Saving the web of life
Perry Gil S. Mallari, Manila Times 1 Nov 09;
SINGAPORE: The issue of climate change has now hit home. No longer a scientific debate of esoteric terminology, it is now a fact of life that citizens can see and feel. It hurts and it kills. From floodwaters submerging homes to the price of vegetables skyrocketing due to crop damages wrought by changing weather patterns, climate change is manifesting itself as a clear and present danger.
Closely associated with climate change but largely misunderstood by the public is the loss of biodiversity. Climate change affects the degradation of biodiversity. By its simplest definition, biodiversity is the sum total of the variety of life on earth.
Already, generations have grown up not even knowing what they are missing: from the majesty of towering rainforests to the brilliance of coral reefs. The world people live in now is one of trash, smog, congested streets, overcrowded malls and teeming slums. Philippine eagles, tarsiers, dugongs and whale sharks are, for the majority, not personal experiences but rather cable television specials. Yet there is much beauty in this world still worth saving.
At the recent Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Conference on Biodiversity held at the Republic Polytechnic in Singapore from October 21 to 23, experts from all over the world have come into a unanimous agreement that preservation of biodiversity is crucial if the world is to survive climate change.
The ACB mandate
The event, with the theme “Biodiversity in Focus: 2010 and Beyond,” was hosted by the Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) based in Los Baños, Laguna, and the National Parks Board, Singapore. Some 300 key stakeholders from the Asean region and other parts of the world took part. The chief aim of the conference is to assess how humanity is faring against the 2010 Biodiversity Target of significantly reducing the loss of biological diversity. The year 2010 was declared the International Year of Biodiversity.
Rodrigo Fuentes, executive director of the ACB in his welcome remarks emphasized the crucial importance of the preservation of biodiversity, “Biodiversity loss is beyond losing plants and animals. It’s an issue of human survival with the greatest impact on the poor,” he said. Fuentes pointed out that for over the past 50 years, humans have changed ecosystems more rapidly and extensively than in any comparable period of human history. And while he admits that the changes in ecosystems have contributed to human well-being and economic prosperity, these resulted to the substantial and largely irreversible loss in diversity of life on earth. “The collective wisdom to address the conservation and protection of the natural resources of the Asean region was very well justified in the minds of the 10 Asean Member States.
Although the Asean Member States occupy only 3 percent of the earth’s total surface, its diverse landscape, seascapes and ecosystems are home to over 20 percent of all known plant, animal and marine species,” he explained.
Fuentes also announced that after four years of existence, the ACB is now a full-pledged international organization. In July of this year, the ACB’s Establishment Agreement received the required ratification by six Asean Member States. This was followed by the ratification of the Host Country Agreement between ACB and the Philippines concurred by the Philippine Senate in September.
The ACB wields the mandate to coordinate the efforts of Asean Member States in conserving and managing biodiversity, link the Asean with the international community, nongovernment organizations and the private sector as well as strengthen the capacity of Asean Member States in meeting their obligations and commitments to various multilateral environmental agreements.
Biodiversity and human health
Dr. Aaron Bernstein, faculty member of the Harvard Medical School and its Center for Health and the Global Environment delivered one of the most profound and hard-hitting lectures of the conference defining the connection between human health and biodiversity. Bernstein, along with Nobel Prize winner Eric Chivian, co-authored the widely acclaimed book Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity. The book, which was named best biology book of 2008 by Library Journal received accolades from such personalities as Al Gore, Kofi Annan and Gro Brundtland.
Bernstein emphasized that just like nutrition, access to health care and clean water, biodiversity is indispensable to maintaining human health. He cautions that the current rate of extinction of various species in the planet is unseen in 65 million years. Bernstein highlighted various connections between biodiversity and human health among them is the fact that natural products are sources of new drugs (including potent cancer medication). One good example he mentioned was the horseshoe crab. Now rapidly diminishing, the horseshoe crab is a vital source of an ingredient used in determining the presence of contaminants in human vaccines. On the importance of the specie, Bernstein cautioned, “We can’t ill-afford to lose the horseshoe crab.”
But most astonishing is his discourse on the ecology of infectious diseases. Bernstein stated that the threat of emerging infectious diseases (infections that are rapidly increasing in incidence or geographic spread) holds a strong connection with biodiversity loss. He cited that HIV/AIDS is a manifestation of this phenomenon. Bernstein narrated that studies revealed that depletion of fishes due to over-fishing in seas and ocean of Africa resulted to the increased consumption of bush meat (meat from slaughtered apes).
