Negros Island Research Articles

Estimation of nitrogen load at sugarcane cultivation areain northern Negros Island, the Philippines

Estimation of nitrogen load at sugarcane cultivation areain northern Negros Island, the Philippines

Seismotectonics of the 6 February 2012 Mw 6.7 Negros Earthquake, central Philippines

At 03:49 UTC on the 6th of February 2012, Negros Island in the Visayan region of central Philippines was struck by a magnitude Mw 6.7 earthquake causing deaths of over 50 people and tremendous infrastructure damage leaving hundreds of families homeless. The epicenter was located in the vicinity of the eastern coastal towns of La Libertad and Tayasan of the Province of Negros Oriental. Earthquake-induced surface deformation was mostly in the form of landslides, liquefaction, ground settlement, subsidence and lateral spread. There were no clear indications of a fault surface rupture. The earthquake was triggered by a fault that has not been previously recognized. Earthquake data, including epicentral and hypocentral distributions of main shock and aftershocks, and focal mechanism solutions of the main shock and major aftershocks, indicate a northeast striking, northwest dipping nodal plane with a reverse fault mechanism. Offshore seismic profiles in the Tañon Strait between the islands of Negros and Cebu show a northwest dipping reverse fault consistent in location, geometry and mechanism with the nodal plane calculated from earthquake data. The earthquake generator is here proposed to be named the Negros Oriental Thrust (NOT). Geologic transects established from structural traverses across the earthquake region reveal an east-verging fold-thrust system. In the latitude of Guihulngan, this fold-thrust system is represented by the Razor Back Anticline – Negros Oriental Thrust pair, and by the Pamplona Anticline – Yupisan Thrust pair in the latitude of Dumaguete to the south. Together, these active fold-thrust systems are causing active deformation of the western section of the Visayan Sea Basin under a compressional tectonic regime. This finding contradicts previous tectonic models that interpret the Tañon Strait as a graben, bounded on both sides by normal faults supposedly operating under an extensional regime. The Negros Earthquake and the active fold-thrust systems that were discovered in the course of the structural analysis provide strong arguments for basin inversion processes now affecting the Visayan Sea Basin, albeit under very slow strain rates derived from previous GPS campaigns. The occurrence of the earthquake in an area where no active faults have been previously recognized and characterized by slow present-day strain rates underscores the necessity of paying more attention to and exerting more effort in the evaluation of earthquake hazards of regions that are seemingly seismically quiet, especially when they underlie highly urbanized areas.

SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN SELECTED FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENTS IN TALISAY CITY, NEGROS ISLAND REGION, PHILIPPINES

This study aimed to determine the solid waste management practices in selected food service establishments in the Talisay City, Negros Island Region, Philippines. The study used the descriptive method of research and purposive sampling technique. The respondents of the study were 180 owners/food sellers of bakery, eatery, food carts, mobile vendors, market vendors and sari-sari stores as the solid wastes generators. Frequency and percentage were used to analyze the data gathered. Food wastes and plastics topped among the solid waste generated by the food service establishments. Plastic bags were the primary waste storage among the respondents; closed and open containers were also utilized. The food service establishments were dependent to the City government for their solid waste disposal. Solid waste generators dumped their waste in the designated areas for collection. It is worth noting that none of the respondents practice burning of garbage but few are dumping their garbage anywhere. None of the respondents practiced solid waste segregation and 3Rs. Proof established that Republic Act 9003 or Solid Waste management Act of 2000 is not fully implement in the City of Talisay.

Poverty and Beyond: Small-Scale Fishing in Overexploited Marine Environments

Small-scale fishers in tropical regions of Asia are known to respond to uncertain resource fluctuations in diverse ways. Less is known of their adaptations to and motivations for fishing in severely overexploited fishing grounds. A common explanation emphasises poverty and a lack of access to alternative skills and sources of livelihood. Based on a study of small-scale fishing among coastal dwellers on Negros Island in the Philippine, I show that fishers’ reasons for continuing to fish in overfished waters are more complicated than this explanation allows. To explain why better-off households remain committed to fishing when fish catch levels are generally very low, and why very poor and marginalized households drop out of fishing under such conditions, I combine a diverse livelihoods approach with literatures that focus on issues of power, politics and social exclusion. I differentiate among different kinds of small-scale fishing and track changes in these over time. I pay close attention to fishermen’s own conception of their work and the status distinctions made among them, and examine the socio-institutional arrangements of coastal livelihoods more broadly.

