WHAT ARE THE LESSONS WE CAN LEARN FROM THE EXTINCTION OF FIFTEEN FISH SPECIES IN LAKE LANAO?

WHAT ARE THE LESSONS WE CAN LEARN FROM THE EXTINCTION OF FIFTEEN FISH SPECIES IN LAKE LANAO?

Although I have already written about this subject, my conscience compels me to write about it again. Maybe there are some points I forgot to raise. More importantly, I want to ask: how do we make sure that this will never happen again, not only in Lake Lanao but in our other lakes and rivers?

Fifteen endemic fish species of Lake Lanao are gone. They cannot simply be brought back. The lesson should therefore be painful but simple: prevention is much cheaper than extinction.

From what I have gathered, several factors contributed to this tragedy: overfishing and destructive fishing; the introduction of invasive species; pollution and habitat degradation; and inadequate or delayed conservation action. Scientific assessments have particularly identified invasive fish and overexploitation as major threats.

I hope someone can prove me wrong, but are these same threats not present in many other Philippine lakes and rivers?

This brings me to our government agencies. I understand that the DA-BFAR is primarily concerned with fisheries production and aquatic resources, while the DENR-BMB has a broader biodiversity mandate. But should fisheries production be separated completely from conservation? Conversely, should biodiversity protection ignore the effects of overfishing?

Perhaps what we need is not another argument about which agency is responsible, but a system where everybody is clearly responsible.

What puzzles me most is that we learned about the extinctions after so many species had already disappeared. There had been fish-landing surveys, market observations and local knowledge. So I ask: who was watching? Who was connecting the dots?

There was even a Lake Lanao Watershed Protection and Development Council created in 1992, with responsibilities that included watershed studies and monitoring. Mindanao State University was also represented. Why, then, did the warning signs not result in earlier action?

Today, BARMM is again considering legislation for a dedicated Lake Lanao management authority. I hope this time the structure will include scientists, universities, local communities, BFAR, DENR, DOST and the people of the lake—not merely another layer of bureaucracy.

Why not establish permanent biodiversity monitoring using modern tools such as environmental DNA, combined with local fishermen's knowledge?

And why not make Congress, BARMM and the concerned agencies examine the entire chain of responsibility—not simply to find someone to blame, but to prevent another ecological disaster?

If you ask me, the extinction of fifteen species is like fifteen counts of murder against God's creation. I use the word “murder” as a moral warning, not as a legal accusation.

The fish are gone. Let us make sure the lesson is not.

RAMON IKE V. SENERES

www.facebook.com/ike.seneres  iseneres@yahoo.com  senseneres.blogspot.com  09088877282/09-18-2027

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