LANTAPAN, BUKIDNON -- At the foothills of Mt. Kaatoan in this town, an estimated 717.76 hectares of cinchona tree plantation can be found.
BY ELLEN P. RED, Correspondent
Industrial tree plantation in Bukidnon
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The bark of cinchona produces quinine, an age-old and most common cure for malaria. The area has the potential to produce 107 tons of raw quinine for the pharmaceutical industry.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the medicinal properties of the bark of cinchona were known in Peru even before the 15th century. It added that quinine, the active ingredient of the bark, was first isolated in 1820 by pharmacists.
"Approximately 300 million people worldwide are affected by malaria and between one and 15 million die from it every year. About 90% of deaths due to malaria occur in Africa south of Sahara mostly among young children. Malaria, together with HIV/AIDS [human immunovirus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome] and tuberculosis, is one of the major public health challenges under-mining development in the poorest countries in the world," the health body said in a report.
It described malaria as a life-threatening parasitic disease transmitted by mosquitoes. The health organization added that in 1880, scientists discovered the real cause of malaria, a one-cell parasite called plasmodium, and later the scientists discovered that the parasite is transmitted through the bite of a female anopheles mosquito, which requires blood to nurture her eggs.
"The hope of global eradication of malaria was finally abandoned in 1969 when it was recognized that this was unlikely ever to be achieved. Ongoing control programs remain essential in endemic areas," the WHO said.
Jose Edgardo Aban, senior science research specialist of the Philippine Council for Advanced Science and Technology Research and Development, an agency of the Department of Science and Technology, told BusinessWorld that based on the satellite and ground data up until 1997, the cinchona plantation run by the Environment department at the foothills of Mt. Kaatoan in Lantapan, has an estimated harvestable area from a minimum of 661.92 hectares to a maximum of 953.92 hectares.
Mr. Aban said that the harvestable estimates have a wet bark tonnage of 2,293.8 tons, or about 107 tons of raw quinine.
He said the findings were based on a research he conducted, entitled "Assessment and mapping of the cinchona reforestation project using spectroradiometric analyses and digital image processing techniques."
Considering cinchona’s medicinal value, several European countries started growing the tree but failed. In the 19th century, the Dutch successfully introduced the plantation of cinchona in Java and Sumatra when they colonized Indonesia.
"The seeds of cinchona were first brought to the country from Java. The trial planting of cinchona was conducted in the different parts of the country to determine the most suitable and adaptable site for its culture. The trials were done in Baguio, Mountain Province, Makiling National Park, Laguna and Bukidnon.
It is only in Bukidnon where the attempts were successful," the research report said.
Spanish explorers in 1893 attempted to introduce the plant in Mount Banahaw, Tayabas (now Quezon) and in Antipolo, Rizal. These also failed. The Bureau of Forestry then made the next attempts in 1912 in Baguio and Los Baños, Laguna, which also failed. Another trial planting was conducted by a missionary institution in Mountain Province in 1919. This, too, was a failure.
In 1926, Arthur Fischer, director of the Bureau of Forestry, initiated the establishment of a cinchona plantation in Bukidnon. Using cinchona seeds from Java, actual work began on July 27, 1927.
The cinchona plantation was established in the towns of Impasugong and Lantapan, all in Bukidnon. Of the two sites, the cinchona plantation in Lantapan with an average elevation of 1,140 meters above sea level showed very impressive results, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources said.
The cinchona forest reserve was established in 1936 by a presidential proclamation and covers an area of 1,914 hectares. Today, the forest reserve forms part of the Mt. Kitanglad protected area.
The Environment department described cinchona as a tropical tree characterized with a long, smooth, pointed evergreen leaves with clusters of deliciously scented lilac-like cream flowers. Cinchona grows as tall as 80 feet with a diameter as wide as 60 centimeters.
Studies conducted by department showed that planting cinchona does not require any fertilization as the elements needed for growth of cinchona are already present in the mossy forest.
It said the tree can be propagated through seeds -- cutting or grafting -- to which the choice of propagation methods depend largely on the economic factors and the purpose for which the cinchona plants are desired.