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FOR US in the Philippines, the future is like the typhoons that so often
engulf and flood our homes and communities, bringing chaos and destruction in
their wake. But like the minaalamon (which means wise person locally) who have
learned to endure the many typhoons in their life, we have learned to read the
warnings, prepare for them, survive their fury, and rebuild our lives
afterwards. Try living under a dictator for years.

Which is why someone like me, involved in thinking about the future, ended up
torn between two important tasks. There I was at the beginning of September,
back home in Bacolod City, preparing to leave for a conference of the World
Futures Studies Federation in Brasov, Romania, where I was due to help run
events after four years as secretary-general. At the same time, I was busy
organising a rally against the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC), which
wants to intrude into the protected zone of Mount Kanlaon Natural Park on our
island of Negros. I considered both activities to be crucial because theorising
about the future has to be linked to activism, especially in a developing
country.

Those challenges don’t get more severe than in Kanlaon. PNOC’s plan for a
geothermal plant there sounds like a good idea in principle—geothermal
power is clean, isn’t it? Unfortunately, the environmental cost in this case is
just too high given our fragile ecosystem of just 3 per cent forest cover.

The park is one of the most important watersheds locally, and its rivers
supply water to 158,500 hectares of land. Mount Kanlaon is also host to up to a
third of the Philippines’ 3 to 4 per cent of original primary growth forest,
including centuries-old examples of trees such as almaciga, red and white lauan
and igem—and much of this is where the PNOC wants to build its exploration
and development zone. The area is also home to the globally endangered Negros
fruit dove (Ptilinopus arcanus), which is found only in Kanlaon.

The struggle to save Kanlaon goes on. I was heartened, though, by an
encounter with a group of poor women. I asked them, if they were to have one
wish granted, what it would be. A just and right relationship among themselves,
their community, and the world, they replied. Fearing this sounded too good to
be true, I probed further. They explained: if we have a just and right
relationship in the world, no amount of natural calamities or crises can ever
destroy the human spirit. Who says only the educated and well-off can think
long-term and make the future different, exciting and full of wonder!