Opinion  

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In August 2019, “Daang Kalikasan,” an old road which directly links Pangasinan to Zambales, opened its door to travelers who are interested in visiting the two provinces in the shortest and fastest way possible. However, due to the “captivating” scenery seen in the winding roads, it has also become a go-to tourist spot. In fact, it was even considered to be the next tourist attraction in Northern Luzon.

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I have been there once, and I can testify to their claims of its amazing scenery. In spite of some parts of it still being under construction, the place still gives an overall refreshing and relaxing vibe that continuously invites people to visit.

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The first time I went there was during a power outage in our town, Sta. Cruz, Zambales, where Daang Kalikasan is nearly located. Similar to my experience, people would often flock to the spot whenever there’s no electricity in the town. This is coupled with travelers from Pangasinan and Zambales.

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The sudden bustle of visitors may not create a traffic of vehicles as heavy in the cities, but it can surely produce a traffic of people and disturbances in the vehicle flow. But most importantly, it generates piles and piles of trash being left behind by tourists.

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A report posted on Facebook showed that the trash left by visitors are already polluting the side of the road and river near it, River Immalpay.  This prompted the Pangasinan and Zambales government officials to hold an emergency meeting to temporarily prohibit tourists and travelers from using Daang Kalikasan.

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This certain scenario of visitors polluting a tourist spot is not new to us. Our very own Boracay Beach is a testament to this, which was even closed to the public for over 6 months. 

I like to believe that the case mentioned above is caused by our incapability of setting limits on the things we patronize. For example, as said, once we decide that something is “pretty” or “beautiful,” we tend to fondle it until it breaks.

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Another reason, I think, is our tendency to “live in the moment” and seek to   fulfill our very own gratification without taking into consideration the future consequences of our actions–especially the effects in our environment. Thus, we tend to treat our world only as a scenic view that we can set-aside after we have enjoyed sight-seeing and taking pictures with.

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These reasons are seen in a few similar cases to Boracay such as the closure of the famous Maya Bay in Thailand due to the destruction of coral reef and marine life brought about by visitors; and also, the Indonesian island of Bali which was closed due to a “garbage emergency” that resulted from the years of tourism.

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If we continue with these behaviors, we will end up sacrificing our environment over ourselves. Thus, we must be able to learn how to patronize without being careless, seek and enjoy moments while remembering to look ahead, and remember to always set boundaries in order to prevent environmental abuse.

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How do we do this? Through the recognition of our environment’s value.

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We should continuously and repeatedly educate ourselves on the importance of our environment-- its preservation and conservation. I believe that once we are able to recognize the value of our surroundings, disciplining ourselves to be good caretakers will be an easy task. 

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Although since this may take us a long time, the best thing for now is to take small steps. For one, we can discipline ourselves to practice being responsible by enacting the CLAYGO (Clean as You Go) and/or educate ourselves on proposal disposal and composting.

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Through these, we can, at least, say that we are trying to be proper “handlers” of this world.

 

If we are proud enough to claim that we are the caretakers, then we must also show it in our actions. If not, then we might as well just let our environment take care of itself. The world has been here longer than us, I don't think it would matter much if we leave it alone.

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Besides, I'm pretty sure Earth doesn’t really need a “fake” caretaker. #