Tambuling Batangas Publication February 20-26, 2019 Issue | Page 5

OPINYON
February 20-26, 2019
Are we ready for a Big One?
By OCDPublished
Have you ever imagined yourself in a
situation where people can no longer
properly stand on their own feet and are
thrown into a state of intense fear and
desperation by witnessing dozens of well-
built buildings fall apart, bridges that used
to connect become impassable, clusters of
utility posts, monuments, towers, and such
become either displaced or overturned?
How could people possibly survive this
kind of very destructive scenario?
The Philippines, which is situated at the
Pacific Ring of Fire, has faced a frequent
Taking the lead in ASEAN biodiversity conservation: Insights
and experiences from an international wildlife expert
By ACBPublished
LAGUNA, Feb. 16 -- How will you
make sure that everyone—from policy
makers and business leaders to their
employees, and even school children—
are aware of and practice biodiversity
conservation in their daily activities? This
is the challenging mission of Dr. Theresa
Mundita S. Lim, international wildlife
expert and Executive Director of the
ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB).
Growing up with accounts from her
mother about how the forests of Sierra
Madre, the longest mountain range in the
Philippines, saved people’s lives during
World War II by providing food and
shelter, Dr. Lim developed her love for
nature as she learned about how barks of
trees can be turned into blankets and wild
plants can ease the hunger of people in
hiding. The wild animals she encountered
during her practicum in Calauit, Palawan
as a veterinary medicine student at the
University of the Philippines further
inspired her fascination with fauna. After
seeing baby marine turtles, she decided
to work on them for her thesis, which
involved isolation of fungus that infects
the said animals.
Dr. Lim’s study on the marine turtles
launched her career in wildlife
conservation with the Philippines’
Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR), where she started
with the marine turtle program. The rest
is continuing history of her work and
contribution to conservation.
In her more than one and a half decades as
Director of the Biodiversity Management
Bureau (BMB), formerly the Protected
Areas and Wildlife Bureau of the DENR,
Dr. Lim guided national directions on
protected areas and wildlife conservation.
She closely worked with the Philippine
Congress on the legislative priorities for
conservation and sustainable management
of biodiversity in the country. Among
her notable achievements were the
development of the Expanded National
Integrated Protected Areas System bill,
the National Ecotourism Strategy, and
the Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and
Action Plan. She was also recognized
by DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu as
instrumental in increasing government
budget for biodiversity conservation to as
much as 70 per cent in the last six years.
As Director of ACB, assuming a
leadership role that involves multiple
countries is not new for Dr. Lim. She has
taken on various international functions
such as Chair of the Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD) Subsidiary
Body on Scientific, Technical and
Technological Advice, which provides
the Conference of the Parties to the
CBD with timely advice relating to
the implementation of the convention;
Chair of the 15th and 18th Meetings of
the ASEAN Working Group Meeting
on Coastal and Marine Environment,
which serves as a consultative forum to
promote coordination and collaboration
among various relevant ASEAN and
other regional marine-related initiatives to
ensure a well-coordinated and integrated
approach to the conservation and
sustainable management of the coastal
and marine environment; Chairperson
of the 4th ASEAN Experts Group on
the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species of Wild Flora
and Fauna Meeting; Chairperson of the
16th ASEAN Working Group on Nature
Conservation and Biodiversity, which
provides technical guidance and enhances
cooperation among ASEAN Member
States in the promotion of conservation of
nature and biodiversity; and Chair of the
ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network.
Biodiversity 101
Dr. Lim believes that biodiversity
and human lives are interconnected.
“Biodiversity is an inseparable part of
human life. It provides us with food,
air and water; materials for clothing
and shelter; ingredients for medicines;
protection from climate change; materials
for business, industries and infrastructure;
source of income from agriculture,
fisheries, tourism and other livelihood for
millions of poor all over the world; and
even inspiration for arts and culture. Lose
biodiversity and you lose all these,” she
explained.
She added that for wildlife, diseases are
always connected to the condition of
the ecosystem. This she learned from
her wildlife management and disease
post graduate course in the United
Kingdom during her early days with the
DENR. “From that course I realized as
a veterinarian that you don’t just treat—
you manage the habitat. You protect the
ecosystem where the wildlife thrives.”
