River systems
Angel Alcala
‘It is time that national and local government agencies realize that river systems cannot be ignored; they can either make or break human communities and human infrastructures.’
The importance of river systems in the country does not require explanation. Everybody knows how essential they are in the normal functioning of nature and human communities. Realizing this role, the Silliman-Commission on Higher Education Zonal Research Center (SUZRC) at Dumaguete City, started a research program in 2008 for the period 2008-2011.
This program aims to show the biological connections between forest and marine ecosystems, including the transition between freshwaters and marine waters (the estuarine zone). The marine ecosystems had been dealt with earlier in the early 2000s.The extension of the SUZRCs program to include rivers will enlarge our knowledge and appreciation of aquatic ecosystems in the hope that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) will focus their research investigations on these natural ecosystems and start their own conservation projects.
Recent natural events in 2009 have demonstrated the important function of rivers in the ecology of nature in these days of climate anomalies. It is time that national and local government agencies realize that river systems cannot be ignored; they can either make or break human communities and human infrastructures. Furthermore, river systems are essential in the maintenance of natural productivity both inside rivers and outside, as demonstrated by a number of research studies. Some of these studies report very high rates of primary productivity in terms of carbon fixed per unit area, per year.
On Negros Island, two river systems are being studied: the Pagatban River and the Bago River. On Panay Island, the Jalaur River is being studied. Other rivers on Negros, Panay, and Siquijor will follow. The Cagayan de Oro River is also in the list.
Initial results of of the Bago River and Jalaur River studies are of interest. Drafts of a couple of potential research articles have been written that show that a number exotic fish species are found in these rivers. The next step would be to determine the effects of the introduction on the native species of fish species. What these findings show is that Philippine authorities responsible for preventing the introduction of exotic species can be accused of negligence in the implementation of the laws pertaining to wildlife. The country could lose face before the international community.
Another paper draft deals with new records of fish in the Bago River, an addition to our knowledge of Philippine biodiversity. Still another draft talks about the role of small islands that are separated from the mainland in the survival (and long term evolution) of a vertebrate species. The fourth paper lists the resident and migratory birds in the estuary and mouth of the Bago River. There is evidence that the conservation effort of the Mayor of Pulupandan town, Negros Occidental has been effective in the conservation of biodiversity, and this is good news!
There are more papers that can come out of the river systems project, if all of the research team members will do their parts.
Aside from the scientific results, the research exercise has definitely shown positive signs of capability building on the part of several faculty members from five HEIs in Bacolod City, where research in the natural sciences had been totally neglected before the implementation of CHED-supported research projects a few years ago.