By Lora Monina P. Arquiza

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 18 April) – If mountains could speak, what would they say? If they had a voice, what is the message?

Such is the question that lingered in my thoughts when Mt. Apo was reopened to climbers last April 12. And if Mt. Apo can indeed speak, will we ever listen?

I was surprised to learn that the Mt. Apo Natural Park – Protected Area Management Board (MANP-PAMB) passed a resolution last March 23, which lifted the five-year minimum “indefinite closure” of Mt.

Apo to trekkers, effective April 12. Naturally, I had plenty of questions about the reasons behind the decision.

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And this has been proven by numerous studies (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 2010; Bille et al., 2012; Roe et al., 2015). Biodiversity conservation can be a route out of poverty.

To hit two birds with one stone, the government and conservationists can work with local communities (and pay them fairly) in the rehabilitation of Mt. Apo. That way, both biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction can be done together.

So I ask again: If mountains could speak, what would they say? If they had a voice, what is the message? And if Mt. Apo can indeed speak, will we ever listen? If we’re not careful, history will repeat itself and there’s no one to blame but us.

[Lora Monina P. Arquiza is a fourth year BS Architecture student from the University of the Philippines in Mindanao. She is interested in culturally responsive school design for indigenous peoples and wishes to explore this topic as her undergraduate thesis.]