Dr. Lim observed during her field work
in other countries how the occurrence
of emerging diseases is the same then
and now. “In Europe, there used to be a
Scottish wolf that was extirpated by the
people, not realizing that these wolves
control the population of the red deer. This
led to the overpopulation of the red deer,
which carried the tick that also transmitted
the deadly Lyme disease to humans.
Now, we have the Avian influenza, the
Ebola virus. It happened before, it’s still
happening now with other diseases. This
shows that increased human impact such
as eradicating certain predators can lead
to diseases.”
Integrating biodiversity conservation in
development sectors
Since taking her oath as ACB’s leader in
April 2018, Dr. Lim has advocated the
linkage of biodiversity with development
sectors such as health, agriculture,
banking and finance, infrastructure,
climate change, and tourism through a
series of international workshops and
meetings. These activities identified action
points for the convergence of each sector
with biodiversity towards integrating or
mainstreaming conservation in sectoral
plans and processes.
The challenge in mainstreaming, she
said, is reaching out to other sectors.
“Explaining to them the importance of
biodiversity—how do you start catching
their attention? How and why will they
listen to you? What would interest them?”
Dr. Lim learned that it is important
to “use their language” in discussing
with the sectors. “You do not talk about
biodiversity, but about wild relatives of
commercially important crops, nature-
based tourism, traditional medicine, and
terminologies that would resonate more to
the sector you want to engage.”
Aside from the key sectors mentioned
earlier, Dr. Lim also saw opportunities
for mainstreaming in other non-
traditional areas. As wife of a military
officer, she observed that conservation
can be incorporated in national defence
through their civil relations programs.
“Conservation can be mainstreamed
through rehabilitation activities such as
tree-planting.
In civil aviation, modernization of airports
need bird control measures. Infrastructure
planners should be mindful that the
Philippines is a migratory pathway.
Airport modernization entails risks to the
environment, so how do you minimize that
risk? How do you reduce that risk without
necessarily affecting the population of
migratory birds? We need to have science-
based measures for this.”
Understanding and working through
biodiversity threats and challenges
According to Dr. Lim, the three most
number of earthquakes and tsunamis
over the years. Our country is home
to numerous active faults and several
trenches. Will you ever be ready if a so-
called “Big One” strikes?
At the present time, there are roughly
20 earthquakes recorded by DOST –
PHIVOLCS each day. Main hazards
of earthquake include ground shaking,
ground rupture, liquefaction, or when
the earth behaves such as in liquid form,
earthquake-induced landslide, tsunami,
and fire.
Tsunami is a series of sea waves that
usually originate from under-the-sea
earthquakes. It can also be generated from
underwater landslides, volcanic eruptions,
and large meteorite impacts in the ocean.
It may be an unpopular fact but our
country is frequently visited by tsunamis.
One of the most destructive calamity
that has been written in the history of
the country was when a magnitude 8.0
shook Mindanao a little past midnight of
17 August in the year 1976. After that, it
was followed by a massive 4 to 5 meters
high tsunami covering 700 kilometers
of coastline bordering the island. Due to
this, people were caught off guard by the
immense waves. Eight thousand people
died, 10,000 were injured, and 90,000
more were left homeless by this major
destruction.
These impending dangers are naturally
unavoidable but we can come prepared
when they strike unexpectedly.
If a strong earthquake strikes and you
happen to be inside a home or a building,
remember to do the “DUCK, COVER,
and HOLD”; stay away from objects
which might fall; leave the area after the
quake and head straight to the nearest
evacuation area.
Stay away from trees, buildings, and
electrical posts and head onto an open area if you’re outside. Also ensure that
the injured, elderly, children, expectant
mothers, and persons with disability will
be prioritized.
Before an impending tsunami hits a
particular region, make sure that you
are aware of the evacuation plan in your
community, participate in drills, and
designate a meeting point of the family or
neighborhood. More importantly, natural
warning signs of an approaching local
tsunami must be observed such as a felt
earthquake, an unusual sea level change
or a sudden seawater drop or rise, and a
rumbling sound of approaching waves.
These signs should prompt the people to
go to a more elevated area urgently.
After the disaster happens, leave the
evacuation area only if you’re told to do
so, check if someone is missing, and bring
the injured to the nearest medical facility.
These catastrophes are like thieves in
the night. We can never be a hundred
one percent ready but preparedness
is definitely workable beforehand.
