I feel like screaming sometimes because WE CAN DO SOMETHING...as inhabitants of this province of Cavite, there is a bunch of leaders who are just not getting it!
Rain is now pouring down, and out of control because the natural balance was destroyed when millions of rainforest, and orchard land was cut to make way for these land developers to create an upland suburbia.
The watersheds were sold off by the thousands of hectares, and because bulldozers have uprooted all the trees to create those soft, rolling hills that can be subdivided as lots to sell to people, there is nothing to hold the earth from washing out with the rainwater. What happens after the rains stop, is silt depositing on the land, raising the level of the river. Succeeding years of heavy rain, will further erode the uplands until huge breaks in the surrounding banks of the river will also wash away.
This balance has been tampered with. When the rivers are overflowing, and there is NO MORE WATERSHED, certain adverse changes will happen! The river is rising and bringing all kinds of problems. All this water once was stored in acquifers in the upland region, and in the roots of forest trees in the watershed. Watersheds are set aside as forested areas that should be left untouched to prevent rainwater from eroding the soil. All this mud and water then pours down into the lowlands and becomes a flood, and mud landslides can kill people living in the lower areas.
The rain, and outpouring of the river into the lowlands was a normal process that fertilized rice paddies, and gave us many centuries of abundant harvests. The rice fields, and estuaries benefited from the rivers swelling and depositing rich minerals and silt that diluted estuaries salty brine, giving us a new generation of fish fry from spawning ocean varieties that come to lay eggs in that silt.
The river that blessed the lowlands, is now the factor that is destructive, instead of productive. What used to be a normal circumstance, and a beneficial relationship between water, earth and sea, is now instruments of disaster.
I have to post certain events that have convinced me that maybe I need to migrate to another country with strict zoning laws, and policies that protect the land. We who are organic farmers want to flee from these agents of commercial agriculture and get away from areas where they are spraying pesticides, and the using GMO seeds!
I got ridiculed and dismissed by many who believe everything is for the good of the nation. WHAT? Spraying poison, and dumping chemicals in rivers, having garbage in the streams, cutting down rainforests for stupid urbanites to have a rest house in the uplands they use like once a month, is good for the nation?? Excuse me, I am no longer enthusiastic about the area as I was when I first got here.
I dread the thought of leaving the province and stay in the polluted city until I am paralyzed with fear of going out for a walk to inhale poison in the air...
There are more urban housing projects to come..and I can't remain in this area and suffer the effects of watching the beautiful scenery of coconut plantations, mango orchards, and narra forest land end up as the sight of the rooftops, and traffic jams of a rising urban community at my doorstep. Staying and looking around at condos in the middle of what once was beautiful grazing land is painful.
After writing this blog to let off steam, I decided to write leaders of this nation and also try to post facebook messages, send emails to people, and a lot of successful business people. They can influence the leadership, and both business people male and female alike. However, progress, and the increase in revenue for the city blinds the politicians to the simple beauty of their countryside. Every single provincial government wants a big city and that is sad. This area is not suitable for the kind of pollution, density of population that comes with the city style. Poverty will only spread when more people crowd in, using up more resources than the area can provide. What is the simple answer to the question on how to end poverty in the Philippines? The answer given to me is " go abroad!!."
I wonder if there are some who care enough to go out and convince people to vote for strict agriculture zoning in CALABARZON. What I was told was, it is okay for me to continue to keep my farm, and it would even be a novelty because a lot of city folk are moving to Silang, Cavite to enjoy the weather, and it is about time I started putting up a restaurant or some business dealing in organics!
My principles are not for sale. One CANNOT HAVE AN ORGANIC POULTRY FARM in the middle of a metropolis. The free range chickens will pick up filth and debris, making them unhealthy carriers of disease, and the pollution from vehicles using lead in the gasoline or diesel will corrupt the air. Plants do absorb lead, and other toxic elements...so do animals absorb pollutants, and toxic substances in their blood! I do not know how people who graduate from college do not understand this? Sure, one can have an organic garden and grow vegetables in their backyard..but in a city that is polluted, one has to be very, very careful about going about it!
I was told to be happy there is progress in our town. Here is what I see is the result of that "progress" beside the creek near my farm. The amount of garbage is increasing every day. Is this progress?
