Posted on February 16, 2021
BACOLOD – Environmentalists are up in arms over the planned dredging of rivers in E.B. Magalona, Negros Occidental.
“Double jeopardy” was how the Green Alert Environmental Network (GAEN) described the intervention of the provincial government supposedly to mitigate flooding.
Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson ordered the dredging of heavily silted rivers in the town. A private firm will undertake it “at no cost to the province.”
The dredging, however, will negatively impact the local blue swimming crab industry, the group warned.
They also pointed out that dredging could even worsen the flooding in the area and economically displace the residents.
“Who will pay for their livelihood loss? There is no assurance from government officials,” GAEN said.
Data from the Negros Occidental Provincial Command Center showed the early January floods submerged the cities of Victorias, Silay and Talisay, and E.B. Magalona town, all in the 3rd District. They reported millions of pesos in losses in agriculture and fishery.
Meanwhile, GAEN said the extraction of black sand will release harmful substances and increase water turbidity.
“Toxic metals could negatively affect marine biodiversity and slow land subsidence may occur. Black sand mining can cause much economic damage aside from flooding, although spread out over a longer period,” the group said.
The blue swimming crabs industry is the sustainable backbone of E. B. Magalona’s economy.
According to GAEN, Negros Occidental produces about five tons of blue swimming crabs per day. This P8-billion industry is the fourth largest in the country, based on 2016 data.
GAEN said nine out of 23 barangays of E.B. Magalona depend on coastal resources, and black sand mining would not be beneficial to the town’s populace.
They pointed out sand bars that have formed in the area also serve as natural protection from high waves and typhoons.
“Once gone, prepare for the worst nightmare,” the group stressed.
The environmentalist group urged Negrenses to be vocal over the proposed dredging activity in order to save the town’s crab industry./PN