Mainstreaming Organic Agriculture through Innovation Policy– The Case of Organic Agriculture in Negros Occidental, Philippines

This paper highlights the innovation policies that facilitated the growth of the organic movement in Negros Occidental. The research is an intrinsic case study that employed in-depth data collection involving multiple sources of information. Organic agriculture started with the civil society because of the desire to produce healthy food and ensure environmental integrity. Health conscious businessmen saw the opportunity of a business built on the pillars of environmental integrity, health, partnership with the grassroots and the growing movement of organic agriculture supporters. In response, the provincial governments of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental crafted a policy that envisioned the whole Negros Island as the “Organic Bowl in Asia”. Innovative responses of the provincial government included the development of ordinances, organizational adjustments and budget allocations. The innovations of the government legitimized the movement and facilitated the mainstreaming of organic agriculture. The collaboration model results from the active participation of the key stakeholders that was reinforced by forces such as increasing health and environmental consciousness of the populace. While the movement is now mainstreamed, the actors have to forward the movement to another level by increasing the market share of organic products. Keywords - Innovation policy, organizational innovation, organic agriculture, case study, Philippines

Soft corals provide microhabitat for camouflaged juveniles of the Blackspotted wrasse Macropharyngodon meleagris (Labridae)

Juveniles of the Blackspotted wrasse Macropharyngodon meleagris (Valenciennes, 1839) were observed to solely inhabit xeniid soft corals in shallow exposed reefs in Negros Island (central Philippines). Juvenile coloration (including patterns and eyespots) and adapted swimming behavior may support blending in with the soft coral environment and avoiding predation. This report constitutes the first description of juvenile wrasses occupying niches within a soft coral microhabitat by using their unique coloration patterns and swimming behavior.

Beyond Clientelism: Neighbourhood Leaders on a Philippine Island

In coastal neighbourhoods just north of Dumaguete City on Negros Island, the pressures of ‘modernity’ have encouraged low-income groups—many of them fishing families—to establish and maintain larger kin-based residential clusters. While clientelism has a strong presence in the wider Philippine polity and is easily observed at the local level during elections, this article questions the view that neighbourhood leaders establish power and authority largely by attaching themselves to patrons, bosses, and governing elites. To elaborate on the nature of these leaders' independence from clientelism, the article engages studies of everyday politics and related literature which demonstrates that ordinary people in Southeast Asia—peasants, landless workers, the urban poor—are not captives of the discourses and practices of elites. In addition to the wealth and class dimensions highlighted in the everyday politics literature, it shows how kinship factors and settler status are relevant for understanding how low-income groups mobilise power on their own and establish neighbourhood leadership in the lowland Philippines.

Earthenware production and distribution in the prehispanic Philippine polity of Tanjay: results from laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS)

This paper presents the results of laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) analysis of low-fired earthenware from the prehispanic trading polity of Tanjay (c. A.D. 500–1600) in the central Philippines. The goal of this project was to determine whether or not the compositional analysis of ceramics could be used to examine the organization of pottery production and exchange relationships in the Bais-Tanjay region of Negros Island. Results indicate that at least five distinct groups of ceramics can be differentiated based on elemental compositions and that pottery production was both a part-time, dispersed endeavor and a full-time, likely centralized, craft. In addition, a number of compositional outliers in the ceramic dataset suggest that interregional trade took place, with pottery made outside the Bais-Tanjay region being imported, especially by upland swidden farmers.

Later prehistory of the Philippines: colonial images and archaeology

The colonial experience of the Philippine Islands as a Spanish and, more recently, an American dependency, has shaped Western peceptions of the people and history of the archipelago. Little has been known about the islands' precolonial past, but archaeologists are now beginning to investigate it, as in the project on the island of Negros described here.

Cenozoic tectonics in the Buruanga Peninsula, Panay Island, Central Philippines, as constrained by U–Pb, 40Ar/39Ar and fission track thermochronometers

Buruanga Peninsula forms the westernmost part of Panay Island, Central Philippines and is a part of the Palawan Continental Terrane (PCT), which was formerly attached to south-eastern China. It acted as the leading edge of the continental fragment and collided with the Philippine Mobile Belt (PMB) followed by convergence beneath the latter. Dating of the collision is crucial for understanding the evolution of the archipelago. Samples collected from Buruanga Peninsula were dated using U–Pb, 40Ar/39Ar and fission track dating (FTD) techniques to constrain the timing of the tectonic events related to the collision of the PMB with the PCT. These techniques have enabled us to obtain ages over a range of closure temperatures from about 700°C to about 110°C. Paleoproterozoic and Permian zircon U–Pb ages from Saboncogon Formation emphasize derivation of the western part of Buruanga Peninsula from SE China; zircon and apatite fission track ages of 51Ma and 16Ma, respectively, constrain the exhumation of this formation. The age data suggest tectonic events at ~14Ma, ~11–12Ma and about 7–8Ma following intrusive activity at about 18Ma. Uplift and exhumation at ~14Ma are thought to be the result of subduction of low-density crustal rocks, at 11Ma to be the result of isostatic uplift as a consequence of crustal thickening and at ~8Ma to be due to the isostatic re-equilibration of the sediments overlying the former suture. Hence, collision is constrained to have started at about 14–15Ma and to have ended before 8Ma. Multi-element patterns of the 18Ma Patria-Diorite from Buruanga Peninsula show enrichment in LILE (Rb, Sr, and K) and LREE and depletion in HFSE elements (Ti, Nb, and Ta) similar to those from Luzon volcanics and the volcanic rocks of Negros Island. These arc-signatures indicate a subduction related environment for the emplacement of this intrusive body and show that the diorite belongs to the PMB. The age constraints of the present study neither support the concept of an Early Miocene collision nor the assumption of a Late Miocene collision, thus, have a significant bearing on the controversial issues regarding the evolution of the present day Philippine archipelago.

