Earlier this year, my dad and uncle went to Brunei to help facilitate the construction of a dam there. My dad did the surveying of the area while my uncle designed the dam.
It was a good tandem and I'm proud of them, except that they'd have to cut 200 hectares of forest trees and wildlife in order to construct it:((
If you happen to know Magat Dam up North (biggest dam in Asia when it was built) along the border of Quirino and Isabela, it is interesting to note that in order to construct it, they paid the people living in that area to leave the place. (THE ANIMALS WEREN'T PAID!!!)
Aerial view of Magat Dam
Now they have people living above the river near it.
At the bank of the river, they have a mini market where they can sell their newly caught fishes.
They deforested the area and flooded it with water coming from the Cagayan River. My uncle designed and headed the team who built it.
We visited it last summer and we rode a boat in the river near the dam. It was a beautiful sight - at one side, you can see the natural horizon. If you'd look at the other side, there is a man made horizon because of the wall of the dam.
They'll be constructing the new dam in Brunei this September and I really wanted to scream to my dad the harm he's doing to the environment for the sake of progress. How about the long term costs of what they're doing!?
You may not see it but I'm really passionate about what I believe in. We should be stewards of the Earth and not drain its resources for our own benefit.
So to have someone (or two) inside you own family who destroy 200 hectares and years worth of evolution and growth is something that is hard to accept. What can I do? He's the one who pays my tuition.
It's a chilling thought that families of animals which have lived in that area of the forest would have to go, or even die because of selfish human progress. The trees who stood there longer than the oldest man alive, will have to give its glory up for us small men just to satisfy our crave for more efficiency and progress.
5 comments:
well maybe they can plant trees again at another area... i think it would be okay for a dam to be constructed. Haha
well they can't just "plant" the animals who lived there... and it will take hundreds of years before you can have the same vegetation as the area they deforested.
I love the Earth, but where do you suggest humans go if we need progress? Progress comes with its sacrificial disadvantages. If we can't save mother earth in the name of progress, how do you suggest "WE LESSEN" our impact on nature?
I want to hear your answer on the previous comment :) GO NEIL!
I'll dedicate a blog for this reply. But for now: Not progress for the sake of development, but progress for the sake of humanity.
I may not be the right person to be speaking in behalf of those who oppose big institutions, but i'll try to outline my points as best as i could later.
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