GAINING GROUND AGAINST INVASIVE SPECIES

The good news is, the BFAR is somehow gaining ground in the battle against invasive species. The bad news is, the fight seems to be focused only in Laguna de Bay, and there are no key performance indicators (KPIs) that could tell us whether we are really winning the war or not. In fairness to BFAR however, it seems that no one really knows the actual numbers about the populations of invasive that are out there in our lakes and rivers, perhaps not even BFAR itself. Whatever the numbers are, it would be best to have some estimates at least, so that we would know whether we are really meeting our objectives or not. Ideally, the BFAR tell us their target numbers per species that they are tasked to eradicate. Better still, there should be a timeline or a deadline as to when the extermination would end, for all invasive species such as janitor fish, knife fish, Midas chichlids, softshell turtles, blackchin tilapia and flowerhorns. There could be others, but the data is hard to come by. BFAR is not giving up on the fight, and they have formed task forces that involve other national government agencies (NGAs) and LGUs to join in the war against invasive species. While it is good to see that the LGUs are eager to help, I think it would be best if they take the lead in their own jurisdictions, and just let the BFAR and the other NGAs to provide the necessary supports. And they should bring the war to the whole country, not just Laguna de Bay. IKE SENERES/09088877282/02-01-24