Source : Philstar.com, 29 Jan '05
By : Paolo Romero
  

Mitra issued the call in last Thursday’s opening of the first Palawan Environmental and Economic Summit here, which aims to come up with a long-term plan to sustain efforts to preserve the Palawan environment.

Over 200 representatives of local governments, national agencies, local and foreign non-government organizations, the private sector, academe, funding institutions and other stakeholders in the environment took part in the summit.

Spearheading the summit were the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD), which Mitra chairs, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, with the support of Shell Philippines Exploration B.V.

"The province’s rich wildlife resources make Palawan a biodiversity hot spot and therefore, a ground against illegal wildlife hunting and trading, bio-prospecting and bio-piracy," Mitra said.

He said the summit is relevant and timely in the wake of the recent natural disasters in the Philippines and other parts of Asia that left nearly 200,000 people dead in the region.

"Palawan is the Philippines’ last ecological frontier and our province is the only one in the entire country that is governed by a special law, the Strategic Environmental Plan (SEP) or Republic Act 7611, with the PCSD overseeing its implementation to ensure the sustainable development of its natural resources," he said.

The PCSD, created under RA 7611, is composed of the Palawan governor, lawmakers and mayors, representatives of the business sector and other stakeholders.

Mitra said Palawan has 5,220 kilometers of coastlines and 1,700 islands and islets, and holds the distinction of being the only Philippine province with two World Heritage sites.

He said over 1,700 species of plants and close to half of more than 1,100 species of terrestrial animals in the Philippines are found in the province.

Palawan also boasts of nickel, chromite, laterite iron and mercury deposits, and an estimated natural gas reserve of 3.4 trillion cubic feet, he said.

Palawan’s rich fishing grounds, according to Mitra, supply 60 percent of Metro Manila’s fish requirements and account for 55 percent of the country’s total fish export.

Palawan’s mangrove forests constitute 44 percent of the country’s fast-dwindling mangrove forests, he said.

Despite its rich natural resources and protection by law, Mitra said the Palawan environment is threatened largely by population growth and its accompanying adverse effects.

He added that uncontrolled mining and extensive use of mineral wealth may degrade Palawan’s resources, while increased upland agricultural activities can adversely affect water quality.