ILOILO CITY — Senator Loren Legarda and Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu on Thursday led the launch of the book, “From the Seas to the Mountains”, a compilation of the knowledge practices of the people of the island of Panay and Guimaras.
The book is a project of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), spearheaded by the University of the Philippines-Visayas and in collaboration with the various state colleges and universities (SUCs) in the islands.
Legarda, in her speech, noted the importance of the traditional knowledge system as it covers vast subjects, such as arts and crafts, literature, health care, agriculture, forestry, and biodiversity.
She said indigenous peoples’ groups in the Philippines possess their own traditional knowledge that has been passed on from our generation to the next.
“But many of us, sometimes, do not recognize the influence of traditional practices,” she said.
Legarda said one of the book’s highlights is the spread of health and wellness from the sea, which enumerates some of the interesting species of Panay’s flora and fauna that have been used by indigenous communities for medicinal purposes.
The lady senator recalled that it was in 2016 when they allocated PHP10 million from the national budget for the book project.
She announced that they are planning to produce another book, this time for her home province of Antique, initially entitled, “Antique, where the mountains meet the Sea”. She said the proposed book will be her legacy because it is her last term in the Senate.
“This will have 18 chapters, representing the 18 towns of the tangible and intangible heritage of Antique. If other provinces would like to do something like that, why not,” she added.
Legarda said that the book, “From the Seas to the Mountains”, is just the beginning of the continuing collaboration of government agencies and SUCs on culture and nature.
“Without culture and nature, there is no tourism to speak of in Boracay; there is no livelihood to speak of in Panay because the preservation of our culture, the protection of nature and the documentation of nature and culture, it is what will set us apart from the rest of the country and the world,” she added.
Cimatu described the book as a “book for prosperity.”
“We wanted to preserve in written, as well as visual record, of how traditional knowledge systems and practices promoted cultural resiliency and sustainable development in the islands of Panay and Guimaras,” he said.
He said the “traditional practice of protecting and conserving our environment was reversed because of the over-development of Boracay.”
However, Cimatu said that since the island is now on its fourth month of a six-month rehabilitation, a “new and better” Boracay will reopen on October 26.
“The book on traditional knowledge practices mirrors the mandate of the DENR to conserve, manage and develop the environment and natural resources of the country for the welfare of the present and future generations of Filipinos,” he said.
The book was made possible through the collaboration of UPV, Guimaras State University, Aklan State University, University of Antique, Capiz State University and West Visayas State University.
During the launch, copies of the book were distributed among congressmen in Panay and Guimaras, governors and SUCs.
Prof. Martin G. Genodepa, editor of the book, hoped it would be able to contribute to the preservation of the islands’ intangible cultural heritage.
“This, in return, will foster a more culturally resilient people who work with nature and the environment and make possible development that is sustainable,” he said in his speech.
Held at the covered gym of the UPV, the book launch also marked the International Indigenous Peoples Day. (Cindy Ferrer/PNA)
