Sibuyanons Against Mining (SAM) is an environmental advocacy group organized primarily by

Sibuyanon May-as, also called Mangyan tagabukid, is a term for the indigenous people of the island of Sibuyan, in the Philippines. Sibuyanon is the name of the dialect of Romblomanon spoken on the island of Sibuyan. The local people commonly refer them to ...

s. It has been fighting for mining moratorium in

Sibuyan Island Sibuyan is a crescent-shaped island, the second largest in an archipelago comprising Romblon Province, Philippines. Located in the namesake Sibuyan Sea, it has an area of and has a total population of 62,815 as of 2020 census. The island has t ...

(Philippines). It aims to protect the island, which has the world's densest forest, the Philippine's cleanest river and the majestic

Mount Guiting-Guiting Mount Guiting-Guiting or G2 is the highest mountain in the province of Romblon, located in Sibuyan Island, in the Philippines, with an elevation of above sea level. Its steep slopes and jagged peak, have earned it the reputation, as one of the mo ...

, from future

environmental degradation Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment (biophysical), environment through depletion of resources such as quality of air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; habitat destruction; the extinction of wildlife; an ...

and exploitation.

History

SAM was primarily an online advocacy created in February 2006 and formed formally on July 2, 2006 in Intramuros,

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. From then on, it helped organize the creation of a worldwide environmental advocacy campaign against mining operations in Sibuyan Island.

Advocacy

SAM adheres to responsible

stewardship Stewardship is an ethical value that embodies the responsible planning and management of resources. The concepts of stewardship can be applied to the environment and nature, economics, health, property, information, theology, cultural resources e ...

. Mining in the island is not sustainable because the island-people live by the island's bounties.

Endemism Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

and

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

are major factors why SAM is also looking for mining moratorium in the island since it is a

center of endemism A Centre of Endemism is an area in which the ranges of restricted-range species overlap, or a localised area which has a high occurrence of endemics. Centres of endemism may overlap with biodiversity hotspots which are biogeographic regions charact ...

and critical plant site. They 'think that exploration could destroy the environment, the ecological balance, particularly the Mount Guiting-Guiting, which means posing a threat to the human beings of the area.'Fortuna, Julius F
East and West
column, ''Manila Times''. November 9, 2006

/ref> On September 2, 2006, almost 8,000 people (first in the history of

Romblon Romblon ( , ), officially the Province of Romblon, is an archipelagic Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Mimaropa Regions of the Philippines, region. Its main islands include Tablas Island, Tablas, the large ...

province) gathered in front of a mining site to express their environmental concern. The mobilization was realized in collaboration with the ''sambuligan'' or basic ecclesial communities of the Immaculate Conception Shrine Parish of

San Fernando, Romblon San Fernando, officially the Municipality of San Fernando, is a 4th class municipality in the province of Romblon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 24,171 people. History Early history The town of San Fernando ...

, and the Vicariate of Sibuyan.

Network

The advocacy is now worldwide through its online petition and local and international environmental organizations' support. SAM is also a member of the Philippine's alliance against mining, ''

Alyansa Tigil Mina Alyansa Tigil Mina (abbreviated as ATM, ) is an environmental advocacy organization that campaigns to protect communities and the environment from the ill effects of large-scale mining operations in the Philippines. It is a coalition composed of n ...

''.

References

{{reflist

External links

Sibuyan ISLE Inc.
Environmental organizations based in the Philippines