I was in Boracay last April, the same time GMA was there, as guest of honor during the groundbreaking rites of the $75 million Shangri-la Resort and Spa, the first luxury hotel to be put up in that area.
Upon hearing about the project, I immediately thought of the horrible environmental impacts it will have on the island. I was thinking that, as it is, Boracay is already too crowded and too polluted. The construction of a hotel is sure to bring in more tourists which will generate more trash. Without a proper waste management scheme, damage to the island is imminent. I was worried about the garbage situation, that I didn't realize there was going to be a bigger, more immediate cause for concern.
About a week ago, I received an email which is being forwarded from someone who has been to Boracay recently and has witnessed the alarming destruction being done to it, due to the construction of the Shangri-la Hotel in the island. I am posting her message here, for everyone to read.
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Date: Fri, 9 Dec 2005 05:56:12 -0800 (PST)
From: Lara Tajanlangit
Subject: Shangri-la's Paved Paradise in Boracay
Last Sunday, December 4, while my plane was passing over Boracay, I noticed a large brown hole in the forest where 3 species of flying foxes (the endangered and endemic Golden-crowned Flying Fox, the threatened Giant Flying Fox and the common Island Flying Fox) are roosting in the island.
The site looked really bare from the plane. As soon as I landed I contacted the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau Representative in the island, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) preparer of the Shangri-la Boracay Hotel and Renee Lorica, who has studied the bats in the island for a year, and is now based in Bacolod.
The next day, the EIA preparer told me to talk to the Project Director of Shangri-la Boracay so he can explain to me the development plans and mitigating measures. I decided it would be best if I went to the Shangri-la site with the DENR-EMB representative so he can monitor the site as well.
When we arrived at the site this morning, the project director showed us the development plans and explained the mitigating measures for the clearing they were presently doing, which included planting, landscaping, catchments for storm water runoffs, among others. I expressed my fears that siltation will affect the coral reefs and that the future clearing and construction noise might affect the bats roosting in the nearby forest.
I requested that they hire a wildlife biologist familiar with the flying foxes to monitor the behavior and condition of the bat roost during the 2-year construction period and to allow Renee Lorica access to their site so she can pursue her study on the bats' roosting patterns to guide the development.
I also expressed my concern for the endangered sea turtles nesting on the beach, since he also mentioned that they will be barging in construction materials.
He assured me Shangri-la has a team of tree doctors, oceanographers and environmental consultants overlooking the construction activities.
After a long discussion, we finally went to the site. To my dismay, the destruction even looked worse on land. At least half of the mountain side was being bulldozed (around 2 hectares according to the estimate of the DENR representative with me). Only a handful fo trees were left on the cleared slope. All the second-growth limestone forest, small trees, and plants that used to cover the mountain side were uprooted and piled on one side to be composted. Coconut trees were being chainsawed to be given to the local community.
I was afraid that the noise created by the chainsaw and bulldozers will affect the bats roosting nearby. I am also concerned that with the heavy rains the past few days, siltation will occur. I did not see any catchment basins installed to catch stormwater.
After we left the site, I expressed my disappointment to the DENR representative for allowing this type of development to take place; for allowing them to clear and quarry one of the last reamaining forested mountains in the island; and for adding to the threats facing the already endangered flying foxes that play a vital role in the regeneration of forests in Boracay and the neighboring northwest Panay peninsula.
I know that we cannot rebuild the mountain side that has been destroyed... what has been done has already been done. Shangri-la has to ensure us that no further earthmoving and cutting be allowed. It has already done enough damage. Replanting should be done immediately to ensure that chances of siltation and landslides be minimized. Heavy equipments should be banned in the area --- the noise generated can drive out the roosting bats and wildife in the surrounding forest.
Please tell Shangri-la Hotel they should review their development plans and re-evaluate their priorities. What must come first? A huge lobby and landscaped gardens or the protection of the last remaining forest of Boracay and endagered species? These are important choices and the answers to these questions speak of the integrity and principles of the Shangri-la group. The world is changing, more tourists are willing to pay more for environmental protection. Please let Shangri-la know that drastic environmental destruction will just destroy the very attraction of the island -- its natural God-given beauty.
They have a social responsibility to the local community, to the island, their guests, and to future generations.
Lara
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I haven't heard or read anything about this in the news, but a press release from the Office of the Press Secretary says that through the Boracay project, Kuok Properties, owners of the Shangri-la Hotel chain, is actually supporting GMA's 10-point agenda which aims to create 10 million jobs through local and foreign investments and through the tourism industry. Hmm. They must have thought, "We'll be doing irreparable damage and possibly facilitating the collapse of a fragile ecosystem but we'll be satisfying GMA's 10-point agenda, which has nothing in it about the environment anyway. So, what do yout think? Let's do it! The president will be very pleased."
By the way, a note attached to the email says that as the construction goes on, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and the Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) are yet to be issued by the DENR. These 2 documents are pre-requisites before any construction work is undertaken.
