After global leaders pledged to triple renewable capacity in COP28, word breaks out about a wind farm installation that threatens protected land in Rizal, Philippines. Caretakers caught wind of drilling operations in Masungi Georeserve — casting a light on growing tension between nature conservation and clean energy development.
“Cases of unjust transition are underrepresented in global platforms like COP28. We were one of the few groups that talked about these,” shared Billie Dumaliang, Trustee and Advocacy Officer of Masungi Georeserve Foundation.
The Case of Masungi Georeserve
In late 2023, drones that caretakers use to scout the Masungi area sighted four drilling rigs for a wind farm project. A banner nearby reads “Rizal Wind Energy Corp.” pointing to the company involved. RWEC is owned by Vena Energy, a Singapore-based renewable energy developer with projects across the Asia-Pacific region.
The Asia-Pacific lags behind in renewable electricity adoption, with only 16% utilization on average compared to Europe with 81% and the Americas with 59%. The Philippines itself has only eight large-scale wind farms, highlighting the need for expansion. As the country targets 15.3 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030 and gas reserves supplying 30% of energy to Luzon are predicted to deplete by 2024, the urgency for diversified energy sources becomes an imperative.
Masungi Georeserve discovered that the company is now in the “advanced pre-development stage” to build 12 wind turbines in the area. Masungi is a conservation area spanning over 3,000 hectares of reforested land and karst terrain — one of the largest in the country. It is also a national park and wildlife sanctuary as recognized by Presidential Proclamation 1636.
RWEC reportedly secured permits and clearances from various governing bodies in the four years it had been developing the project. “Vena Energy ensures that in every project, it adheres to all government regulations and mandatory testing and compliance,” they said in a statement.
While renewable energy projects can be conducted in protected areas with the proper permits and protocols, John Leo Algo said this shouldn’t be the norm. Algo is the National Coordinator of Aksyon Klima Pilipinas, the largest civil society network for climate action in the Philippines.
“If more projects are allowed in them [protected areas and conservation efforts], it would increase the risk of more harm being done not just to the local flora and fauna, but also to any nearby communities that depend on the resulting ecosystem services for their livelihoods, cultures, and lifestyles,” he told Diinsider Life.
Masungi Georeserve caretakers—who have a broad network of partner communities and a good grasp of the wind farm’s biodiversity impacts—were kept in the dark.
“No one reached out to us about this for about five years until we finally saw them drilling via our drones.” said Dumaliang.
Masungi Georeserve is home to more than 500 species of flora and fauna, many of which are birds and bats endangered and endemic to the Philippines. Wind turbines have a reputation for disrupting the migratory patterns of birds and obstructing the passage of bats through wind blade collisions. The construction of wind farms also requires extensive road networks, which can encroach upon their natural habitats.
The georeserve is more than a sanctuary for countless species — it plays a vital role in carbon sequestration and water purification, contributing to ecological stability and climate change mitigation.
“Any harm inflicted on this area can lead to impacts such as a reduced capacity to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which is important to climate change mitigation, just like reduced emissions from building a wind energy power plant,” Algo shared.
Masungi Georeserve was practically inhospitable two decades ago. Illegal logging, slash-and-burn farming, quarrying, and land-grabbing activities exacerbated by state corruption heavily degraded the area. It took years of collaborative reforestation to make it the lush forest that it is now.
“Many people act like nature is that easy to replace or restore, when the fact is ecosystem degradation takes a long time to be reversed,” Algo said.
Conservation entails long-term stewardship and the encroaching threat of wind farm development undermines strides made by local conservationists thus far. SDG 15 Life on Land, focused on ecosystem and biodiversity preservation already shows the least progress among the Goals as it is.
“Instead of sustainable development actions working together, you have sustainable development actions cancelling each other out. This can’t be right for global sustainable development and progress,” Dumaliang shared.
A Broader Perspective: Is it a Trend?
The wind farm threat in Masungi Georeserve mirrors similar cases worldwide, underscoring a recurring issue in renewable energy development.
