Impact of canyoneering on river being checked

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu provincial government is conducting a baseline environmental impact assessment at the Kanlaob River, the site for canyoneering in Badian town, to determine the consequences of the activity to environment.

 The outcome of the assessment will be the basis in crafting local and provincial policies and laws on environmental protection.

 A team composed of two marine biologists, two environmental science practitioners, two researchers, a forester, and two documenters went to Badian yesterday.

 The assessment will examine the environmental consequences of development actions in advance with an emphasis on environment protection. The assessment will also look into the status of the water, soil, vegetation, and wildlife, among others. 

“You cannot come up with co-management plan if you cannot come up with a baseline data of the whole river. Unsa man gyud naa sa river which is of remarkable importance,” said Joselito “Boboi” Costas, head of the Provincial Tourism Office and the province’s consultant for ecotourism.

 The river system has two species of damselfly, one is the blue-eyed Cebu frill-wing and the Kawasan Paper Kite (Idea leucone jumaloni), a rare butterfly found in Kawasan Falls in Badian and Nug-as forest in Alcoy.

 In a local survey in 2009, the damselfly sightings were only five to 15 per day but it is yet to be determined if the species is still around with the booming canyoneering activities.

In 2012, this species was included in the 100 most threatened species on the planet by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Species Survival Commission.

 Costas lamented only few are paying attention to this wildlife.

 Meanwhile, the mayors of Badian and Alegria will present to Capitol officials their co-management proposals on Friday.

 “This is another round of talk. When you co-manage you have to hear both the towns’ interests and positions in terms of canyoneering so we can come up with a win-win solution to this,” Costas said.

 They finally reached an initial agreement to co-manage the canyoneering activities during a closed-door meeting the other week.

 The Kanlaob River, which traverses Barangay Compostela in Alegria and Barangay Matutinao in Badian, has become popular among adrenaline junkies for the canyoneering tour.

 Costas said the province will collate the proposal and will help them craft the policies and guidelines, including the scheme in sharing revenues.

 In a recent consultative meeting in Badian, Costas was the one who suggested for co-management, which according to him is beneficial ecologically and economically. (FREEMAN)