The co-founder and managing trustee of Masungi Georeserve, a privately owned conservation area in the Philippines, discusses her first time experiencing solastalgia, a type of eco-anxiety, and the challenges of environmental advocacy that people don't see
The Philippines is one of 17 countries that collectively hosts over two-thirds of the earth's biodiversity, and between 70 to 80 percent of all plant and animal species known to the world. But protecting all of this is a huge undertaking made more challenging due to the wide conservation funding gap. Not enough money is going into protecting and conserving the country’s biodiversity, which has made it a particularly lucrative hub for illegal wildlife trafficking and land-grabbing activities.
Enter Ann Dumaliang and her sister Billie, both of who run a private, 450-hectare georeserve called Masungi, located about an hour and a half away from Metro Manila. The sisters work to protect the area’s natural limestone formation and forestland, which have massively degraded due to deforestation in the 1990s and 2000s.
With their team at the georeserve, they tackle conservation in three ways: protection, education and sustainable development, mostly through geotourism, which sustains or enhances the geographical character of a location, from its environment, to its heritage, culture and the well-being of its community.
But before the Masungi Georeserve was established in 2015, Ann recalls the first time she felt anxious about the future of the area, where she and her sister grew up.
She shares here the harrowing experience that led her to take matters into her own hands and how she deals with solastalgia, the distress associated with environmental change happening close or directly to your home.
Do you recall the first time you experienced eco-anxiety?
Ann Dumaliang (AD): My first recollection was from 2010. I was around 18 years old and I overheard my dad talking on the phone to the site team in Masungi. Our park rangers had been attacked and framed for carrying guns, even though there wasn’t any evidence. They were sent to jail and had to be bailed out.
I wondered then how people could prioritise their own interests to the extent of using violence and lies, knowing how many others could get unfairly hurt in the process. It dawned on me that destructive interests are real and post not only genuine harm just to the place that I love, but to the people at the frontlines who I see as family.
Eventually, it was solastalgia—a form of eco-anxiety felt by individuals when they see their environment changing negatively through time—that drove me to act. If I didn’t try to use my skills or capabilities to help conserve Masungi, I knew I would regret it for life.
The younger generation is reportedly feeling eco-anxiety more than their predecessors. Why do you think this is so?
AD: We have more access to information and technology that allows us to connect with each other more. We also have a better understanding of the impact of our choices. It is good that we are disturbed; to me, it is an acceptable reaction when you fully understand the issue.
The good news is, that there is a lot of knowledge on what needs to be done. The solutions are there. The important part is to get institutions to change and radically create solutions.
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