Conservation wins at former U.S. military base

Subic Bay used to be the largest overseas military base of the U.S. armed forces. It operated as a naval base for about 110 years. In June 1992, months after the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, the base was turned to the Philippine government.

Volunteers have managed to keep the base clean and to protect the remnants of the lowland forests that used to blanket the Philippine island of Luzon. Today, despite its being a thriving industrial zone, Subic's forests are left largely intact.

By Marietta V. Journey

MANILA, Philippines: The absence of garbage is the first thing a visitor to the Subic Special Economic and Free Port Zone notices. Simply called Subic Bay in the past, the area was the largest overseas military base of the U.S. armed forces. It is now one of the Southeast Asia's fastest-growing industrial zones.

After a two-and-half hours' drive from heavily polluted Manila, passing through not-so clean towns, visitors are often overwhelmed by the unexpected cleanliness of the 700-square kilometers beaches. Where ships used to dock for repairs, Subic is now bustling with various factories and, as a testament to its cleanliness, tourist resorts.

Until early last year, people were skeptical that the abandoned naval base could be transformed from a wasteland into a thriving free port, without destroying the remaining forests and beaches. So far, the government has succeeded, and Subic now attracts an average of 50,000 visitors a month, with hundreds of volunteers regularly cleaning the area.

Major portions of the base had sunk under the volcanic debris spewed by the nearby Mt. Pinatubo during a series of eruptions in June l992. Five months later, the U.S. armed forces turned over the ash-strewn base to the Philippine government. The ceremony officially ended 110 years of naval base operations, first by the Spanish Naval Commission from l884, then by the U.S. navy from 1903 to l992.

While residents were concerned for their jobs, they also wondered about the fate of the base's rainforest and marine ecosystems after the U.S. pull-out. At fora after fora, they repeatedly asked, "What will happen to the lowland evergreen forest that is home to centuries-old trees and high diversity of wildlife?"

Subic's 110 square-kilometers jungle is famous in the Philippines as the last intact virgin forest in the whole mountainous Central Luzon. Since the public was barred from entering the forest --which was used for jungle survival training by the U.S. armed forces--the primeval forest was left largely unclogged, preserving rare Philippine wildlife.

Combine efforts led by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resour- ces (DENR), eventually paved the way for a natural resources management program to conserve the Subic Forest.

Campaign

A campaign called Bantai Gubat ( Guard the forest) was launched on Earth Day, April 22, l992. It was a joint project of the DENR, the U.S. agency for international Development (USAID), and WWF-World Wide Fund for Nature.

SBMA also launched a forest protection program which now provides training for forest guards. Volunteers from local non- governmental organizations and the Aeta tribal communities, the original residents of Subic Forest, are also actively involved in the program.

Late last year, the SBMA ecology center began implementing a conservation program for the entire Subic Bay, with technical assistance from WWF. Among other activities, the program has already established as biodiversity conservation training center in Subic.

The SBMA-WWF conservation program will also conclude a full inventory of Subic forest.Initial surveys conducted recently by botanist Dr. Domingo Madulid around the Mt. Pinatubo and Zambales mountains--including the Subic forest-- indicated the urgency for a full inventory to conserve rare endemic plants in the area. Madulid identified four rare endemic orchids, several tree species and woody vines.

In addition, the program will asses the contamination of the former naval base by toxic and hazardous substances generated during its years of operation. A recent World Health Organization study concluded that the former ship-repair facility at the base involved the heavy use of chlorinated, pesticides, herbicides, and explosives.

Today, most of the volcanic debris at Subic have been cleared. The water in the bay is clear and inviting. there are no plastic bags floating around. Robust mangrove trees line the coast, and the rubbish-free white sands beaches glisten under the sun.

A day drive to the forest reveals fruits bats sleeping unabashedly on the branches of tall trees. Long-tailed macaques come out at crossroads at the approach of tourist to beg for food. Visible, too, are native birds such as swifts, fiches, doves and orioles. But rarely seen on the trails are wild bears, wild cats, and carabaos, which WWF described in his reports as "still unstudied feral carabao population"

The current business boom at Subic is a sign that the SBMA officials will eventually succeed in their expressed goal of developing the area into the rival the economic zones of Singapore, Hong Kong and China.

But WWF expressed caution. "Threats to critical ecosystem and their associated biological diversity in mostly rapidly developing region of the world are now alarming ," it is said in the project proposal for establishing the biodiversity conservation training center.

Explaining the importance of the center,WWF pointed out that while a number of training institutions throughout Asia are beginning to tackle many related needs, there is a definite niche for a field-based training and research center in Subic.

The center is situated within a forest, and where there is existing high-quality infrastructure with self-sufficient power supply. There are already buildings for housing and conference rooms, and space for laboratories and offices.

"Access to world-class facilities, highly skilled workers, institutional support, and an intact tropical watershed including primary rainforest, mangrove swamp, and marine biomes, at Subic s unrivaled in Asia," WWF pointed out.

The project represents an opportunity for those interested in the conversion of what was the U.S.'s largest overseas military base for peaceful purposes, and, in the process, protect the environment.

-- WWF