Fishing families and cosmopolitans in conflict over land on a Philippine island

Research on the social effects of tourism and beachfront property development in Southeast Asia finds that foreigners and local elites reap the main benefits, rather than fishing families and coastal communities, who also become vulnerable to displacement. This article, discussing cleavages and co-operation among parties brought together in court cases over land on a Philippine island, demonstrates that poor coastal dwellers just north of Dumaguete City on Negros Island differ in their ability to use social relations within and beyond kin groups to resist development-induced displacement from the increasingly lucrative foreshore. Members of families who are considered to be descendants of the ‘original people of the place’ have been far less vulnerable to displacement pressure than settlers with more of a ‘migrant’ status.

The Trace Metal Chemistry of Deep Geothermal Water, Palinpinon Geothermal Field, Negros Island, Philippines: Implications for Precious Metal Deposition in Epithermal Gold Deposits

Palinpinon geothermal field, Negros Island, Philippines, is a high-temperature, liquid-dominated geothermal system in an active volcanic island-arc setting. Parallels have been drawn between the geologic setting and hydrothermal alteration styles recognized at Palinpinon with those that characterize several types of magmatichydrothermal ore deposits (e.g., porphyry, skarn, and high and intermediate sulfidation epithermal systems). The neutral chloride Palinpinon reservoir water chemistry is affected by boiling, mixing, and conductive cooling. The occurrence of base and precious metal scale deposits in several geothermal wells demonstrates that the deep reservoir fluid is capable of transporting and depositing base and precious metals. However, trace metal analysis of the deep reservoir fluids shows they are undersaturated with respect to gold (1–4 ig/kg). Chemical modeling of Palinpinon geothermal water predicts that boiling should be the most effective mechanism for base and precious metal deposition, producing sulfide assemblages similar to those present in well scale deposits. Mixing with acid-bearing sulfate waters can also produce these sulfide assemblages, but less efficiently and with gold and silver deposition occurring at lower temperatures (i.e., <110°C). Despite indications that modern hydrothermal fluids are capable of metal transportation, base and precious metal deposition is not strongly developed at Palinpinon. Base and precious metal concentrations in drill core and drill cuttings are one to two orders of magnitude below ore grade (<0.02 wt % Cu, <0.03 wt % Pb, <0.01 wt % Zn, <0.01 wt % Mo, <8 g/t Ag, and <0.05 g/t Au), and important features that characterize high-grade ore zones of porphyry (i.e., quartz stockwork veining) and epithermal deposits (i.e., residual vuggy quartz, massive crustiform veins, and/or hydrothermal breccia complexes) are apparently absent at Palinpinon. Such features intimate that high-grade ore deposition is promoted by large volumes of fluid and highly permeable wall rock. Their absence at Palinpinon indicates that permeability, fluid flux, and/or metal transport have been insufficient to form significant zones of base or precious metal enrichment.

The System Dynamics of Forest Cover in the Developing World: Researcher Versus Community Perspectives

Efforts to increase forest cover in the developing world will only succeed if the root causes of deforestation are addressed. Researchers designing reforestation initiatives tend to emphasize macro-level drivers of deforestation, about which they have extensive data and knowledge. On the other hand, local people have contextually based knowledge of forest cover dynamics in their region—about which external researchers may be largely ignorant. This type of perception gap between researchers and community members has led to many failed or insufficiently implemented projects. An emerging tool—group model-building with system dynamics—shows promise in its ability to integrate different perspectives on a complex problem such as forest cover loss. In this study, I use system dynamics modeling methodology to compare causal loop diagrams of forest cover dynamics on Negros Island, Philippines generated by researchers working for the World Wildlife Fund with causal loop diagrams generated by community members in upland Negros. The diagrams were significantly different, with very few variables in common, but both illuminate critical aspects of the deforestation problem on the island. I conclude that reforestation initiatives in the Philippines would benefit from incorporating all relevant information into a single, coherent model.

