Bislig: Beauty and Destruction

[alainpascua]

In the light of typhoon Ondoy's aftermath, I am posting these pictures of Bislig City which were taken on September 17-21, 2009 during our birding sortie there with WBCP.

This is Bislig's pride: the Tinuy-an Falls, the most dazzling and widest in the country. It's the Niagara Falls of the Philippines. It has a three-tiered falls with a total height of 55 meters and bathing width area of 95 meters. From December to February, waters from end to end of entire width flow abundantly. It is in this place where I photographed the Silvery Kingfisher.


Canon 50D 35mm@18mm 1/20 f18.0 iso100


Canon 50D 35mm@21mm 1/20 f18.0 iso100

Bislig has a big portion of the former PICOP concession area. PICOP used to be one of the largest commercial forests in the country which produces timber for paper. As ironic as it may seem, it contributed to the protection of the remaining indigenous trees and forest which made the site one of the most popular and rewarding birding destinations in the country. However, the closure of the paper company some years ago resulted in the entry of informal settlers which caused severe degradation in the area.

The pictures below are common sights in the forest areas where we birded. Cut logs and even lumbers can be found in every side of the roads where we passed.


Canon 50D 80-200mm@80mm 2X TC 1/6 f2.8 iso800


Canon 50D 35mm@21mm 1/500 f13.0 iso100


Canon 50D 35mm@21mm 1/500 f11.0 iso100

In our travel from Butuan to Bislig, we have seen truckloads of logs travelling towards Butuan. When we travelled back from Bislig to Butuan, a travel time of about 3 hours, we counted about 15 truckloads of logs that we passed by. Imagine how many truckloads of logs are transported everyday.


Canon 50D 100-400mm@190mm 1/320 f5.6 iso640


Canon 50D 100-400mm@120mm 1/320 f5.6 iso640

After having witnessed Ondoy's wrath, I tremble at the thought of what might happen in other parts of the country if once again typhoons of such magnitude would unleash so much water and wind in places where our forests are slowly being denuded.

While I see beauty in the picture below that I have taken when we crossed the river and while we're stranded there because of heavy rains at about 5:30pm, I pray it does not foretell a grim future because we are not taking care of our forests.


Canon 50D 80-200mm@97mm 4/10 f2.8 iso1600

I always go back to my favorite quote from Cecilia Lasbury - "There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots; the other is wings." It might not just be our children and their children's children that we are saving, it might still be us.


Canon 50D 100-400mm@400mm 1/125 f5.6 iso320

[Jun Osano]

Thanks Alain! Bislig has more to offer. If we could only.....

[Mark Itol]

Beautiful images, Alain. That falls is a marvel. I hope I could visit this place too. Thanks for sharing.

[Ely Teehankee]

The waterfall is beautiful. Is the water too deep for one to just be wading? The needle dragonfly is a sight to see. Well done Alain. Mabuhay. Are the logs by the river legal? I think Picop no longer operates their pulp and paper mill.

[Teddy Regpala]

Looks like the logging industry is thriving in that area, I hope they won't overdo it. It should be regulated (if there's such a thing) so as not to make drastic change to the environment.
Otherwise, the river and creeks will dry up, and won't be there for future generations to see. (sigh)

I like the damselflies too.

Thanks Alain for sharing.

[alainpascua]

Thanks Jun, Mark, Ely and Teddy!

Jun, I hope when we return there in January we could have a Team of Bird Photographers to document birds in Bislig, and also do site photos of your tourist attractions and natural formations! Hope you can convince Vice Mayor Conrad to sponsor this team!

Yes, Ely, during the time that I took the pictures, people there are swimming and shooting the rapids! Yes, you can just wade there as the water is not so deep. I do not know though if the water is also that shallow come January or February. I do not know if the logs in the river are legal. Since PICOP is no longer operational, I guess logging there is supposed to be illegal.

Let me share with you an email from a schoolmate in highschool who also saw and read this thread. He wrote, "I have witness a lot of logging along that area.....akala ko may log ban in surigao area.....what you witness is only the tip of an iceberg..... a lot never passed thru highway but thru the river....although there are forest rangers watching along the river, the cut logs pass thru there watchful eyes blinded by the color of the money.....(every curve of the agusan river has a forest ranger check point)....it is the easiest way to transport logs as the timber company are located just beside the agusan river....the one you saw was to be transported outside of mindanao.... .I think you you have to encourage Senator Lacson to author a bill for a total log ban....the aftermath of ondoy shows that our forest are now kalbo......"

This is another email from another highschool mate, "kabalens, as early as 1990, i was part in the forefront of the environmental movement travelling around the developing national environmental constituency demanding among others, the legislation of total commercial log ban. ramon mitra was then the speaker of the house. the senate then already passed a total commercial log ban bill natiowide. pero self-righteous tonggressman blocked a similar proposed house bill. it was an arduous 3-6-year legal, legislative battle pero hindi nakinig ang mga hunghang na mga tongressman sa amin. i got burnt out, all my energies naka focus dun.useless talaga iadvocate ang tamang batas sa tongresso!

i told myself, mag enjoy na lang mga tongressman magsuffer mga constituents nila for the the coming years! And we are now feeling the painful consequences! We were the first to make a warning hindi si Al Gore about the climate change. Sinabihan na namin mga tongressman, we helped prepare a bill for congress to pass it pero inupuan ng mga bwayang mga tongressman na yan. masochista mga tongressman, they enjoy the sight together with the fame when they see their people suffer because of calamities via their foto ops."

In my facebook account, I posted this thread and I got these remarks from my friends: "What happened to the proposal several years back regarding bill on total logging ban in the country? Ordinary citizens like us should band together and bear pressure on all lawmakers to pass this. All flash floods killing hundreds of ordinary Filipinos are the direct result of these. Governance is a serious matter to leave in the hands of Tonggressmen and Senatongs. There are a few exceptions of course..".... "thats how minda politicians plus some military and police officials collude with illegal loggers who continously cut trees in our remaining green forest...wala ng hiya-hiya, kc puro walang hiya!"

Teddy, Amen to that! Thanks!

Sorry for the quoted vernaculars.....