The red/orange under-layer is nickel ore; get to it by taking all above

Image By Girlie Cervantes

I recently visited Surigao del Norte to report on tourism activities there, with a special focus on water sports. I found plenty of water sports and many new ventures in the pipeline. But what really took my breath away was the rape of Surigao over the past five years in the quest for easy money.

Jake Miranda, local hotelier and scuba diving fanatic, described Surigao del Norte as “presently suffering an identity crisis”: does it want to continue to be rapped by the global mining industry or does it want to embrace eco and adventure tourism. It cannot happily

Electric cars destined for Negros ev Rally?

Image By Domenick Yoney used without permission

Next year, Negros Island could be home to the first biennial electric vehicle road rally in Asia (if you exclude the famous World Solar Challenge in Australia). Why Negros? Because all of its power comes from renewable sources and is virtually free.

Negros derives its electricity from geothermal sources, deep beneath its rainforested interior. Thanks to initiatives of the previous administration, in the funding of modern road infrastructure, Negros also has some of the most underutilized roads in the Philippines. This unique combination of almost free electricity and underutilized roads has inadvertently created the ideal conditions and location for the World's first electric vehicle road rally. And in my opinion there are few better places to showcase environmentally friendly road vehicles than on an island where there is no pollution from coal, oil or gas powered electricity generating

Engineers off to survey wind turbine site

Image courtesy Martyn Willes

During the month of March, PhilCarbon has had a team of engineers in the field (literally) surveying for sites for Mindoro’s first wind farm in Bulalacao. An estimated 20MW wind power capacity may be installed in 2014 if the famous Bulalacao breezes check out.

Twenty sites are being surveyed in Bulalacao from which three will be chosen for a eighteen month wind analysis. A anemometer will be installed at the three best sites and the analysis of the wind data will dictate how many wind turbines can potentially be installed. According to Bulalacao Mayor Villas, “the wind turbines will be one of two renewable energy resources for Bulalacao . . . we are also seeking funding for a small hydro electric plant in one upstream location

Image courtesy Martyn Willes

New Corella is known as the “water basin of Davao Del Norte” and for good reason – its rainforested limestone hills have for aeons imbibed the monsoon rains and slowly released them, through hundreds of springs and streams, onto the plains below. The same aeons have slowly eroded the limestone beneath, creating some of the most beautiful cave systems in the World. Adventure tourists and speleologists can access the caves by hiking along forest trails or trekking up rivers, brimming with crystal clear water – filtered and pure.

Recognizing that it is the custodian of this area of outstanding natural beauty, the municipality of New Corella has created a series of adventure tourist packages, designed to allow those with a passion for the beauty of Mother Nature to enjoy the gifts that she has so generously bestowed upon Davao De

Image courtesy Martyn Willes

This week the Big Apple Dive Resort opened an eco-sports store on Muelle Pier, from where they plan to launch a series of eco-tours around Puerto Galera – using mountain bikes, kayaks and "anything that does not require an engine".

The Big Apple Cafe Ecosports outlet will also sell mountain bikes, kayaks, scuba diving gear and anything else that might assist the eco-tourist with eco-adventures in and around the Philippines' only accredited "most beautiful bay in the World".

What gives something the right to have the prefix "eco