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| Photo Courtesy || Ronald Zambrano |
Cordillera - There are signs of life to the infamous dead Balili River in
La Trinidad, Benguet after some birds have been spotted playing and breeding
in the river.
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Photo Courtesy || Ronald Zambrano
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Photographer Ronald Zambrano shared on social media some photos he captured
at the river during his visit on January 2021.
"It took me only about 15 minutes to document signs of life, there are
birds.. 7 breeding pairs of egrets, Moorhen (Tukling), yellow wagtail
(kinnud kinud), and yellow vented bulbul. Except for the Bulbul, all
observed birds, depend on fish as the main source of food. Meaning there is
life or fishes literally in the waters that sustain these birds." Zambrano
wrote.
The presence of these flying creatures indicates Balili river has hope of
life. The Moorhen is found in fresh water environment. This species of bird
feed on seeds, leaves and roots from aquatic plants, algae, small fish,
tadpole, insects, berries and worms.
In 2014, the river was declared as biologically dead by the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) due to overpopulation and chemical
spill coming from the big establishments in the municipality.
Knowing the severity of the situation, the Barangay and its community acted
fast to save the river. With the partnership of different institutions such
as the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO), DENR, and
the Benguet State University, they passed an ordinance mandating all
officials and residents to conduct a clean-up drive every first Saturday of
the month.
Now, we are seeing the result of this initiative as the river is slowly
showing signs of life.
May the residents of Balili river continue their effort on keeping up their
campaign in cleaning the river.