Alteration and TL Age of the Palinpinon Geothermal Area, Negros Island, Southern Philippines

Alteration and TL Age of the Palinpinon Geothermal Area, Negros Island, Southern Philippines

Shaping Zionist Identity: The Jews of Manila as a Case Study

Shaping Zionist Identity: The Jews of Manila as a Case Study

Dissolving the sugar fields: Land reform and resistance identities in the Philippines

The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Programme (CARP) was introduced in the Philippines in 1988 to facilitate a more equitable distribution of land and heighten agrarian efficiencies. The programme has faced considerable obstacles on the island of Negros, where sugar barons have tried to manipulate the new land laws to retain ownership of their large estates. This paper outlines the response of peasant communities on Negros who, with national scale nongovernmental organizations, have coalesced a social movement in a vision of fair and equitable land reform. Building on recent work by social movement theorists, we focus upon the production of the collective identity that binds geographically isolated communities into a coherent and recognized grouping. Particular attention is given to the promulgation of oppositional histories and narratives through farmer association networks which provide peasants with the means to nurture alternative environmental imaginaries and inspire resistance actions. While the strengths of such identities in resisting more powerful development actors are evident, questions are raised about the longevity of such identities, their role post‐land reform and their potential to contribute to more fundamental postdevelopment challenges to imposed development norms and processes.

Tilapia–Shrimp Polyculture in Negros Island, Philippines: A Review

Abstract Tilapia–shrimp polyculture has played an important role in current efforts to control luminous bacterial disease caused by Vibrio harveyi. At present, green water technology is most extensively used by shrimp farmers in Negros Island in the central Philippines. While the contribution of tilapia as a biomanipulator is highlighted in the literature, the mechanism of action is not well understood. Data were gathered from shrimp ponds practicing two production systems: (a) green water system (probiotics + tilapia) and (b) closed/semiclosed system (probiotics alone). There was no difference between luminous Vibrio count (P &lt; 0.05) in both systems, and water quality was found to be similar (P &lt; 0.05). Because the green water system uses a bigger reservoir to raise the tilapia biomass, the net shrimp production was lower. In terms of direct cost of production, however, the green water system was 10–15% lower than the closed/semiclosed system because of significantly less aeration required. The polyculture maintained a more stable plankton environment during the early months of culture, which increased survival of shrimps. Various pathways are presented for the control of luminous bacterial growth in polyculture ponds: (a) fish feeding on organic wastes and conversion to feces; (b) selective fish foraging to increase the dominance of beneficial phytoplankton; (c) bioturbation of pond sediments; and (d) release in the water column of antimicrobials, fungi, or competing bacteria from the skin and gut mucus of tilapia.

Description of the first Chlamydopsinae (Coleoptera: Histeridae) from the Philippines

The first two species of the obligate inquilinous subfamily Chlamydopsinae (Coleoptera: Histeridae) from the Philippines, Eucurtiopsis ashei (Luzon Island) and E. avis (Negros Island), are described and illustrated. Positions of the new species within the genus and potential biogeographic connection of the Philippine chlamydopsine fauna are discussed.

Rapid assessment of avoidable blindness in Negros Island and Antique District, Philippines

Objectives:To conduct rapid assessments of avoidable blindness to estimate the magnitude and causes of blindness in people aged ⩾50 years in Negros Island and Antique district, Philippines.Methods:Clusters of 50 people...

Developing and applying a soil erosion model in a data-poor context to an island in the rural Philippines

Soil erosion in many parts of the developing world poses a threat to rural livelihoods, to the sustainbility of the agricultural sector, and to the environment. Most erosion prediction models are mechanistic and unsuited to quantify the severity of soil erosion in a data-limited developing world context. The model developed in this paper for Negros Island, in the central Philippines, is based on the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation, but contains important innovations such as the movement of eroded soil over the landscape, simulating deposition on lower slopes and in waterways. It also includes a term describing farmer strategies to reduce soil erosion, which are typically ignored in erosion prediction models. A two-sample t-test found that model-predicted sediment loading values were not significantly different from field-measured sediment loading values when corrected for watershed size (P = 0.857). The model predicts an annual loss of 2.7 million cubic meters of sediment to waterways such that by 2050 more than 416,000 ha of agricultural land will be rendered unproductive due to erosion. Farmer behavior conserves soil, but on the steepest slopes soil conservation practices are not adequate to prevent erosion. Of two proposed strategies to control soil erosion in the rural Philippines, the model suggests that a complete switch to tree crops would conserve more soil than universal terrace adoption. However, even under these conservation scenarios, erosion threatens the areal extent of upland agriculture on Negros, and hence the sustainability of the island’s food supply.