students and let them understand it.

Inform proper authorities where you are going, when you will go and when you and the children are expected to be back. Check the weather bulletin and make sure the day is clear and no untoward weather disturbance will happen.

When you're ready, go and have fun. But remember to remind your pupils that in a forest, they should:

Take nothing but pictures

Leave nothing but footprints

Kill nothing but time

The writer has worked on environmental issues for many years in the Philippines, educating and training children and students on ecological concerns. Read about his environmental education group at www.geocities.com/pinetreemacik/macik

The Brunei Times

Michael Bengwayan

Carbon trading: Saving forests and communities Michael Bengwayan

Carbon trading: Saving forests and communities

Michael A Bengwayan
BALI

BY ALL indications after all the rhetoric from the international environmental meet here, carbon trading is now looking more and more as the “winningest option” to save forests and communities.

Carbon trading deals involving tree growing in developing countries will provide greater benefits than just improving the environment. It could sharply reduce poverty among the rural poor and provide businesses with an inexpensive way to offset their carbon emissions.

A report entitled Forest carbon and Local Livelihoods: Assessment and Policy Recommendations argues that the use of forests to reduce carbon emissions is financially viable, and brings considerable benefits to people in rural communities.

The research counters the view that most carbon-trading deals between industry and tree growers in developing countries will have negative environmental and social consequences.

Carbon trading allows industries in developed countries to off-set their emissions of carbon dioxide by investing in reforestation and clean energy projects in developing countries.

The report, prepared by the Centre for International Forestry Research (Cifor) and Forests Trends, are seeking major changes to the carbon trading rules under the Kyoto Protocol.

Both authorities say that community-friendly forest carbon projects are unlikely to take root without proactive changes in the Kyoto Protocols Clean Development Mechanism rules, and in the approaches that developing countries and project designers are taking.

The report seeks action in four main areas.

Make all types of forestry and agroforestry projects with significant benefits for local communities eligible for the Clean Development Mechanism (as long as they also meet rigorous requirements for carbon benefits). For example, draft rules omit forest rehabilitation as an approved activity despite its enormous social benefits and significant carbon-sequestration potential.

Reduce risks for local communities. The rules should require assessments of the social impact of projects to ascertain how local people have benefited or been harmed. National governments will need to protect and formalise land tenure rights of communities, or carbon deals will be riddled with conflict, increasing their financial risk for investors.

Reduce the cost of managing community projects. Private businesses and NGOs can act as intermediaries to combine the carbon offsets produced by multiple farmers or communities and sell them jointly to buyers. For example, in Mexico, a local environmental organisation helped to organise 400 small-scale farmers in 20 communities to sequester carbon by planting trees around their crop fields. With the NGO acting as the intermediary, the farmers sold carbon credits equal to 17,000 tonnes of carbon to the International Federation of Automobiles for between US$10 ($14.5) and $12 per tonne of carbon. The CDM rules should make community-based forestry projects eligible for the low-cost “fast-track” approval process.

Reduce risks and costs for investors. The report notes that there are new players in the carbon-trading field who can simplify deal making and reduce the costs of organising and marketing community tree-growing projects. For example, industry buyers are now able to purchase carbon offsets from investors who have portfolios of projects, which spreads risk. The independent, non-profit Face Foundation has developed a portfolio of five projects in five countries, affecting 135,000 hectares that sequester 21 million tonnes of carbon.

The report estimates that many community-based projects could sell carbon credits for $US 15 to $US 25 per tonne of sequestered carbon. This could mean a potential private financial flow of $US300 million per year to some of the world’s poorest people — more than the current annual flows of official overseas aid for forestry development in poor countries.

The writer is based in Manila covering environment and community development issues.

The Brunei Times

Indigenous Peoples' Traditional Ricfe Varieties Making a Comeback

Indigenous People's Traditional Rice Varieties Making A Comeback

By Michael A. Bengwayan

Traditional rice varieties once grown and nurtured by indigenous peoples are making a comeback because of the importance of their genes that are necessary in breeding rice for the future.

This was made known when this author, director of the Cordillera Ecological Center (PINE TREE) was invited to speak at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), which has spearheaded world research in rice technology since the early 1950s.

