TUBAJON, Dinagat Islands (MindaNews / 13 November) -- A key component of the Dinagat Communities for Conservation (C4C) project is engaging local communities not just in conservation but also in livelihood initiatives, ensuring that people see tangible benefits from protecting their watersheds.
Fenie Temario, who is also the president of the Hiniusang Kababayenhan sa Sitio Babangnan (HKSBA or United Women of Sitio Babangnan), said their organization, which currently has 18 members, was established in February 2021 to help women work together and earn a livelihood.
"We formed the association so that our members could support each other and create additional sources of income. It also gives us a chance to learn new skills and strengthen the role of women in our community," Temario said.
Temario and her group received a livelihood program from C4C in March 2025, including ready-to-lay broiler chickens, and the members were tasked with managing a nursery to provide seedlings for the reforestation of the Imelda watershed.
"We plant the trees ourselves and take care of the seedlings in our nursery. It's not far from the watershed. We plant them carefully. Over 500 have already been planted, and another 500 are ready. This helps secure our water supply, because if the forest is gone, the water will eventually dry up," Temario said.
C4C conservation specialist Mavic Hilario explained that providing livelihood opportunities is an important way to engage communities and strengthen their commitment to conservation.
"The efforts vary. Some communities receive training on conservation techniques, while others are given livelihood programs. It's a small step, but it helps them understand the interconnectedness between their livelihood and the environment," Hilario said.
She added that people's organizations have also been active in the process of drafting the ordinances, which began at the barangay level.
"I believe it's more empowering when the declaration starts in the barangay. This way, residents understand their rights, know their watershed, and are more prepared to act if someone tries to encroach," she said.
Empowering people's organizations
As local governments in Dinagat push for the protection of their watersheds, a crucial element has been the involvement of the communities themselves.
A core component of the C4C initiative is building the capacity of people's organizations and strengthening their role in conservation efforts.
According to Melascom Malicay-vanVugt, senior paralegal at BALAOD Mindanaw and coordinator of the C4C project on strengthening local people's councils, community participation is vital because the people are the ones most affected by environmental degradation.
"When it comes to conservation, people's involvement is essential because they are the primary beneficiaries of ecosystem services. For example, when it comes to water, it's the community that will suffer the most if mining continues or if the watershed is destroyed," Malicay-vanVugt said.
He emphasized that community empowerment must go hand in hand with education and awareness of rights.
"It's important to engage them and help them assert their rights, their right to a healthy and balanced ecology, their right to water. To do that, we need to build their capacity and understand what they need so they can participate meaningfully in the process," Malicay-vanVugt said.
Power of local ordinances
While communities in Dinagat are taking the lead in protecting their watersheds through local legislation, environmental lawyer Perfecto Mendoza, senior legal officer of BALAOD Mindanaw, said the ordinances passed by local governments have both strengths and limits.
In an interview with MindaNews, Mendoza said that the ordinances give local governments the legal basis to protect their watersheds from encroachment and illegal activities.
"These local ordinances have power when it comes to protecting identified conservation areas. If anyone enters a protected area to cut trees or hunt, the local government can act against them. So, in that sense, it's a good step," he explained.
However, Mendoza admitted that these measures may have limited "teeth" when dealing with large-scale mining companies operating under national permits.
"The big mining companies are approved by the national government through the DENR. All mining permits are granted by the DENR national office, so these companies can easily disregard what the local government passes," Mendoza said.
Still, Mendoza noted that the ordinances and the community-based studies conducted could serve as a foundation for stronger protection.
"One possible outcome of this is to recommend to the DENR that these watershed areas be included in the country's protected area system. The data gathered through their surveys can be used for that recommendation. The DENR can then validate the findings and, if warranted, recommend to the Secretary and eventually to the President to declare these sites as protected areas," Mendoza pointed out.
He added that communities could also take their advocacy to Congress.
"They can lobby their district representative to push for a law declaring these areas protected. Protected areas can be established either through a presidential proclamation upon DENR's recommendation or through legislation passed by Congress," Mendoza said.
In her "First 100 Days Report" on October 2, Dinagat Islands Rep. Kaka Bag-ao reaffirmed her commitment to this cause.
Bag-ao stated she intends to continue the vision initiated through the Dinagat Islands Conservation Program (DICP), a partnership with the DENR that aims to identify and delineate watersheds as protected areas and eventually remove them from the reach of mining operations.
Bag-ao expressed hope that the enactment of local ordinances could serve as a basis for excluding watershed areas from mining contracts.
"In the course of our duties in the House, I will be proposing legislation to ensure the protection of different vulnerable ecosystems in our province, including the watersheds identified by our communities, our precious bonsai forest in the municipality of Loreto, and other watershed areas in Dinagat Islands," Bag-ao said.
She pointed out that true development can only be achieved when it goes hand in hand with the protection and sustainability of the natural environment.
"Conservation has always been at the core of my public service. For me, progress loses its meaning if it comes at the cost of our environment," Bag-ao said.
Need to revisit existing policies
According to the 2024 Mineral Profile of the Caraga Region from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), there are currently 11 nickel mining operations active in the province of Dinagat Islands.