“Many people have this mindset that development must come at the expense of the environment… Whether we look at the Philippines or the entire world, it is clear that the general trend is that our natural environment is being overlooked in the name of progress,” Algo stated.
In Hawaii, community members and clean energy advocates vehemently opposed the Na Pua Makani wind project for over a decade, citing environmental and social injustices.
Local regulatory practices, such as greenlighting contracts prior to completing environmental reviews or holding public hearings, stifled meaningful public participation. This flawed system focused on legal procedures couldn’t be further from the fair, just, and transparent decision-making processes that residents sought to have, undermining community trust.
One resident likened the lack of community involvement to an unwelcome stranger entering their home, “Why bother to ask permission to come into the house, if you’re going to barge in regardless of how anyone answers?”
Another case is in Norway. Dozens of protestors, including climate activist Greta Thunberg, rallied against the construction of wind farms on Sámi reindeer grazing grounds.
The farms comprise 151 turbines, encroaching upon ancestral lands critical to the Sámi people’s tradition of reindeer herding. Not only does it have a detrimental impact on grazing lands, it affects reindeer wellbeing, as well.
Norway’s Supreme Court invalidated the wind farm permits due to infringement upon protected Sámi cultural rights. However, the turbines continue to operate to this day, prolonging the struggle for indigenous land rights and environmental justice.
In the Philippines, just 517 kilometers away from Masungi Georeserve, locals protested against a 14-megawatt wind farm expansion near Nabaoy River. Construction could pose irreversible damage that impacts the environment, livelihoods, and socio-economic life.
© Masungi Georeserve’s Facebook | The reforested trees and karst limestone formations of Masungi Georeserve.
“They are happening elsewhere; look at the Kaliwa Dam project or the wind farm project within the North Panay Peninsula Natural Park. Both of them will impact protected areas and wildlife sanctuaries, if implemented,” Algo shared.
Environmental and wildlife impacts emerge as a top concern for communities with a 60% prevalence rate across 53 cases, according to a 2022 study on sources of social opposition to wind energy. Other concerns include unfair participation processes and health and safety hazards.
“Accelerating the transition to renewables is absolutely an imperative to address the climate crisis. But it must be done in a just manner – environmentally and socially,” Dumaliang affirmed.
What We Can Do Now
As nations strive to meet ambitious clean energy targets, the intersection between renewables and conservation has become increasingly apparent. The friction between these two impact areas calls for a nuanced approach to development, both locally and globally.
“We should find ways to amplify our impact across multiple goals – not negate one over another,” Dumaliang said.
This is where just energy transition comes in. JET aims to ensure that clean energy projects would also reduce economic inequalities, uphold social justice, and safeguard ecosystems and biodiversity.
Algo added, “For any energy transition project, we must always ask not only if it is impactful, but also if it is just.”
Energy developers are advised to avoid environmentally significant areas such as protected areas, World Heritage sites, and Key Biodiversity Areas, according to guidelines released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and The Biodiversity Consultancy.
The US Environmental Protection Agency, for instance, takes this advise to a new level. Their RE-Powering Initiative restores potentially contaminated sites such as abandoned mines and landfills for clean energy generation, granted it aligns with the community’s vision for the site.
Public consultation and empowerment is key, Dumaliang states.
In a new C-suite guide and whitepaper, the World Economic Forum endorses a “people-positive” approach to accelerate the scale-up of clean energy. The guide places community engagement at the forefront of the decision-making process, ensuring that local communities and defenders are not merely consulted, but actively involved in the planning and implementation phases of energy projects.
As an example, Dumaliang suggests, “The application stage for renewable energy projects can be made more transparent. Like public biddings, they could be published in a national circulation newspaper to allow for interested groups to comment on the matter.”
Overall, the path forward for reconciling the goals of renewable energy development and environmental conservation demands a careful, considered approach.
By prioritizing strategic site selection, engaging local communities and stakeholders from the outset, and adhering to international conservation guidelines, it is possible to forge a sustainable future that respects both the planet’s ecological needs and humanity’s energy demands.