Nature must be nurtured

CLIMATE change is now a topic of learned discussion and amateur observation. This amateur is noting some changes in our seasonal events regarding Nature as we know it.

For example, is it my imagination that the narra trees now only beginning to bloom are flowering late? If my memory is correct, we see narra tree flowers briefly in the month of February going into March. This is the third week of March and they seem to be just starting.

Our cold season, which begins in December and ends around the beginning of March, seems to be very extended this time. Baguio temperatures keep going down, Manila temperatures are pleasantly cool and we are in the fourth week of Lent, the traditional Cuaresma heat time. Except that it is not yet hot.

The amihan (northeast wind) has been on time, but seems unusually strong, with fishing boats, foreign ships and the oil carrier done in by the waves it has engendered. An oil carrier capsized in the middle of the archipelago, which is distant enough from gusts from the Pacific Ocean. That the oil carrier met waves that upended it means the winds were unusually strong in the center of our archipelago. Something is changing.

Meanwhile, the migratory birds, very visible egrets among them, seeking warmer temperatures away from the Asian mainland during winter months are still here almost to the end of March. They usually go back sometime before that. It seems something tells them to delay their return for reasons of inclement weather.

Farther afield the California floods coming twice this winter plus snowfalls in the usually sunny state are causing consternation and comment.

It really is time that we not just observe what is going on but do something about it. Building on slopes and hills is risky construction. Deforesting areas for human settlements due to urban sprawl must not continue. Fossil fuel use must be controlled further for its effect on air pollution which brings on illness. In other words, changing Nature’s constructs unreservedly brings dire consequences.

Trees should be regarded as precious treasures from Nature that keep the temperature down and our air cleaner from the oxygen that they provide. Yet there is wanton cutting down of trees everywhere here. There are the forest poachers and/or illegal loggers which we expect the government to clamp down on a little harder and more effectively. The confiscation of logs is not a sign of winning the battle to protect trees. It just means trees were already cut down. Trees alive and well, safe and healthy, would be a better sign. It indicates effective protection of the forests by a well-trained, well-equipped and numbers-heavy group of forest rangers that control the well-being of forests. Mining companies should be watched more closely by forest rangers for their indiscriminate removal of forest cover, sometimes beyond their mining franchise. Kaingin planting must be monitored so it does not encroach on forests, create landslide-prone areas and erosion. And all those who have cut down trees even legally must submit to rigorous replanting and caring of them.

Tree cutting and abuse do not take place only in the forests or outlying rural areas. Right in the cities there is wanton treecutting for mistaken reasons of doing away with leaves that fall or clearing sidewalks or just being bothered by their presence. This week alone I saw a man with a pickax cutting down a mature palm tree on a sidewalk which is public property. Probably it was in his path for some reason or other and killing it was his solution. Another example is a tree shrub which was in its own designated place in the corner of a building not bothering anyone, whose branches were lopped off and it has so far not recovered. It seems it is dead as it shows no more leaves, just mutilated branches. Meanwhile our urban temperatures in the dry season are soaring, people’s health is affected and the city is slowly turning into a desert of concrete and asphalt.

In the matter of trees, local governments should make a census of them in their locality, particularly in public places, protect them and encourage people to do the same through an information campaign. Trees in public places must be their wards and no one should be allowed to cut, mutilate, or stress them out.

The proliferation and inordinate use of manmade materials that are unsustainable has to be looked into. Plastic is overwhelming our oceans and our country is one of the worst plastic polluters. While I hear of local governments and big store chains banning the use of these materials, there is no information and alternative suggestions for the sidewalk and market entrepreneurs that use these polluting materials extensively. I heard that Thailand has suggested and maybe mandated the use of banana leaves to wrap food bought on the street. Surely, banana leaves can be found and put to use here for our food vendors who do not use biodegradable wrappers. Local governments should lead the way here, even find a source of banana leaves or any other biodegradable material that is available and affordable for current plastic users.

Another disrupter of Nature are the high-rise buildings that flout height restrictions in residential areas by locating there. They actually block sunlight for their neighbors which in other countries has been ruled by the courts to be a felony for which they have been fined and asked to allow the sunshine to return. Here they are allowed to ruin their neighbors’ gardens and peace by allowing them to be built in inappropriate areas. When will we learn that sunshine is vital to health for both man and plants? And that if one is deprived of it by another it is effectively a theft?

Meanwhile, I am paying close attention to my garden to nurture the trees better, keep the grass growing healthily. Birds are daily visitors and we must make them welcome by allowing some chicos, mangoes, guavas to be left on the fruit trees for them. Equally, we should leave some underbrush or unmanicured spots for birds to nest in. I keep seeing kingfishers coming out of these areas regularly which makes me think they are dwelling there or have nests there. But I will not pry, just let them be.

I am happy to say that the saraca tree (asoka indica, one of its many scientific names, introduced to the Philippines from India or Malaysia) that someone had given me has produced clumps of orange blooms now at the expected time for its blooming. It was a small shrub given by a friend and planting it where it gets the sunrise from the east and regular watering has made it grow and produce lovely blooms. It did so because it was nurtured. Nature must be nurtured more than ever at this stage of our pollution levels.

Wishing all a happy, healthy and comfortable coming summer season.