ikeseneres

SAVING THE VISAYAN WARTY PIG Who in this country has seriously thought about saving the Visayan warty pig ? Apparently, some people have—and thank God for them. But compared with the attention given to the Philippine Eagle and the Tamaraw, we hardly hear about saving this rather unfortunate-looking but uniquely Filipino animal. Is it because most Filipinos do not care much about our own wildlife? Or perhaps because we have such low regard for pigs in general that we care even less about a wild pig ? Maybe it is time to change that attitude. The Visayan warty pig ( Sus cebifrons ) is Critically Endangered and has disappeared from more than 95 percent of its former range. Habitat loss, hunting and conflicts with farmers are among its major threats. And now comes some rather surprising good news. Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos , through Re:wild and the Bezos Earth Fund, have launched the Phoenix Species Project , committing $200 million to recover 100 of...

HOW CAN A SHOPPING MALL MANAGE ITS OWN SOLID WASTE AND EVEN MAKE MORE MONEY?  In many respects, shopping malls are like small cities, especially the bigger malls. They have thousands of people coming in and out every day, restaurants, supermarkets, offices, stores and parking areas. Naturally, they also generate enormous quantities of waste—sometimes perhaps more than a small barangay. But here is something worth thinking about: if a shopping mall can manage its own solid waste, perhaps even better than a barangay can, why can’t other large institutions do the same? And if malls can invest in high-end waste management facilities, why not government office complexes, school campuses, hospitals and even military camps? One particularly interesting example is the partnership between SM Prime Holdings, Inc. and Japanese environmental solutions company GUUN Co., Ltd., which created SM GUUN Environmental Company, Inc. The joint venture operates a waste-processing facility in Consolacion,...

HOW MANY BARANGAYS STILL DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER? We have heard the terms homeless and jobless being used quite often, but not so much the term “waterless.” Perhaps we should start using it more, because a family without access to safe drinking water is, for all practical purposes, a family without water. With a little sarcasm, some people might say that water is everywhere. True enough—but tell that to someone surrounded by floodwater that cannot be safely drunk. Water may be everywhere, but there may not be a drop to drink. So how many of our barangays are actually “waterless”? The Commission on Audit provides an important answer, although it also exposes a problem. Under the SALINTUBIG program, 1,353 waterless barangays and 455 waterless municipalities were originally identified. DILG reported that 1,123 barangays and 340 municipalities had graduated from waterless status, leaving approximately 230 barangays and 115 municipalities on the original list. But COA...

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HOT COMPOSTING AND SLOW COMPOSTING? At first glance, this sounds like a technical question. But I think there is something wrong with the way the question is framed. Shouldn't the comparison be between hot composting and cold composting ? Or perhaps between fast composting and slow composting ? Personally, I would vote for cold composting, which is essentially the same as slow composting. What is the hurry anyway? Hot composting deliberately raises the temperature of organic materials to accelerate decomposition. It can reach roughly 57°C to 71°C and can produce finished compost within weeks. Cold or slow composting, on the other hand, allows organic materials to decompose naturally over several months. I understand the argument for hot composting. High temperatures can destroy weed seeds and many pathogens, which can be important when dealing with certain wastes. But I also wonder whether we sometimes become too obsessed with speed. Composting is fun...

ARE WE LOSING THE WAR AGAINST THE RED-STRIPED SOFT SCALE INSECT? The bad news is that, as of now, we appear to be losing the war against the Red-Striped Soft Scale Insect (RSSI) . More areas are becoming infected despite the efforts of government agencies, researchers and farmers. But the good news is that the war is not over yet . We could still win this war if we finally get our act together. The RSSI was first officially documented in Bacolor, Pampanga, in June 2022. It subsequently reached the sugar-producing areas of the Visayas, particularly Negros, and the infestation has continued to expand. The uploaded material reports more than 39,000 hectares affected nationwide, with more than 37,000 hectares in Negros alone. Why is this happening? One major problem appears to be the movement of infected planting materials between islands and districts. Another is that farmers often fight the pest individually, while the pest itself does not respect farm boundaries. The crawler stage can m...

HOW TO COMBAT THE RED-STRIPED SOFT-SCALE INSECT WITH MULTISECTORAL COOPERATION It is difficult to understand why, after four years, we are still struggling to control a pest that was first officially documented in Bacolor, Pampanga in June 2022. I am referring to the Red-Striped Soft-Scale Insect (RSSI) , identified in research materials as Pulvinaria tenuivalvata , which has become a serious threat to sugarcane, particularly in the Negros Island Region and other sugar-producing areas. The good news is that there is now a promising multisectoral effort involving the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Central Philippines State University (CPSU), RU Foundry Machine, Inc. (RUFMI), and entomologist Dr. Ravindra C. Joshi . RUFMI was represented by its President, Mr. Ramon Uy, Sr. of Bacolod City I find this cooperation particularly encouraging because it demonstrates something I have always advocated: the government, the academe and the private sector should work together when confrontin...