This is most probably the missing link explaining how humans got exposed to simians infected with the deadly virus.
He said that the same could be told of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), avian flu, swine flu and the Nipah virus (a recently emergent deadly paramyxovirus). “Bats are a reservoir for SARS,” Bernstein said, adding, “With deforestation, migratory birds and vampire bats have nowhere to go and therefore are brought in close contact with humans and animals humans domesticate such as pigs.” He also revealed that 75 percent of emerging diseases today are zoonotic or transmitted from animals.
On the urgency of preserving biodiversity, Bernstein has a sublime advice, “Ultimately, we have no choice when it comes to protecting biodiversity. We must protect the natural order if we are to protect ourselves. As our health and the health of the future generation is entirely dependent on it.”
Paradigms from the Philippines
Dr. Rodel Lasco, senior scientist and country program coordinator for the World Agroforestry Centre reported on the unique ecosystem rehabilitation initiatives in the Philippines. Lasco first mentioned the gains of initiatives in Albay province, which is known as an entry point of most tropical cyclones visiting the country. He said that maintaining and restoring the natural infrastructure of the province is a good ecosystem rehabilitation strategy. The rehabilitation initiative encompasses water recharge, clean up of rivers as well as planting of mangrove forests as safety barriers and coastal defense.
Another interesting feature of Lasco’s report is his mentioning of the unique examples of indigenous tribes in the rehabilitation and management of the ecosystem. He revealed that the Ikalahans of Northern Luzon has a food-processing center established since the 1980s. The facility processes products from the wild and has been a regular source of livelihood for the tribe through the years. Lasco also cited the role of policy making in the harvesting of resources, land use classification and the declaration of sanctuary areas in protecting the ecosystem of the location.
The scientist was equally impressed with the muyong, a traditional Ifugao way of tending the forest. A muyong, is a forest holding, which is a source of water for the rice fields. Besides irrigating crops, the muyong prevents soil erosion and is an important source of food, lumber and medicine for the Ifugaos.
The muyong was said to be the secret behind the longevity of the Banawe Rice Terraces.
Finally, Lasco cited Mount Kitanlad in Bukidnon, which is the home of three indigenous tribes namely the Bukidnon, the Higaonon and the Talaandig. He emphasized that Mount Kitanlad is one of the most important biodiversity reserves in the Philippines. Lasco said that the three tribes mentioned are instrumental in maintaining the connectivity of the ecosystems in the area. This was accomplished by enabling indigenous and local communities to look after their own interest regarding access to genetic resources and the integrity of their traditional knowledge systems.
Biodiversity and climate change
The connection between climate change and biodiversity can be summed up simply in the words of Ambassador Holger Standertskjöld, head of the European Commission delegation in Singapore, he said, “Coral reefs and mangroves provide natural shoreline protection from storm and flooding. Marine and terrestrial ecosystems currently absorb half of the anthropogenic carbon-dioxide emissions. This means climate change will accelerate further if biodiversity and ecosystems are not effectively protected.”
Amid the debates and deliberations on climate change and the loss of biodiversity, Dr. Balakkrishna Pisupati of the Division of Environmental Law and Conventions of the United Nations Environment Programme said that it is essential at this point in time to make people understand the relevance of scientific statistics in their lives.
Crucial to saving biodiversity is the creation of appropriate policies and policy makers are influenced by public opinion. Therefore, an informed public is the key to creating right policies. On this matter, Dr. Cielito Habito, a professor of the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development commented that the loss of biodiversity persists because of lack of awareness. Professor Zakri Hamid, Tuanku chancellor chair of the University Sains Malaysia, gave the following guiding points in facing the challenges of crafting the right policies, he said, “We have the problem. We have the science. What do we need to do?”
Grace Fu, senior minister of State for National Development and Education of Singapore ended her opening speech in the conference with a sobering anecdote. She narrated that her 12-year-old son asked what would happen to them if global warming destroyed the world. After briefly pondering, she replied that mankind has the creativity and intelligence to act on it. The boy asked another question, which Fu hopes the conference participants and the rest of the world would answer. Her son said, “What if we didn’t act fast enough?”
