A Love Affair with Mother Nature,” the biography of Angel Alcala, Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Public Service and National Scientist, was launched recently at the Manila Elks Lodge in Makati.
Leading the well-wishers was former President Fidel V. Ramos, under whose Cabinet Alcala served as environment secretary. Alcala also served as chair of the Commission on Higher Education.
The biography was written by Bettina Rodriguez-Olmedo, National Book Award winner, with Amadis Ma. Guerrero.
At the launch, the invocation was led by pastor Mel Morales of the Cosmopolitan Church. Emcee was Grace Sumalpong, an alumna of Silliman University, where Alcala was once president.
Formally welcoming the guests was Cristine Remollo, the book’s publisher and wife of Dumaguete City Mayor Felipe Remollo.
Olmedo said the book was about a poor boy from a tiny sitio in the southwestern part of Negros Occidental, who used to swim three kilometers every day to go to school.
He succeeded in freeing himself and his family from the shackles of poverty through hard work and his innate intelligence, which enabled him to earn scholarships at Silliman University, and a doctorate from Stanford University in California.
Alcala pursued a career path that led to pioneering achievements, which earned him recognition as a world-renowned scientist.
Major achievement
His major achievement was the discovery that establishing “no-fishing marine sanctuaries,” in areas where there are a lot of coral reefs, results in a 100-percent increase in the fish catch of fishermen in adjacent areas.
He first proved this through successful experiments that he conducted on Sumilon Island off the coast of Cebu, and Apo Island off the coast of Negros Oriental.
These successful marine sanctuaries—the first in the world—provided the template for the protection and propagation of fishes.
They have since been copied in other countries.
The conservation of the marine environment, which Alcala has continuously espoused, has helped tremendously in protecting coral reefs in the Philippines.
“The overriding philosophy of Dr. Alcala’s life may be summed up in these words—God has ordained all of us to be the stewards of His creation,” Olmedo said. “We should, therefore, take good care of the environment—for our own sake as well as that of future generations of Filipinos.”
Remollo, who sits with Alcala on the Silliman board of trustees, said the former environment secretary had placed both the Philippines and their alma mater on the world map through his pioneering achievements in marine biology and environmental conservation.
In his response, Alcala said his childhood years coincided with the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. Despite the hardship they experienced during the war, his family could still rely on the largesse of Mother Nature for their daily sustenance.
In the ’60s and ’70s, Alcala said he was shocked by the wanton destruction of coral reefs in the Visayas and other regions, which adversely affected the livelihood of fishermen and made them wallow in poverty.
It was then, he pointed out, that he vowed to undertake scientific studies and experimental projects to save the environment. —CONTRIBUTED
Guerrero