MANILA, Philippines—The success or failure of nations in their
pursuit of economic development depends, among other factors, on
nurturing racial harmony and peaceful coexistence, as well as on the
manner by which they manage the environment and use natural resources.
Continued conflict among people, overexploitation of resources and
poor environmental governance undermine any attempt at sustainable
development and erode the prospects for economic growth and poverty
reduction.
Long-term peace and stability are, therefore, closely linked to
pursuing a socially responsible and environmentally sustainable path to
development.
Safety and security for people in the workplace and the availability
of reliable land, water, food and energy are essential ingredients for
eradicating poverty, raising living standards and ensuring human dignity
for all.
Food shortage
Today, the Philippines is unable to grow enough food to feed its
population of nearly 100 million and yet each year it continues to add 2
million more mouths to feed.
At the same time, our ability to produce food is steadily declining.
Luzon, which has been the traditional rice granary of the Philippines,
is now beset with unpredictable weather patterns that have become the
normal annual pattern: too much rain and flooding with typhoons, and
extended dry seasons without enough rainfall or irrigation water to
sustain crop production.
Rice imports
There are many other reasons why we are facing a food shortage, some
of which were also touched upon by President Aquino in his first State
of the Nation Address (Sona). Governance in our institutions is weak and
allegations of mismanagement in rice imports and distribution persist.
Security of land tenure for farmers remains an issue, with much
remaining to be done through the agrarian reform process. Much of land
is being converted into real estate and property leaving less available
land for agriculture and crop production. And, farmer-training and
extension services need improvement.
Loss of forest cover
Another important reason for the emerging food crisis has to do with
loss of forest cover. As a result of massive logging and slash-and-burn
practices as well as natural fires, our primary forest cover has
declined from over 70 percent in the 1970s to less than 3 percent today.
Forests are a vital source for regulating our climate and help
provide the rainfall needed for our agriculture. They also absorb the
carbon in the atmosphere, thereby helping mitigate against the dangers
of global warming and climate change.
Hunger
As a result of the aforementioned factors, we have a rather serious
food situation in the country. We import on average about 1.5 to 2
million tons of rice annually and have a hunger rate of 20 percent.
Unless serious efforts are made to reverse these trends, the hunger
rate could rise to as much as 30 percent in just the next decade due to
rising population growth, which is estimated to reach nearly 120 million
by the year 2020, i.e., 20 million more people in just 10 years.
A key issue we face is the future of the culturally unique and
resource-rich island of Mindanao. Peace in Mindanao is critical not just
for ensuring safety and security for all in the Philippines as well as
in the Asia Pacific. The island is also vital for our food security.
Conflicts
However, despite numerous attempts to bring about peace and
development, Mindanao remains one of the poorest islands in the country.
Internal and external conflicts and all-out wars over many decades have
claimed the lives of far too many people, and continuously aggravated
poverty and despair on the island.
Such instability has disrupted agricultural production, destroyed
economic infrastructure, affected the social fabric of society,
displaced thousands of people from their homes, and deterred the much
needed investment.
Dialogue
We must find an appropriate solution for Mindanao through deepened dialogue with our Muslim brothers and sisters.
Engaging the enlightened leadership of Mindanao and finding young
champions who truly believe in promoting racial harmony and social
stability would be essential for inclusive and equitable development,
and for ensuring that the dividends of peace are sustainable over the
long term.
Mr. Aquino recognized in his Sona the critical need for revitalizing
the peace process and mentioned the need for resuming the dialogue with
Mindanao leaders.
Investment proposals
This will entail continuing the peace dialogues started earlier by
the government with its partners, engaging the private sector and
identifying viable investment proposals in close consultation with the
people of Mindanao.
Equally, partnerships with nongovernment organizations will be
important for helping to build capacity and provide ground-level support
for implementing investment and development projects.
Undoubtedly, the prospects for a peaceful coexistence are greater
when partnerships with local communities and tribal leaders are
strengthened, when more economic opportunities are provided to the
masses to reduce poverty, and when there is enough food on the table to
feed all members of the family.
Food basket
The island of Mindanao is fortunate not to have extended dry seasons
as we witness today in Luzon and has the water resources to support two
to three crops a year—it can be, as it has often been called, the “food
basket” of the Philippines.
Mindanao’s highly fertile soils account for bountiful harvests of a
variety of farm products: It grows most of the Philippines’ major crops
such as rubber (100 percent of national production), pineapple and cacao
(90 percent), as well as banana, coffee, corn and coconut (over 50
percent).
Taken together, these crops account for over 40 percent of the
country’s food requirements. The island economy also contributes more
than 30 percent to the national food trade, making agriculture the
driving force for the island’s socioeconomic development.
