During her term as Mayor of Davao City, Inday Sara Duterte embarked on an impressive ecotourism project that identified Eden, Tagurano and Catigan barangays as tourism triad.
This was one of the hallmark legislations in Davao City and did not meet any objections, not even from from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
The three barangays used to be timberlands but had been logged over. It therefore stands to reason that the undulating area be fit for either agro-forest, for ecotourism or both as what Mayor Inday Sara had envisioned.
A classic example is how the development of Eden Nature Park transformed the logged over and barren land where only cogon grass had grown. The amiable lady Fe Ayala known for her green thumb developed a portion of the now famous mountain resort for vegetable garden. A lover of nature that she was she started reforesting the area with hundreds of pine trees and nurtured what were left of the native mahoganies and saplings. In just over a decade copious flow of water revived the dried river bed now lined up with mahogany and ornamental trees. Elsewhere mangosteen plantation grew luxuriantly and productive.
We are certain that one of the inspirations and motivations of then Mayor Inday Sara is Eden Nature Park. Thus, she hoped that the logged over timberlands of Eden, Tagurano and Catigan be earmarked for ecotourism development.
This drew local investors to these places. In Barangay Catigan a young couple responded to the challenge of Mayor Sara and started developing an area that is a good mix of ecotourism. Catigan Mountain Breeze Resort is just a starter since the road infrastructure in the barangay is yet to be improved. A restaurant and pool overlooking the vast expanse of the city and a four-bedrooms-cottage but with state-of-the art bath and restrooms are what they have to start with. In the meanwhile the young tourism entrepreneurs had started planting trees to keep the cool and green environment and where visitors can also camp overnight.
Encouraged by the initial response from guests and domestic tourists including queries for group studies and conferences, Catigan Mountain Breeze Resort applied for a permit for an additional building to accommodate more tourists. The tribal community welcomed the plan as the resort has provided employment to them and they too look at the prospects that their products will also be patronized by the resort and guests.
To the horror of the owners of Catigan Mountain Breeze Resort however their application was declined for the simple reason that the area which a year ago was designated for tourism is now declared for “progressive forest” development.
We learned that the resort owner sought the help of a city councilor who appeared to be helpless. For which reason we now ask both the City Council and the Office of the City Mayor whether a memorandum from the City Planning and Development Office or even a new advisory from DENR be superior to local laws and Ordinances?
When, from the start, DENR officially did not object to the declaration of Eden, Tagurano an Catigan as tourism area, it simply cannot reclassify the area overnight just because a new Regional Director had been appointed. His views as well as his memorandum cannot supplant local laws. And that is true with local inter-office memos within the city government.
Besides timberlands can in fact be developed into ecotourism areas as what Mayor Sara Duterte and the City Council then have envisioned and, by local edict, approved.
Ecotourism revives deforested and barren areas into a mix of natural beauty of endemic trees and agro forests which the resort owner as well as the tribesmen can plant and nurture. Thereafter, wildlife of fauna and flora will come to life anew offering tourists and students to appreciate the rich resources that Davao City has. As with Eden Nature Park guests now enjoy outdoor activities like fishing, walking, camping and stay overnight in cottages enjoying the cool breeze any time during days or nights in an environment of thousands of trees planted and nurtured by the resort owners. That comprehends of conservation of flora and fauna resources and without even knowing that it addresses the adverse effects of climate change.
Of course hotels can be constructed in timberlands especially those that had been declared into tourism areas moreover it is imperative for the investors to ascertain that environmental and the impact on the community are of primordial concern.
