- City gov’t urged to take action and avoid ecological disaster
ENVIRONMENTAL group Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS) urged the city government to monitor and control the mushrooming resorts and establishments on watershed areas.
The call came in the wake of the demolition of Camp Eleaga Spring Resort in Purok Golden Shower, Barangay Malabog, Paquibato District, Davao City, on Feb. 20.
According to police reports, the resort built illegal structures, including swimming pools, cabins, huts, and other facilities without the necessary building permits.
IDIS said the city should look into the growing number of inland resorts inside the Environmentally Critical Areas (ECAs), especially in Marilog, Baguio, Tugbok, Toril, and Paquibato Districts.
“These resorts pose a threat to the city’s water resources by contributing to deforestation, pollution and soil erosion, which can affect water quality and supply,” IDIS stressed.
‘We urge the local government to expand its crackdown on all unauthorized resorts and establishments that threaten the environment, ensuring that policies are implemented fairly, consistently, and without exception,” it added.
In the case of Camp Eleaga, IDIS reported it is within Lake Macaduhong, declared as a Local Conservation Area and a vital source of drinking water for the residents of Barangay Malabog in Paquibato District.
Lake Macaduhong is currently delineated as a Production Forest Sub-zone in the 2018-2028 Zoning Ordinance and Agricultural Non-Tillage in the 2011-2023 Zoning Ordinance.
According to the Zoning Ordinance, Production Forest Sub-zone only limits construction of permanent facilities to 2% of the total floor area and must not involve clearing of trees and slope alteration. Eco-tourism activities in this subzone must be limited and community-based.
During the Davao Peace and Security Press Corps media forum on Feb. 26, Lemuel Manalo, IDIS program coordinator, said that in a Production Forest Sub-zone, only trails, pathways, and several cottages are allowed at a very minimal size.
“These areas have complex topography or even watershed areas, water resources or they have endemic species when it comes to forest trees, so to minimize the cutting of trees, it should only be limited to 2% of the total parcel to be developed,” Manalo stressed.
The ordinance also emphasized construction of developments in this zone should utilize sustainable and eco-friendly materials.
IDIS added that the rapid expansion of tourism ventures has been encroaching upon the Panigan-Tamugan Watershed, the primary source of Davao City’s drinking water.
Bantay Bukid in critical watershed, specifically in the sitios of Tabak, Tribal, and Kalatong in Barangay Carmen, and Barangay Tambobong have reported illegal structures, including rest houses, resorts, and camping grounds.
IDIS also asked the barangays to establish permanent management councils to oversee the protection of watersheds within their jurisdiction.
