Withering heights: conflicting national and indigenous laws are slowly destroying Mt. Pulag. (Cover Story: Cordillera Greens).

As mysterious and sacred as it is breathtaking and beautiful, Mt. Pulag, is home not only to a diverse range of animal and plant species, but is also home to a culture of gods and spirits.

For generations, Mt. Pulag has fascinated millions of locals and tourists alike. It is the second highest mountain in the Philippines rising 2,992 meters above sea level in Kabayan, Benguet.

Mt. Pulag is a sanctuary to some 76 bird species, a variety of animals and about 106 species of spore and seed-bearing plants. It is also a critical headwater of Luzon and its waters feed the Agno and Catnaan rivers and the dams and irrigations systems of the lowlands.

For centuries, the tribes of the Kalanguya, Ibaloi and Kankana-ey living at the foot of Mt. Pulag have served as its protector. Believed to be a sacred mountain where the gods dwelled and where the soul will finally meet Kabunian, Supreme Being of the Cordilleras, the protection of Mt. Pulag was governed by customary law and an indigenous resource management system which considered exploiting forest resources evil and punishable. As such, even such normal human activities as shouting, defecating, picking wild plants, and even kissing are prohibited in the area, lest these anger the gods.

However, State Law on natural resources, whose conservationist policies aimed at preventing exploitation of resources and maintaining biodiversity, has resulted in the deterioration not only of the park, but also of their resource management system.

Case in point: the declaration of Mt. Pulag not only as a National Park but also as a protected area (through the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act of 1992), has not only created conflict between State laws and indigenous laws (which are recognized under the IPRA law), it has also opened Mt. Pulag up to exploitation, giving enterprising individuals access to its rich resources.

As such, an area which has previously been off-limits to non-indigenous peoples has now been opened to everyone, giving rise to illegal activities such as the trapping and selling of birds and animals such as the cloud rat, the cutting and selling of forest products and timber and the desecration of sacred sites. Last month, at least 50 of the 800 hectares of the mountain's grassland were deliberately burned by still unidentified individuals.

Recent shifts in economic activities (from economic subsistence to commercialized resource extraction) has also opened Mt. Pulag up to agricultural purposes such as commercial vegetable gardening and irrigation which have resulted in farming practices that are destroying its ecological balance, such as the use of pesticides and kaingin (slash-and-burn farming).The construction of farm-to-market roads near Mt. Pulag has also further encouraged locals to encroach into forestlands.

As DENR and the local people struggle against all these problems by strictly enforcing NIPAS/NIPAP policies and regulations, promoting alternative livelihood projects, agro-forestry and other sustainable farming techniques and the promotion and development of ecological tourism, these may not be enough to control the disintegration of Mt. Pulag. Making the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act (IPRA) work for the local people, allowing it to emancipate and empower them, giving them rightful control over their domains -will go a long way in ensuring that the riches of Mt. Pulag will be protected for generations to come.

References: Ti Similla, April 2002

Desiree Caluza, PDI correspondent