1.

1INTRODUCTION

Ecological Center or “Nature Center” is an organization with a

visitor center or interpretive center designed to educate people about nature and the

environment. Usually located within a protected open space, nature centers often have

trails through their property. It helps us learn more about Nature on how it functions.

Ecology is the study of how organisms interact with one another and with their physical

environment. There are five levels of the discipline of ecology, Organism, Population,

Community, Ecosystem, and Biosphere. Firstly the Organism is an individual that lives in

that specific habitat. Then there’s the Population, it is a group of organisms of the same

species that live in the area at the same time. The Community consists of all the

populations of different species that live in a given area. Community ecologists focus on

interactions between populations and how these interactions shape the community.

An Ecosystem consists of all the organisms in an area, the community, and the abiotic

factors that influence that community. Ecologists often focus on flow of energy and

recycling of nutrients. Lastly the Biosphere is planet Earth, viewed as an ecological

system. There are many Ecological Centers in the Philippines mainly in the Natural parks,

Wildlife Sanctuary, and Marine natural parks. Currently in Mt. Canlaon National park,

Apo Reef, Mt. Apo National park, Siargao Island, etc. (Teodora Bagarinao PhD). The
Status of these ecological parks in the Philippines are prone to natural disasters,

particularly typhoons, floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis,

lying as it does astride the typhoon belt, in the active volcanic region known as the “Pacific

Ring of Fire,” and in the geologically unstable region between the Pacific and Eurasian

tectonic plates. The Philippines also suffers major human-caused environmental

degradation aggravated by a high annual population growth rate, including loss of

agricultural lands, deforestation, soil erosion, air and water pollution, improper disposal

of solid and toxic wastes, loss of coral reefs, mismanagement and abuse of coastal

resources, and overfishing. (COUNTRY REPORT ON CLIMATE CHANGE POLICIES,

GREEN JOBS AND DECENT WORK IN THE PHILIPPINES).

Mt. Canlaon is an active volcano which the current problem is largely deforestation due

to “kaingin”. Because of that the Ecology of the Natural Park continues to decline.

Therefore my proposal of an Ecological Center in the city of Canlaon, can help provide

awareness of the current problems of the Natural Park and discover an alternative to the

“Kaingin” system of agriculture. It can educate people who were used to these old systems

and integrate them to the new and sustainable way of agriculture which gives and takes

like the Natural Ecosystem as it is.

The Ecological center provides an essential aspect in the agricultural field for the city or

even for the province. It aims to be a research center for new methods in agriculture that

applies to ecological awareness, and to be a solution for the agricultural problems

addressing in the city of Canlaon or even in the province of Negros. The main factors that

affect the local agriculture is that it lacks new information from irrigation techniques,

appropriate machineries, suitable varieties, and cultivation techniques.

1.3 THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK:

Sustainability is the process of maintaining change in a balanced environment, in

which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of

technological development and institutional change are all in harmony and enhance

both current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations

a. Human sustainability aims to maintain and improve the human capital in society.

Investments in the health and education systems, access to services, nutrition,

knowledge and skills are all programs under the umbrella of human

sustainability.
 b. Social sustainability aims to preserve social capital by investing and creating

services that constitute the framework of our society. The concept accommodates

a larger view of the world in relation to communities, cultures and globalization.

c. Economic sustainability aims to maintain the capital intact. If social

sustainability focuses on improving social equality, economic sustainability aims

to improve the standard of living.

d. Environmental sustainability aims to improve human welfare through the

protection of natural capital (e.g. land, air, water, minerals etc.).

Ecological awareness:

The sense in which we use the term "ecological" is associated with a specific philosophical

school, founded in the early 1970s by the Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess (1912-2009) with

the distinction between "shallow" and "deep" ecology. Since then, this distinction has been

widely accepted as a very useful term for referring to a major division within contemporary

environmental thought.

Shallow ecology is anthropocentric, or human-centered. It views humans as above or outside of

nature, as the source of all value, and ascribes only instrumental, or "use," value to nature.

Deep ecology does not separate humans — nor anything else — from the natural environment.

It does sees the world not as a collection of isolated objects but as a network of phenomena that

are fundamentally interconnected and interdependent. Deep ecology recognizes the intrinsic

value of all living beings and views humans as just one particular strand in the web of life.
Agricultural development depends on innovation. Innovation is a major source of

improved productivity, competitiveness, and economic growth throughout advanced and

emerging economies, and plays an important role in creating jobs, generating income,

alleviating poverty, and driving social development. It is increasingly obvious that if

farmers, agribusinesses, and even nations are to cope, compete, and thrive in the midst

of changes in agriculture and economy, they must innovate continuously.

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study will be most significant for it shall help guide and provide knowledge gaps
between sustainability in architecture and agricultural farming. Forming an Ecological
Center.

Furthermore the result of shall provide significant information to the following:

The Province of Negros:

The study shall be a reference for an Ecological Center that provides innovative design
that promotes sustainability through planning and right coordination with the
Community. This will provide a positive effect on the Agricultural sectors of the province.
Community of Canlaon City:

The efforts of this research will pave the way for new methods of design in the agricultural
field of the City. This research will also provide awareness for those who still use the
environmentally unfriendly methods of farming.

Agricultural Sector:

This result of the study shall be significant to the Agricultural sector of the country as

it may be a catalyst for breakthroughs of new methods of farming in the Philippines.

Which may join the preservation of our natural ecosystem and the sustainable agriculture.

1.5 SCOPE AND DELIMINITATION

This study will mainly focus on the planning and design aesthetics of an

Ecological center. The study will be directed towards the formulation of a sustainable

agricultural center that studies the relationships of an ecosystem that can benefit our way

of farming. It shall only cater the ecological aspects of the Province of Negros.

With the gathered statistical data, it is assumed that a properly planned ecological center

is a necessity for the Province of Negros Occidental in order to cater the argiculture in the

province.
1.6 DEFINITION OF TERMS:

-Organism is an individual that lives in that specific habitat

-Population, it is a group of organisms of the same species that live in the area at the
same time

-Community consists of all the populations of different species that live in a given area

-Ecosystem consists of all the organisms in an area, the community, and the abiotic
factors that influence that community

-Biosphere is planet Earth, viewed as an ecological system

-Kaingin is the burning of trees for shifting cultivation purposes. Kaingin is noted to
be one of the principal causes of deforestation.

-Agricultural development means providing assistance to the crop producers with the
help of various agricultural resources
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CHAPTER 1
“A PROPOSED CANLAON CITY ECOLOGICAL CENTER”

SUBMITTED BY: JULES ALON