CRESCENT’S ENVIRONMENTAL WORK PROGRAM
Consistent with the requirements the Mines and GeoSciences Bureau, Crescent places its environment management priorities under its approved exploration and environmental work programs its Corporate Social Responsibility.
Priorities include a comprehensive forest protection and enhancement program under the National Greening Program, the Mining Forest Program and the Bamboo Plantation Program.
From the start of Crescent’s exploration work, community participation through active partnerships with local government units, local civil society groups that include youth and students, has been implemented.
These participative work with community constituents includes establishment of tree nurseries, communal forests and small fruit tree projects that may be determined as viable in their respective communities.
Crescent’s commitment to participatory commitments include Information and Education activities to raise community awareness on the significance and importance of a sound environmental management scheme amidst the diverse economic activities throughout the Mankayan Ancestral Domain.
CABITEN COMMUNAL FOREST
In 2024, Crescent and the Cabiten Barangay Local Government signed a Memorandum of Agreement that commits Crescent to a shared care and maintenance of a vast tract of pine forest recognized by the Mankayan domain as the Cabiten Communal Forest.
This communal forest remains an important water resource for the lowland communities of the Barangay. A river also drains through the forest and is an important tributary of the Abra River.
TABIO COMMUNAL FOREST
One of Tabio’s communal forest also hosts the Municipality’s solid waste management facility. It is also a joint field station for Crescent’s Bamboo Plantation Program and a Coffee Tree project.
Other areas of Tabio through the current Barangay Local Government Unit and a non-government youth organization, the Labaan, Mabilig, Patpat, Pabileng, Sesecan (LaMaPaSec) is under study for a joint project commitment with Crescent for what is known as the “Tikem” Communal Forest.
BALILI
From 2023, Crescent Mining and Development Corporation is a consistent participant in inter-community environmental projects through its National Greening Program, the Mining Forest Program and Bamboo Plantation Program of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
The company participated in three significant land recovery activities of the Balili Barangay Local Government. These activities was also blessed with the participation of other government agencies especially officers from the Philippine National Police, the Philippine Army, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, elected officials from naighboring local government units and civil society groups.
Land Recovery initiatives by the local government of Balili include legal action against individuals involved in informal settlement and conversion of forestlands into farmlands and installation of fences.
It was also through this multi-party involvement that Crescent enabled the establishment of the multi-school, municipal-wide participation of students under the “Seeds of Hope” project – under the Supreme Secondary Learner Government.
Aside from students are officers from various government line agencies offering time and effort for the project’s success.
THE BAMBOO INITIATIVE
In compliance to national directive for the Bamboo Plantation Program for mining companies, Crescent is currently piloting ideal species of bamboo that may be viable in various areas that include abandoned mine tailings structures. This pilot includes baselines for economic re-purposing of harvestable bamboo poles for other entrepreneurial opportunities as well as environmental impacts that may occur in the propagation.
Active community-based participants involve private individuals and organizations who outlined areas for the propagation project. This also included the umbrella organization of Small-Scale Miners who took to propagating at slopes that are highly prone to erosion.
The Crescent Bamboo Plantation Program envisages a multiple-use endeavor that include an ideal community awareness of the multiple uses of bamboo in forestry, agriculture, mining and the cottage industries.
- Bamboo as a natural photocatalyst in the carbon cycle
- An important resource in various economic enterprise
- A fast-growing woody plant for erosion control and water conservation
- An alternative food resource
INFORMATION AND EDUCATION ACTIVITIES
The multi-organizational participatory program for Environmental Awareness may fail without a significant time and effort in preparing and orienting participants on “Environmental Awareness”.
EDUCATION
Youth and students is at the center of Crescent’s continuing Information and Education drive. School children from Cabiten Integrated School look into video footages taken by drone over their school and community. They were also oriented on the importance of technology in current studies like this environmental scanning flights at the Cabiten communal forest during a visit of the Crescent team.
Students of Bedbed National High School cue up to receive coffee, ice cream bean and pine seedlings to transplant at their campus woodlot in an annual “Seeds of Hope” activity. Campus woodlots are important educational instruments for proper environmental care and awareness amongst the ranks of youth and teachers.
In Cabiten National High School, the steeper slopes of the campus woodlot were planted also to coffee and ice cream beans and lately with bamboo and additional coffee. Senior high school students were also encouraged to sustain its care and maintenance as a field demonstration vista of the important role of agriculture, forestry and the mining industry in community development.
Community Development Facilitators of Crescent are also trained for such Information and Education activities throughout the Mankayan Ancestral Domain.
AIR AND WATER QUALITY MONITORING
The company has a routine air, and water quality monitoring compliance to ensure compliance to national policy for mining. Additional to ambient air and surface water monitoring is ambient noise. These data serves as baseline reference to ensure project impacts do not adversely alter the local environment.
