UNESCO DG LETTER

The Director-General 18 FEB 2011
Ref.: DG/2.8/11/5864/419

Dear Secretary,

Honorable Dr Alberto G. Romulo
Secretary of Foreign Affairs Chairman of
the National Commission of the Philippines
for UNESCO G/F Department of Foreign Affairs
Bldg. 2330 Roxaz Boulevard Pasay City, Manila Philippines

Over the last few days, I have received over 4000 e-mails from
environmental and indigenous groups voicing concerns over mining
activities in the Palawan Biosphere Reserve, which is located in your
country. As you know, the Palawan Biosphere Reserve was included in
the World Network of Biosphere Reserves in 1990. A sample e-mail is
attached to this letter for your information .

In this context, I wish to invite you kindly to provide a
comprehensive report to UNESCO on the mining situation in the Palawan
Biosphere Reserve, and to inform me on whether current and future
mining activities would have adverse impacts on the core zones of the
biosphere reserve. While mining may occur in buffer and transition
zones of biosphere reserves , it is on the condition that it respects
environmental safeguards and the regulations governing biosphere
reserves, as well as the interests and well-being of local and
indigenous communities.

We would appreciate it if the Philippines authorities could monitor
the situation closely. Ideally, an open meeting with different
stakeholders could be organized so that a constructive dialogue could
be initiated among the various parties concerned, most particularly as
regards environmental conservation, sustainable development and local
and indigenous issues. Should the Philippines authorities so wish, a
UNESCO mission could be fielded to Palawan at an appropriate time to
participate in and contribute to such a process.

I look forward to hearing from you shortly on this issue and take this
opportunity to thank you for your co-operation in implementing
biosphere reserve activities in the Philippines.

Yours sincerely,

Irina Bokowa

Outside the cottage 'dorm' where we lived as students. With my father.

One saturday, a friend asked me to ‘jog’ with him before sunrise. I wore my school rubber shoes, cotton shorts and tee. Jogging down in the steely curving inclines was like being pulled by gravity. I don’t remember how fast (or slow) we went but our run was downward and easier on the legs so kept on running until we hit the Auditorium. The cold air caused friction with my legs which made them feel itchy.
There were also these tiny flying bugs which seemed to hang in the air while their wings flapped rapidly, invisible until I swallowed the whole bug with my open mouth. Invisible bugs were a minor nuisance compared to the stink bugs. Once the little green insects ends up smashed or even slighly brushed against your clothing, the strong odor stuck unless washed with soap.

The Auditorium, National Arts Center, Mt. Makiling

http://ibarangs.multiply.com/

At the grass outside the pyramid-auditorium, we walked around and sat down to watch the sunrise, smelled some of the jasmine flowers which grew nearby, and hunted for guavas to eat. We tried running up but got winded soon after. This ‘jogging’ ritual got us hooked, and weekdays became a test of how far we can run and what new things the mountain would reveal. On some days we got as far as the Marvilla guest houses, and discovered rows of miniature guava bushes (with enough crispy fruit to pick), tiny crickets and countless spiderwebs white with dew. One weekend, we got rewarded with a pair of huge turquoise-and-black winged butterflies fluttering from the trees into the road. In June, when the monsoon rains hit heavily, it left hundreds of huge fat earthworms stranded on the concrete road. The poor worms were unable to crawl back into wet soil, and dried up quickly under the sun, leaving crispy brown ‘shells’ of exoskeletons.
Back then we never stretched, and I don’t remember drinking water until after the run. After the post-jog breakfast in the cafeteria, I’d plop down in my bunk bed and nap with my legs propped on the wall. My ballet dancer roommate said that raising the legs after exercise was good for the blood circulation. The dance majors knew most about these things (the were pretty fast and graceful sprinters too) also supplied us with advice on stretching, so we did those too. I wasn’t fast enough to be noticeable (we only jogged on saturdays) by the PE teachers, but all I wanted to do was run in all the PE activities instead of the requisite basketball (which I hated.)
Decades later, I will always look back at my first venture into running, with vivid images that will always be in my memory.

Gearing up with helmets, harness and cable safety cord

here's one tough guy!

Gab the brave!

The latter was a much faster version of Superman, in upright positions while harnessed to a t-shaped metal bar . Once in position, we were ‘zipped’ from ground level to about 50 feet mid-air then ‘swing’ crazily before zipping to the other end, zip from it and swing back and forth.

Walking through the trees

midway swing

whew..glad it's over!