Mendoza said the roots of the issue go back to 1939, when Dinagat was first classified as mineral lands through a presidential proclamation. He explained that at the time, there were very few people living on the islands, and the land was rich in minerals, which is why it was reserved by the government for mining.
"But times have changed," Mendoza added.
As years passed, the population grew and communities spread across the islands.
He noted that the old classification as a mineral reservation still stands, leaving the entire area open to mining, even though many people now live there. He emphasized that what once made sense for a sparsely populated island no longer fits today's reality.
"Before, there were only a few people, so mining had little social impact. But that's no longer the case. The circumstances have changed, and so should the laws," Mendoza said.
He added that efforts to reclassify the land have long been underway but remain stalled.
"We've been pushing for the passage of a National Land Use Act for years. That would allow us to review and reclassify lands based on current realities, but it has yet to pass in Congress," he said.
Hilario said that their current work with local governments and communities aims to complement this long-delayed reclassification.
She emphasized that the goal is not to abolish Dinagat's mineral reservation status entirely but to recognize that times have changed.
"We're not saying the mineral reservation law should be repealed. But we need to acknowledge the needs of the communities today. When Dinagat was declared a mineral reserve in 1939, there were only two municipalities. Imagine how much the population has grown since then," Hilario said.
Hilario added that it is time to revisit the policy and assess it based on current land use and population realities.
A census conducted in 1903 by the Bureau of Census under the Department of Commerce and Labor during the American colonial period recorded 5,243 inhabitants on Dinagat Islands, which included Dinagat town and Loreto, then part of Surigao Province and comprising only two municipalities.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), decennial censuses over the past 60 years show a significant rise in the island's population.
In 1960, Dinagat Islands had a total population of 23,000, covering the towns of Dinagat, Loreto, Cagdianao, and Libjo.
By the 2020 census, the population had grown to 128,000, an increase of 105,000 over six decades. The island province now includes seven municipalities with the addition of Tubajon, Basilisa, and San Jose.
Watershed health is closely tied to community health
Eddie Mondejar, associate professor of the Department of Biological Sciences at Mindanao State University - Iligan Institute of Technology, told MindaNews that he conducted a biodiversity assessment for C4C and found that the biodiversity landscape of Tubajon in Dinagat Islands is characterized by high species diversity, high endemism, and the presence of threatened species, making it a critical area for conservation.
The study was conducted across four barangay watersheds -- Malinao, Navarro, Imelda, and Mabini from September to October 2024.
According to Mondejar, the assessment documented 35 tree species, several of which are classified as vulnerable, endangered, or near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Faunal assessments recorded 6 anurans (frogs, toads), 18 reptiles, 9 bat species, 5 non-volant mammals (land-based mammals that can't fly), and 59 bird species, many of which are Philippine or Mindanao endemics.
"Barangay Malinao exhibited the highest overall species diversity. Notable species include the Mindanao fanged frog (Limnonectes magnus, near threatened), Philippine dawn bat (Eonycteris robusta, vulnerable), large flying fox (Pteropus vampyrus, endangered), and several endemic birds such as the rufous-lored kingfisher (Todiramphus winchelli) and Mindanao cuckooshrike (Coracina kochii)," Mondejar said.
He added that the presence of these species indicates the ecological importance of Tubajon's watersheds as Key Biodiversity Areas.
"Watersheds are essential for sustaining biodiversity because they provide habitats, water resources, and ecological connectivity. In Tubajon, they support forests, rivers, and riparian zones that harbor endemic and threatened species, regulate water flow, prevent soil erosion, and maintain nutrient cycles. They also create movement corridors for wildlife and support critical ecosystem services like pollination, seed dispersal, and carbon storage. Essentially, watersheds are the foundation that enables Tubajon's diverse ecosystems to thrive," Mondejar said. (Note: Riparian zones are the transition areas between land and water bodies.)
For Mondejar, the health of Tubajon's communities and Dinagat Islands as a whole is closely tied to the integrity of its forests and watersheds.
"Healthy forests and watersheds are critical for community health because they provide clean and reliable freshwater from rivers and streams, support food sources and livelihoods through forest and agricultural products, and protect settlements from flooding, soil erosion, and landslides. These ecosystems also help regulate diseases, improve air quality, and buffer climate impacts" he added.
Hilario said that other biodiversity assessments were conducted in Libjo, Cagdianao, and Dinagat by the Philippines Biodiversity Conservation Foundation Inc., but the results are still being processed.
"These assessments are important to cement how these watersheds and local conservation areas must be protected. They will also provide critical data for future policies, whether through congressional legislation or presidential proclamation, to safeguard Dinagat Islands' watersheds from mining," Hilario said.
Temario, who has depended on the watershed since childhood, said they will not allow it to be destroyed.
"The forest has always been our source of water. It keeps the streams alive," she said.
She warned that while mining may offer short-term gain, it leaves the land barren in the long run.
"Nothing grows back once the soil is disturbed," she pointed out.
Temario said she hopes the watershed will finally be protected for the next generation, adding that their community will continue to defend it, just as it has sustained their lives for decades. (Ivy Marie Mangadlao / MindaNews)
This story is published with the support of Canal France International under the Media for One Health program.