Geo-tagging technology reveals mining threats in Palawan

January 15, 2010

PRESS RELEASE

GEO-TAGGING TECHNOLOGYREVEALS MINING THREATS IN PALAWAN

PALAWAN, Philippines –Using hightechonology that obtains specific locations using a globalpositioning system (GPS) device connected to a digital camera (a process knownas geotagging), geo-aware application and with the help of Google Earth,experts say that unequivocally, the geotagged images show the environmental andsocial impacts of mine operations in the province.

Geotaggingwas used to study the socio-ecological implications of mining activities in theprovince of Palawan, which is part of the “Man and Biosphere Reserve” programof UNESCO and hosts 49 animals and 56 botanical species found in the IUCN RedList of Threatened Species.

“The  province has a total land area of 1.47 millionhectares with alarmingly 354 mining tenements, which encroach more than fifty(50%) per cent of the province. To date, ninety per cent (90%) of the areascovered by the 354 mining tenements in the island is found within indigenouspeople (IP) territory”, said Artiso A. Mandawa, Ancestral Land/Domain Watch (ALDAW)national coordinator

 “Presently,there is only one existing Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) in theprovince and we have recorded ten (10) CADT applications being processed andabout sixty per cent (60%) of the IP ancestral domains have yet to be appliedfor delineation process. Mining operations in the province poses seriousthreats to IP communities in asserting their rights to land”, added Mandawa.

Thegeotagging study covered the Bulanjao range, the hinterlands of Ipilan(Brooke’s Point Municipality) and around the eastern side of the Gantong range.The study was composed of experts from the Centre for Biocultural Diversity (CBCD) of theUniversity of Kent in the United Kingdomheaded by Dr.Dario Novellino, a CBCD anthropologist and Visiting Research Associate of theInstitute of Philippine Culture of the Ateneo de Manila University, and by agroup of supporters from Palawan-based advocacy-campaign network for indigenouspeoples (IPs) called ALDAW.

“The geotagged images taken were loaded into ageo-aware application and displayed on satellite Google map. The actual"matching" of GPS data to photographs has revealed that roadconstruction, as well as mining exploration and extractive activities on Mt.Bulanjao, have taken place in areas that, according to the ECAN (EcologicalCritical Areas Network), fall into the so called ‘Core Zones’ of maximumprotection, said Novellino.

“Under the ECAN Guidelines of the StrategicEnvironmental Plan for Palawan (Republic Act 7611) ‘core zones’ are defined as“areas above 1,000 meters in elevation, virgin forests or primary growthforests, areas with steep gradient (above 50% slope), and criticallythreatened/endangered habitats and habitats of rare endangered species orhabitats of Palawan local endemic species of flora and fauna”, explainedNovellino.

“Furthermore, unequivocally, some of the geotaggedimages show the environmental impact of road construction, such asdeforestation, sever soil erosion and damage to the Sumbiling river watersheds.The photos also indicate large deforested sites where extraction of mineralshas already taken place”, added Novellino.

“On Brooke’s Point Municipality, our study reacheda watershed area endowed with numerous creeks, springs and waterfalls providingpotable water to the local indigenous communities some by very traditionalPalawan having limited contacts with the outside. Their sustenance totallydepends on the available forest resources, and it consists of a heterogeneouseconomy where sustainable swidden cultivation is integrated with foraging andthe collection of non-timber forest products (NTFPs),” added Novellino.

“The geo-tagged images have revealed that theMineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) areas of MacroAsia Corporationoverlap not only with the traditional territory of the local indigenouscommunities but also with the ‘Core Zones’ of maximum protection”, concludedNovellino.

Mr. Blas Tabaranza, Executive Director of theenvironmental group HARIBON, expressed alarm about the results of the research."HARIBON is deeply concerned with the findings of this report on theimpacts of large-scale mining in the core zones of the protected areas inPalawan", he said.  He added that the land-use conflict in anenvironmentally-critical area such as those found in the forests of Palawanshould be addressed immediately by the DENR, stating that the government"must take the recommendations of the research seriously, or we might facea potential ecological crisis in one of the last frontiers of biodiversity inthe Philippines. 

Accordingto Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) national coordinator Jaybee Garganera, “Geotaggingrevelas how new technology can aid even the most vulnerable groups such asindigenous peoples by giving them access to information. The report exposes theflaw in the government’s misplaced prioritization of mining at the expense ofthe ancestral domains of indigenous poeples and the rich biodiveristy of the Philippines”.  He added that the  Philippine government must immediatelyorder a stop to all mining oeprations in Palawan, unless these conflicts inland use are addressed.  “We shallcontinue to provide support to the Pal-awans in their struggle to resist theentry and operations of these mining projects, he concluded.

AlyansaTigil Mina (ATM), is an advocacy group and a people’s movementcomposed of more than eighty (80) organizations from mining-affectedcommunities and civil society organizations nationwide, which upholds therights of the present and future of Filipinos against the persisting injusticesrelated to mining.

ALDAWNETWORK (Ancestral Land/Domain Watch)is an advocacy-campaign network ofIndigenous Peoples jointly constituted by NATRIPAL (United Tribes ofPalawan) and BANGSA PALAWAN PHILIPPINES (Indigenous Alliance for Equityand Wellbeing) 

on August2009.

For more information:

Artiso A. Mandawa, ALDAW National Coordinator0828-2030-908, (0928) 203.09.08, (0905) 614. 56.31, matanggubat@gmail.com

BlasTabaranza, Exec. Dir., HARIBON (0922) 815.20.21

Jaybee Garganera, ATM Coordinator, (0915) 315.37.19/

Roslyn Arayata, ATM Policy Officer (0917) 521.7937