Davao vulnerable to water-induced disaster, says UN environmentalist

By Lovely A. Carillo

DAVAO CITY, Dec. 3 – “There is now more reason for every Dabawenyo to get the goose bumps every time it pours.”

This was the message relayed by United Kingdom-based environmental expert Larry Lohmann who was in the city recently for the Davao leg of his speaking tour of the Philippines with the theme “In Search of Just Solutions to the Climate Change.”

“A lot of you may have seen Ice Age, a for-kids only movie that tackles climate change in a very simple and understandable manner,” Lohmann said.

Lohmann, in all his speaking engagements all over the world, imparts the message that unless the paradigm of high growth based on an ever-increasing consumption is changed, there is no way to arrest climate change.

“The effects of climate change are as real as ever even in the Philippines where super typhoons have ravaged homes and livelihoods,” said Wilfredo Rodriguez of the Alternate Forum for Research in Mindanao, Inc. (AFRIM).

Members of the Davao City Climate Change Action Network (DAVCCAN) has recognized the urgent need to tackle climate change, the issues surrounding it and the strategies needed to combat it.

Lohmann’s presentation indicated that even mountainous Davao City and Mindanao in general are not exempted to the effects of climate change such as water-induced disasters primarily because of the economic activities going on in the area.

Apparently, Davao and the whole island have become vulnerable to these disasters due to the increasing economic activities related to mining, logging, and intensive conversions and land use changes. The massive expansion of plantations in forest and agricultural lands is also being eyed as the culprit that has exposed the area to these disasters.

Davao City has its own share of disasters waiting to happen like the Shrine Hills which has been peppered with luxurious subdivisions despite the findings made by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau that the area is not fit for such development direction.

Thousands of residents from Barangay Maa, which is located way down below the Hills, have called upon the City Council to stop developers from exploiting the area to no avail.

Mines and Geoscience Bureau (MGB) officer in-charge regional director Edilberto Arreza said there are 402 landslide-prone and 503 flood-prone barangays in the Davao Region. They have also noticed signs of imminent mass movements in the city, including the Shrine Hills area.

Lohmann belongs to the Durban Group for Climate Justice which is an international network of individuals, people’s movements and independent organizations who reject the free market approach to climate change. (PNA) LAP/LAC/lvp

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