Urban developers are in this for the money. They could care less about Cavite. Whatever they do to carve out thousands of hectares into subdivisions and urban centers is depleting the lowlands of fresh water, and driving the rain towards the ocean instead of filling up the estuaries that supply the people with fresh fish, and flooding the rice fields that bring us our staple food.
Think of all those subdivisions around Tagaytay ridge, imagine how it will be once Lake Taal fills up with their pollution. This beautiful canyon is full of people all wanting to have that view of the volcano right outside the bedroom or living room windows. I wonder if one day when the lake turns into a putrid mess like all our rivers are beginning to look like will those who bought land there and built houses will find another pristine area to destroy?
One one side are brightly painted new houses. Across from those houses is the Biluso river and then the last remnants of the rainforest area which surrounds my farm. At the rate the property values are going up, I will need at least P6,000,000 pesos or $125,000 to buy the forest near my farm so I can preserve the habitat of the few native birds that live there.One person needs oxygen supplied by three large trees, or 1,000 square meters of green grass and shrubery, but birds and other animals need thousands of hectares of land to establish a breeding site where they can nest and raise their young.
Trees, and plants are treated as "decor" items for real estate developers who have decimated 500 hectares of forest lands next to my farm ( see photo above). The sales brochures of the neighboring subdivision have computer generated images and sketches of how this subdivision developer has planted a "park" of green trees. I went inside to visit the "park" and counted 5 mango trees on a hill. Eventually should anyone buy more land in the subdivision near my farm, they might find that the day this subdivision is full of houses, pollution will come from homes throwing out plastic, debris, chemical detergents, poisons, and human wastes into the rivers. Developers knows this would be "greenwashed" by claiming to retain a few trees for these parks or "green zone," or putting in a golf course. Urban developers do not tell buyers, that they had to kill the big trees, and poison the roots of hardwood trees, and keep golf courses green by spraying herbicides on the grass to keep the weeds from growing. If they don't, they know their investments will be useless. Big rainforest trees for a subdivision developer means blocked drainage pipes and ripped up cemented roads. Trees, and shrubs are a nuisance to a developer who will run down an entire forest with a bulldozer to get the lanscape "sculpted" to be as flat as possible, or level with the roads they will pave to be able sell lots to buyers.
I still pray I will win the lottery and buy the property being sold next door. This is the last section of rainforest left and I need $125,000 to make an offer to acquire this. My dream is to set up a botanical garden, and a small animal preserve/shelter with indigenous species of birds and my collection of tropical plants for children to come and view the beauty of the natural flora and fauna that is being destroyed by the millions of hectares every day all over the Philippines.