For sometime, there was a growing fear that hybrid rice will altogether eliminate traditional rice varieties. Today, current conditions prove that traditional rice varieties are here to stay and are necessary for rice evolution.

IRRI has started giving back to farmers and communities small packets of traditional rice varieties that will be planted and serve as planting materials. Technological assistance is likewise provided by IRRI for those who wish to plant once again traditional rice varieties.

“IRRI has now realized that traditional rice varieties need to be put back into farmers’ fields. IRRI is doing just that—giving back traditional rice varieties it has kept for so many years in its high tech seedbank, the environmental group PINE TREE bared.

Outstanding characteristics of traditional rice varieties, like resistance to pests and diseases and high yielding capability, are genetically engineered with other characteristics of other rice varieties to serve as building blocks for new rice varieties.

PINE TREE is working with United Nations Development Program Global Environment Facility (UNDP-GEF) in the Philippines to protect indigenous peoples traditional rice varieities.

In Karao, Bokod, Benguet, farmers with assistance from PINE TREE has saved and continue to sustain the use of seven traditional rice varieties by establishing a rice seedbank shared by community people. seedbank. The seven traditional varieties now being conserved by the Karao farmers are found nowhere else in the Philipines.

PINE TREE is linking with IRRI to get traditional rice seeds especially upland un-irrigated varieties and bring these back to farmers’ fields because these are vital for food security and in providing future genetic material.

For many years, hybrid rice was promoted in the Philippines especially by the government believing it was the an answer to the growing population. But while it improved production, it required expensive chemical inputs that endangered not only humans but also altered the ecosystem adversely. Today, the country is the leading rice importer in Asia and it has lost 90 per cent of all its traditional rice varieties, he said.

The Philippine government insisted on pushing for hybrid rice even with its past dismal failure, especially so because the Department of Philippine Agriculture signed an agreement with IRRI to a US$216 million project for the production of subsidized hybrid and certified seeds, he added.

This happened even though the World Bank concluded that the Philippines hybrid rice program had not produced “much net social benefit’, adding that “conventional rice varieties were more socially profitable than hybrids”?

The reality, PINE TREE says that food giant corporations Philippine corrupt officials and food corporations stand to gain illicitly from all these.

The main beneficiary of the various hybrid rice schemes, for instance, is SL Agritech, owned by Filipino Chinese businessman Henry Lim. In 2006, SL Agritech supplied 65 per cent of the hybrid rice seeds purchased through the country’s hybrid rice programme earning the company more than US$ 4 million. It also was a time when the Philippine government official of the Department of Agriculture JocJoc (Oh what a joke indeed to Filipino farmers!) Bolante romped away with millions of pesos worth of fertilizers intended to support the program, PINE TREE explained.

While traditional rice varieties were forgotten in the past decades, they are the “heart and soul of rice”, PINE TREE avers.

They require little fertilizer and no chemical inputs, now blamed for the degeneration of farmlands in many parts of the world. Traditional rice varieties are more nutrient-rich, tastier and friendlier to the soil. It allows farmers protect to protect their soil and ecosystem and have control of the seeds that their forefathers have reared for centuries.

PINE TREE is encouraging farmers to keep their own seeds and bank these to prevent the seeds from being pirated by big multinational groups.

Seedsaving or banking is the best protection that indigenous peoples have against biopiracy, PINE TREE said.

The indigenous peoples in the Cordillera region own some of the best sustainable and indigenous practices in agriculture and forest conservation.

For instance, the IPs from mountain Province practice sustainable farming by using “lumeng” (mixture of decomposed rice straw with pig manure) and wild sunflower (Tithanium diversifolium) stalks as basal manure and green manure before planting traditional rice varieties.

They also incorporate the brown-green nitrogen fixing algae Azolla which fixes nitrogen from the atmosphere and delivers this for rice use as nitrogen fertilizer.

In forest conservation, the indigenous peoples of Sagada, Besao, Bauko and Tadian practice the “lakon” forest system which enables forests to be conserved and protected.

In Ifugao, the IPs there practice the “muyung” and “pinugo” agroforestry systems that incorporate timber with fruits trees, rice, crops and livestock to ensure ecological balance.

But as modernization creeps in, some of these IP indigenous knowledge are starting to crumble. It may not be long before these are forgotten, unless immediate measures are taken up to popularize these with the new generation.