However, while Mindanao does not suffer the unpredictability of the
northern typhoon belt, it does face its own challenges. As noted
earlier, as with the rest of the country, slash-and-burn farming and
illegal logging in Mindanao have caused the loss of mountain forests
that produce rainfall for the plains and rivers and provide safe water
for drinking, irrigation and hydroelectric power generation downstream.
Such is the extent of the damage that in rivers such as the Agusan
and Kumaykay the water discharge (estimated in liters per second) has
decreased by up to 75 percent, and the Pulangi hydroelectic power
station operates at about 50 percent of its capacity, thus adversely
affecting food production and energy supply for the island and the
country as a whole.
If this trend is not reversed, the Philippines will lose its only
viable food basket, and we will be facing a starving population.
Reforestation
We must, therefore, tackle this issue through an aggressive campaign
for reforestation and watershed management in the pristine natural
environments of Mindanao.
Principally, these areas include the five mountain ranges that are
the haven for primary mossy forests and the critical watersheds which
are located in the heart of Mindanao, especially Bukidnon and parts of
Lanao del Sur, including one of the largest water reservoir on the
island—Lake Lanao.
Watersheds, rivers
Specifically, the primary mossy forests to be protected include, the
Pantaron, Katinglad, Kalatungun, Matigsalug, and Wao and Bumbaran
mountain ranges. These watersheds feed six major river systems, namely,
Cagayan, Tagoloan, Pulangi, Maridugao, Davao-Salug and Gingoog. (See
maps.)
Saving the mossy forest would ensure adequate supply of water, food
and energy, and help improve the livelihood of people, thereby
increasing the prospects for peace and equitable development in
Mindanao.
Alongside, we must also develop the large available fertile
agricultural lands downstream of the large river systems, with extensive
water-supply and rural-irrigation networks, post-harvest facilities and
farm-to-market roads.
To do this, we must encourage private investment and public-private
partnerships, and build a coalition with like-minded people from the
academe and nongovernment organizations to enable a strong bottom-up
consultative approach to community-driven development.
Agriculture development
The main areas for agriculture development include South and North
Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Southern Bukidnon—and most especially, the two
largest undeveloped areas—Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, which are an
integral part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Similarly, closer attention is required for the three island
provinces in the ARMM, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi (or Basulta) for
their unique but complex development circumstances.
The people of Mindanao are fed up with long years of conflict. They
want to live in peace and dignity, earning a decent livelihood. They
want their children to be educated and have a healthy, productive life.
The best weapon against poverty, social disharmony and despair are peace
and sustainable development.
Indeed, the role being played by the government of Malaysia in the
peace process together with other sincere partners such as the United
States Agency for International Development and The Asia Foundation, is
commendable and appreciated, and should be accelerated to help find a
solution acceptable to most, if not all.
Territorial issues
However, we cannot get bogged down by the territorial issues forever.
While the negotiations between the past Philippine administrations and
the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and other parties must continue, we
cannot simply be waiting for the solution to emerge which could take
longer than we may wish.
Given the enormous tragedies of the past, the mood in the debilitated
population of Mindanao is now ripe for bringing about peace through
economic growth and progress.
We must seize the moment and forge ahead with the country’s
development agenda, which should be one in which Mindanao is given the
appropriate resources to develop. This should be done in close concert
with the many development partners who are so eager to help the people
of the island. We need Mindanao just as much as it needs us.
Peace talks
The Aquino administration has a duty to address the Mindanao factor
and help turn the challenge into an opportunity for inclusiveness,
equity and social justice for all Filipinos.
The good news is that the President has recognized the importance of
peace on the island and promised to restart talks in earnest soon after
Ramadan.
The Filipinos and the people of the region and the world will be
closely watching with much interest how the situation evolves and how,
in a meaningful way, the new administration, its partners and the
Mindanao leadership engage in the dialogue.
Finding the right solutions to the challenge of Mindanao through
continued engagement and mutual respect for its culture and people can
enable us to end the conflict, move toward an era of peace, and provide
us with the security of food, water and energy, and prosperity of the
Filipino nation as a whole. By working together, we will realize the
promise of Mindanao.
(Urooj S. Malik is chair of Hineleban Foundation, a nonprofit
organization working for peace and sustainable development in Mindanao.
He worked for the Asian Development Bank for over 25 year and, during
the past 10 years at ADB, he served in the senior management stream,
first as country director in Cambodia, then as director for Mekong
Infrastructure, and finally as director of agriculture, environment and
natural resources, Southeast Asia Department.)
Fast Facts
* 135,626 sq km - land area
* 21.6 million – population (2007)
* P3,572 (ARMM) – P17,050 (Region 10) – range of per capita gross regional domestic product (2008)
* $2.99 billion – total value of exports (2008)
* 26 percent – incidence of hunger among households, equivalent to about 1.1 million families (SWS, June 2010)
* 120,000 – estimated number of deaths as a result of the conflict
between Moro secessionists and government forces since 1970 (2008)
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