(1st UPDATE) As floods and landslides, worsened by poor watershed protection, increasingly threaten communities, a small group of community forest guards has spent nearly three decades protecting forests that serve as one of Negros Island’s first lines of defense against disasters.
For 28 years, 57-year-old Christopher “Nong Panoy” Abunda has walked the forests of Barangay Buenavista in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, facing threats, fires, and exhaustion to protect one of the island’s important watersheds—often without government support.
Barangay Buenavista is the city’s largest barangay, with more than 60 sitios and extensive upland and forested areas that play a crucial role in watershed protection.
Abunda leads Bantay Lasang and the Buenavista Upland Tree and Watershed Association (BUTWA), a volunteer group established in 1997 that now has 28 active members.
The association protects portions of the Ilog-Hilabangan Watershed Forest Reserve (IHWFR), a protected area spanning more than 10,000 hectares, about 60 percent of which lies within Buenavista.
Of the barangay’s roughly 6,000 hectares of forestland, nearly 2,000 hectares have been reforested through the group’s efforts, Abunda claimed.
“Despite the threats and hardships, we continue,” he said, adding that educating communities about environmental protection remains their biggest challenge. “But we keep going.”
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has supported the association through the National Greening Program (NGP), but Abunda said the group sustained its work mainly through perseverance and assistance from non-government organizations such as the Haribon Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) in Kabankalan told Brigada News FM on Thursday, February 12 that the DENR provides an honorarium to Abunda through a contract for his ongoing efforts to protect the environment, which have led to a decrease in illegal activities.
Despite these efforts, Abunda aired his dismay to the local government that their repeated appeals fell on deaf ears, as additional needed support failed to materialize.
“It is fine if you remember us, and it is also fine if you do not,” Abunda said. “What matters is the forest.”
Abunda stressed that responsibility—not money—drives their work. “We love the environment the same way we love our family,” he said. “That is why we go to communities and teach people the value of protecting our natural resources.”
Through regular patrols and community engagement, the group has reduced illegal logging and charcoal-making activities. However, Abunda said forest fires during the summer months continue to pose serious risks.
“We do not even have basic equipment to fight fires,” he said. “We are just volunteers.”
The association encourages residents to plant trees for personal use, such as housing materials, while actively discouraging unauthorized cutting, especially in critical areas prone to landslides.
When forest guarads confront violators, the group opts for “amicable settlements.”
“We believe they can still help protect the forest,” Abunda said.
He also urged the DENR to prioritize native and fruit-bearing tree species to strengthen biodiversity and sustain wildlife.
More challenges
The group once had more than 40 members, but its ranks thinned as members aged, died, or pulled out because of the risks involved and the lack of benefits.
Abunda is now urging younger residents to take up the work and keep the group going.
“If the younger generation does not continue what their fathers started, what will happen to us?” he said. “We benefit first when we protect the forest because we live here.”
Despite threats encountered during foot patrols, Abunda said his family keeps him motivated.
“No matter how wealthy or educated we become, everything becomes useless once the environment is destroyed,” he said.
Abunda’s grassroots effort mirrors broader warnings from environmentalist Rusty Binas, who said strong forest protection remains essential to disaster prevention.
In an interview with Brigada News FM Philippines, Binas said forests absorb heavy rainfall, slow surface runoff, and reduce flood and landslide risks.
“Protecting forests is disaster preparedness,” Binas said. “Without protection, reforestation efforts will not last.”*
Reymund Titong is a Filipino journalist steadily building his voice in the field of news reporting, driven by a commitment to tell meaningful and relevant stories.
He serves as a correspondent for Rappler, maintains a personal blog on Medium, and is the communications officer of Hope Builders Organization Negros Island.