WEEKS after the newly elected and re-elected councilors of Davao City, we raised in this column an idea for a possible ordinance that will help address the problem of the city’s deteriorating environment.
We were hoping that a few from them will consider and instruct their “consultants” or researchers to do some study and come up with a draft for presentation to the plenary.
The idea for a measure is either for a new ordinance or amendment to an existing one. The idea has something to do with putting more teeth on local government policies regarding opening of new poultry and swine farms even if these will be situated in areas designated by the city’s zoning or land use plan.
The idea we have in mind is for new poultry or swine farms to put up what we term as bio-fence as they start the development of their farm sites. The bio-fence must be made a major requirement for the approval of the business permit application as well as in renewing the same annually.
What is a bio-fence in the first place? It is the planting of leaves-and branch-heavy trees in the entire perimeter of the farm compound. It is in addition to the fence – either made of hollow blocks or barb or hog wire. The trees have to be planted at least three rows thick.
It is expected that with the trees well-taken cared of, these will be full-grown and already having branches with thick leaves in three to five years’ time.
How do the trees serve their purpose as bio-fence and help improve the environment, especially in the nearby communities?
Two things are certain to happen inside the farm compound. One is that as the hundreds or even several thousand heads of chicken are made to grow to their desired size and weight, roughly .8 kilo for forty five days or less, the repugnant smell of the chicken dung is carried by the air out into the immediate communities. The situation is exactly similar inside piggery farms and its nearby areas.
Another is while the chicken or the hogs are awaiting harvest, the animal wastes attract hordes of flies. When harvest season comes, the flies remain. But since the farms have to be sprayed with insecticides and cleaned to prepare the same for the new batch of chicks or piglets, the flies get out of the compound and invade the nearby villages.
Now with grown trees serving as bio-fence the very obnoxious odor from the compound will be unable to slip outside. The reason is that the leaves of the bio-fence trees will absorb the carbon dioxide-laden smell.
At the same time, the trees block the hordes of flies from escaping out into the communities. Instead, they will stick on the tree leaves as the undesirable odor stays on the leaves after this is absorbed.
Given the situation, the residents in the vicinity of the poultry or hog farms will certainly be saved the trouble of breathing air adulterated with chicken or hog waste smell.
No one will be going to the City Council, especially its Health or Environment Committee, to complain and beg the members for palliative measures if only to give relief to the suffering people in the surrounding communities of the poultry or swine farm.
Unfortunately, there is this possibility that no one member has read our column with that idea as subject. All the councilors could possibly be very busy with other things, or they may be pre-occupied with doing what little they may be able to help bring former President and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte back to the Philippines, specifically to Davao City, from The Hague, Netherlands.
Of course, we do not close the chance that the councilors may have other better ideas of ordinances or measures that can improve the city’s environment. Or would they rather think of measures that will bring in more money to the city like allowing destruction of hill sides to give way to high-end residential enclaves and posh memorial parks at the expense of the city’s environment?
By the way, a bio-fence can serve purposes other than as a natural bar of flies and offensive smell in the vicinity of poultry and hog farms. It can also help prevent landslides and vehicles from falling in roads along deep embankments like the stretch from New Carmen to New Valencia in the city’s third district.
The trees there mostly narra, tugas, Indian tree and mahogany, with about two to three meters apart were planted on the roadside some 15 years ago by employees of Davao Light and taken care of by the people in the community. These are now fully grown and serve as protection of the cliff from landslides and as a natural barrier to prevent vehicles from falling off the cliff.
