When trees get in the way of ‘progress’

The public uproar over the cutting of mature trees along Quirino Avenue in Manila is not going away soon, despite repeated assurances from government authorities that the environmental assault was legally permitted and complied with strict environmental regulations.

Metro Manila now feels as though it is being baked in intense urban heat, with a heat index forecast to soar to 44 degrees Celsius yesterday—classified as a “danger level.” This oppressive heat is certain to intensify public frustration over how development is being managed in the urban jungle that we call home.

It is ironic that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is defending what a Catholic bishop described as “ecological violence” (see https://tinyurl.com/2swwn92u), which primarily victimizes the urban poor and also harms daily commuters.

San Carlos City Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, the president of Caritas Philippines, has joined the growing clamor to immediately save nearly 400 trees, which are among the 617 mature trees targeted for destruction to make way for the construction of the Southern Luzon Access Link Expressway (SALEx) project.

Some 225 trees, including a 50-year-old narra tree, were no match for the chainsaws that felled them, leaving a horrible sight of tree stumps that has angered motorists and passersby.

“[It] is an act of ecological violence against the people of Manila, a direct assault on the poor who have been enduring the daily penance of extreme heat, poisoned air, and sudden floods,” the good bishop said, lamenting the loss of the decades-old trees that once lined Quirino Avenue, a major highway that connects the progressive cities of Manila and Makati. He called these felled trees “silent protectors” that offered shade and relief to pedestrians in a densely urbanized city like Manila.

A public-private partnership project spearheaded by San Miguel Corp., the 40.62-km SALEx is an under-construction elevated expressway network, which will consist of the proposed Shoreline Expressway at R-10 in Manila and three Skyway Stage extensions—C3-R10, Quirino Avenue, and Buendia Avenue. The Quirino Extension will connect the Quirino Interchange to the existing Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3.

Legal vs moral. Development for whom?

Alminaza took exception to the perceived insensitivity of private contractors and government regulators to the plight of vulnerable communities. “Why must ‘development’ always demand the sacrifice of the vulnerable? Why are our cities designed for vehicles and concrete instead of for children, workers, pedestrians, and the elderly?” he asked, adding: “We refuse to hide this injustice behind bureaucratic language. What is legal on paper is not automatically moral in the eyes of God.”

Environmental and urban poor activists, netizens, and the public at large are up in arms against this environmental assault on mature trees along Quirino Avenue, which not only provide shade for pedestrians but also serve as a natural flood-control defense (minus corruption) and help cool the planet through their high carbon sequestration capacity. The question that haunts all of us living in an urban environment is twofold: When will developers and government agencies, especially those tasked with safeguarding people’s lives and a healthy environment, stop treating trees as obstructions to progress, and when will development be people- and environment-centered?

In other words, can people and nature really coexist well?

We have been taught since grade school about the benefits of trees around us. To refresh the memories of those behind these tree-cutting operations, let’s turn to the Nature Conservancy, a United States-founded global environmental nonprofit, that is “working to create a world where people and nature can thrive.”

The Nature Conservancy highlights that trees offer vital benefits for the environment, economy, and public health. They help combat climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide, cool cities by providing shade, decrease the risk of flooding by soaking up stormwater, and filter harmful air pollutants. Additionally, trees can increase property values, reduce energy expenses, and enhance mental health. (See https://tinyurl.com/yzabhrdy)

Our country does not enforce a blanket ban on tree cutting. According to a statement from the DENR-National Capital Region, as reported by the Philippine News Agency, tree-cutting is not automatically allowed; every application goes through a thorough evaluation process. Some eligible trees will not be cut but will instead be relocated through earth-balling or transplantation based on evaluations by DENR foresters and environmental specialists. Additionally, the permit mandates planting 50,700 replacement seedlings within Manila City.

But one wonders whether the congested City of Manila has any open space for such massive tree planting activity, except to plant nonhardwood varieties like bamboo and ornamental plants, which is what the developer is poised to do.

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