With the help of each and everyone’s
effort in spreading awareness of their
possible risks, we can surely prevent and
mitigate the hazards in our communities,
properties, and most especially all forms
of life.
In line with bringing the awareness and
preparedness among the communities, we
invite you to participate in the 1st Quarter
Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake
Drill (NSED) on the 21st of February,
2019 at exactly 2 in the afternoon. The
Office of Civil Defense, along with
national government agencies, is set to
conduct this upcoming earthquake drill
nationwide. The ceremonial site is in Iloilo
City, wherein a simulation of a damaging
earthquake strikes Panay Island, Western
Visayas.
important biodiversity issues that ASEAN
Member States need to prioritize are (in
no particular order) marine pollution,
people’s lack of knowledge and education
on biodiversity, and lack of research.
“When I was still with the DENR, we
rescued turtles with plastics and trash in
their stomachs. Today, we still see similar
news, including the islands of trash in
the ocean. This is a problem that needs
constant and persistent efforts.”
Another important concern, according
to Dr. Lim, is enhancing knowledge
and education about biodiversity and
helping people understand that the
natural ecosystem can address current
and major global issues like climate
change and poverty. “If you protect your
biodiversity, you can contribute to climate
change adaptation; you can contribute
to livelihood development. Lack of
knowledge on biodiversity within the
development sector can jeopardize the
environment.”
“Biodiversity research, meanwhile, is a
constant necessity because you cannot
love and conserve what you do not know.
You need to have an inventory of what is
in nature and understand them. What is the
importance of certain species? Research
will be able to provide you answer.
There are certain plants or animals that
are sources of substances that can cure
illnesses. If you are not able to understand
them, then you cannot harness their full
potential,” said Dr. Lim.
“But that should not stop with research.
Just like in any field, you need to
communicate new knowledge. People
need to understand what biodiversity is
as a sector, and its relation to their daily
lives. You need to establish the science so
that you can better communicate it,” she
explained.
Co-existence
of
biodiversity
and
development
“Basically, biodiversity and development
should not be viewed as separate
from each other. It’s not biodiversity
or development, it is biodiversity and
development,” emphasized Dr. Lim.
When it comes to making decisions on
technologies that make use of natural
resources, Dr. Lim believes on always
having the best scientific information at
hand. “The important thing is maximizing
what is available in nature. That is why
research is very important. Taxonomy,
for example, is a field that can help in
further understanding what’s in our
environment.” “We need strong scientists, and we need
strong communicators too. Convening a
scientific forum is an opportunity to help
facilitate discussion at the scientific level,
but it should not end there. Eventually,
we need to convince the communications
people to help us convey the outcome
of that forum, and then eventually
translate the outcome into policy. That is
the important connection to be made –
establishing the science, communicating
it, translating it to policy, and realizing it
in the community,” said Dr. Lim.
Balance: Key to a healthy environment
and personal life
With all her achievements, Dr. Lim, who
grew up from a close-knit family, is quick
to attribute a huge part of her success to
her kin and staff. Her mother, who loves
to grow lush greenery in their backyard, is
particularly a major influence on her love
for nature. From her father, she learned
discipline and other important family life
lessons.
“Support from my family is really a
huge help. With my husband being in
the military and assigned elsewhere, and
I was in the field back then, I would ask
for help from my siblings, my mother, and
even mother-in-law in taking care of my
children. Come to think of it, I don’t think
I could have survived my work if it were
not for them,” said the wildlife expert.
Her advice for young ones who would like
to take a similar path as hers: “You should
walk your talk, lead by example, and pray
because there are crossroads and decisions
to be made, and there are things out of
your control. You also have to choose your
battles because when you think about all
the problems in the environment, you can
get overwhelmed.”
“Start from yourself. Don’t think that
because you are alone, you will only have
a small impact. Just imagine if you start
from one, and then expand—take it one
step at a time. Work with others, because
you can only do so much alone. Through
working with partners, there will be
multiplier effects with your work.”
Recently, flora and a fauna species were
named after her Dr. Lim - the Kurodaia
(Conciella) theresamunditae, which is
a louse species found in the Philippine
scops owl; and the Medinilla theresae, an
edaphic-endemic species of a terrestrial,
erect, cauliflorous shrub in Dinagat and
Mindanao Islands in the Philippines.
(Sophia Mercado)