Restoration of forest affected by mining in the Philippines: innovating the science and policies

The lecture-discourse discusses innovative science and policy programs to promote forest restoration of mine-affected sites. The multi-billion dollar investment could be a boon or bane to the economy and environment if not properly managed and administered. The environmental hurdles of restoring mined-out sites were presented side by side with the essential principles of mine rehabilitation, which should put paramount importance to the restoration of forests back to a functional and productive state after the life of the mining project. Restoration science has available theories and practices in its arsenal to address the enormous challenges of restoring mine affected areas. Among those discussed in this lectures are local and foreign case studies which highlight the options available to restoration managers which include the following: restoring biodiversity, use of soil seed banks, stabilizing slopes, use of indigenous species, use of beneficial microorganisms, and use of indigenous knowledge. The paper explained also the critical role of monitoring rehabilitation work. Ideally, it should commence with the undisturbed state of the forest so that rehabilitation success criteria or indicators could be established. A tool, called 'Land Function or Ecosystems Function Analysis' was discussed as a potential instrument for use towards this goal. Success indicators were likewise discussed considering that the current policies are vague in this aspect. Discussions on the polices focused on the RA 7942 or The Mining Act of the Philippines. The features of the law particularly on mine rehabilitation were described. Gaps in the current policy were identified which include issues regarding: decisions on the final land use, monitoring and evaluation standards, rehabilitation success criteria, cumulative environmental impacts, rehab works in small-scale mining operations, and collaboration between agencies in charge of implementing rehabilitation policies. The lecture concluded by describing how to better promote restoration of mine affected forests namely: Capacity building in determining the best/optimum final land-use; Determining the required period for care and maintenance of rehabilitated areas; valuation of ecosystem services vis-à-vis mineral resources extraction and development; Realistic and optimum cost of rehabilitation; Package of technologies to address specific rehabilitation challenges and needs; Identification and testing of appropriate assessment tools to evaluate cumulative environmental impacts; Developing standards for biodiversity assessment, and development of rehab success standards.