Catanduanes Forum

Just like any of the 7,000 plus islands, Catanduanes rests in an atoll. The structure is fragile and any disruptive activity, if continuously perpetuated, will destabilize the foundation, leading to the island's eventual collapse. Disruptive activities include mining and those enunciated by Mother Nature like typhoons, hurricanes and earthquakes; it is a miracle that Catanduanes is still out there, yet the situation should not delude us any further from thinking that we can keep on exploiting its God-given resources in wild abandon.

This article notes the fact that the people of the island has been engaging in indiscriminate farming by burning hillsides, illegal logging, and cutting trees without re-planting. All these and the lure of coal mining present gargantuan risks we may not be able to handle. How many square miles of land are available to sustain the proposed coal mining? This resource is limited given the geographical area. When all the mining is done, the process will lay barren the land itself.

And how about the existing flora and fauna? The ecological balance is at stake, considering the environmental impact of the proposal.

There are plenty of economic alternatives other than coal mining. The ocean is teeming with fish to be
harvested. The ridges and hills abound with abaca, and domestic endeavors like fish farming (tilapia) await those who are able to manage the risks and rewards of entreprenuership. Coal mining is not only short-sighted; it steals from the future and the present generation of women and men who will inherit the effects of bad decision-making.

We should all reason together and think of the best alternative to exploit other available resources
with unlimited potential. Remember, any mined coal is not replaceable; once extracted it is gone forever.

Jun Soriao
This Side of the Hemisphere
August 1, 2009