A pro-environment group lambasted the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development for allegedly “failing to fulfil its mandate” to protect the remaining biodiversity.
The council has reportedly reinstated the “strategic environmental plan” clearance of the Ipilan Nickel Corporation in Brooke’s Point town and awarded a clearance to Citinickel Corporation for the expansion of its mining operations in the town of Narra.
The group Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment said the issuance of clearances “runs counter to the laws that protect” the areas covered by the operations of the mining companies.
“[Ipilan’s] plan covers the Mount Mantalingahan Protected Landscape, which was declared a protected area in 2009 via Presidential Proclamation 1815,” said the group.
In 2015, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization nominated Mount Mantalingahan as a World Heritage Site.
The protected landscape serves as a sanctuary to wildlife that have been protected by law.
Kalikasan said the Mount Mantalingahan “has exceptional biodiversity and endemism, with numerous undiscovered, undescribed, and potentially unique species.”
“It is home to five Philippine endemic bird species, including the critically endangered Cacatua haematuropygia,” added the group in a statement.
“Other Palawan endemic species in the area include six frog species, three lizards, and two subspecies of birds,” said the group.
The mountain has a forest cover of about 100,000 hectares, which Kalikasan described as a “pristine site that acts as a valuable carbon sink because of its macro-climatic function.”
It also holds 33 watersheds that service the lowland agricultural economy in the area.
In 2017, Bishop Socrates Mesiona of Puerto Princesa led a campaign against the operation of the Ipilan Nickel Corporation that reportedly cut about 15,000 trees within a 2,835-hectare area.
In August, the Save Palawan Movement urged the province’s sustainable development council to reconsider its decision and uphold the provisions of the law safeguarding Palawan’s remaining natural forests.
The group said the opening up of the island’s forests to mining “will make it difficult” for Palawan to achieve its development, environmental, and climate goals.
“Deforestation caused by mining in Palawan’s natural forests will weaken the capacity of Palaweños to become climate-resilient,” said the movement in a statement.
