Study: Barangay folks oppose coal-fired power plant
CONCEPCION, ILOILO-Residents of Barangay Nipa in the town of Concepcion are opposed to the proposal to put up a coal-fired power plant in their barangay. This was found out in the independent field investigation conducted by the environmental management students of the West Visayas State University last September.
'Most respondents believe that the coal-fired power plant will affect their health and damage the environment, particularly their fishing ground which is their main source of livelihood,' said Selfa Obedencia the Supervising Faculty of the Environmental Field Study.
In a statement, the Responsible Ilonggos for Sustainable Energy (Rise) said that the apprehensions of Brgy. Nipa residents are well-substantiated and justifiable. 'It is the sad experiences of communities hosting coal-fired power plants in Luzon that the first casualties are the marginal fisherfolks,' said Melvin Purzuelo of Green Forum – Western Visayas.
Rise cited recent studies confirming that the effects of climate change increasingly threaten fish populations. A new WWF report entitled 'Are we putting our fish in hot water?' also says that hotter water means less food, less offspring and even less oxygen for marine and freshwater fish populations. The report shows that hotter temperatures are expected to stunt the growth of some fish, resulting in fewer offspring. Normally fish metabolisms speed up as temperatures rise, but insufficient food supplies could slow their growth and reproduction rates.
The US government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, in Newport, Oregon say that dramatic rise in the ocean temperature led to unprecedented deaths of birds and fish this summer all along the coast from central California to British Columbia in Canada.
Brgy. Nipa is the proposed site of DM Consunji's coal-fired power plant in Concepcion, Iloilo. Concepcion Mayor Raul Banias has been pushing for the coal-fired power plant as base-load capacity provider to avert the alleged impending energy crisis in the island of Panay.
The Concepcion Alliance for Renewable Energy (Coal-FREE) gathered about 5,000 signatures against the coal power plant. Coal-FREE question the active role of Mayor Banias, a medical doctor, in pushing for the power plant when the local government code provides for public consultations before decisions are made on projects that would gravely affect the environment and public health.
The Iloilo Provincial Board rejected a similar coal-fired power plant proposed in the town of Banate last March 2004. In the Philippines, the energy sector is estimated to contribute about 46% of total greenhouse gases emissions mainly from coal-fired power plants in Luzon. The Philippines is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol that mandates reduction of greenhouse gases emissions.