Philippines fast losing its forests
THE Philippines has often been an example for the “worst-case-scenario” in environmental degradation. Some scientists have even concluded that environmental efforts should be put elsewhere, claiming the Philippines is a lost cause.
John Terborgh, in his book, Requiem for Nature, opines that the “overpopulated Philippines” is “already beyond the point of no return.”
The United Nations demographers projected in 2002 that the Philippine population would reach between 75 and 85 million. But the population overshot the high projection and now stands at 89 million.
Most of the forests were situated in the uplands, of which more than 60 percent of the country’s total land area are considered as such.
“The uplands are fragile areas, and when they get overloaded with population, they just can’t take it,” explained Jeff Palmer, former director of the Davao-based Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center (MBRLC).
Between 1990 and 2005, the Philippines lost one-third of its forest cover. Although the current deforestation rate is around 2 percent per year, a 20 percent drop from the rate of the 1990s, deforestation continues unabated.
“A few hundred years ago, at least 95 percent of the Philippines was covered by rain forest; only a few patches of open woodland and seasonal forest, mostly on Luzon, broke the expanse of moist, verdant land,” noted Dr. Lawrence R. Heaney, an American curator who holds honorary appointments at Silliman University, the University of the Philippines, and the Philippine National Museum.
By the time the Spanish arrived in the Philippines in the 16th century, scattered coastal areas had been cleared for agriculture and villages. Three hundred years later, rainforest still covered about 70 percent of the country.
But in recent years, the country was devoid of its forest cover.
“Primary forests in the Philippines are being destroyed due to both logging and agricultural expansion, significantly decreasing the Philippine’s natural resources,” commented one environmentalist.
Despite government bans on timber harvesting following severe flooding in the late 1980s and early 1990s, illegal logging continues. Illicit wood cut from secondary and primary forests is routinely smuggled to other Asian countries.
“In 1992, the date of the most recent forest survey, old-growth rain forest had declined to a shocking 8.6 percent,” Dr. Heaney reported. “In late 1997, that percentage has probably dropped to seven percent, and perhaps further still.”
“Unless actions are taken soon to put an end to today’s cut-and-run style of forestry, little of the earth’s natural forest heritage will remain for the next generation,” wrote Sandra Postel and John C. Ryan in a report released by the Washington-based Worldwatch Institute.
Additional threats to Philippine forests come from legal and illegal mining operations – which also cause pollution – collection of fuelwood (85 percent of meals in developing countries are cooked over wood or charcoal), and kaingin farming (slash-and-burn agriculture). “These migrant farmers attack virgin forest lands to cultivate the rich soil, which they quickly deplete,” said Harold R. Watson, recipient of the 1985 Ramon Magsaysay Award for peace and international understanding. “Then, they move on, looking for more. One day, there is no more.”
As a result of the removal of forest cover, the Philippines now reels from different environmental problems. “Most of these were not seen in such intensity and magnitude before our time,” deplored Roy C. Alimoane, the current MBRLC director. “The signs cry out for immediate, nationwide attention.”
In recent years, deforestation has been increasingly blamed for soil erosion. “Soil erosion is an enemy to any nation – far worse than any outside enemy into a country and conquering it because it is an enemy you cannot see vividly,” warned Rev. Watson. “It’s a slow creeping enemy that soon possesses the land.”
At least two provinces – Cebu and Batangas – have lost more than 80% of their topsoil to erosion. In Luzon, four major basins – Bicol, Magat, Pampanga, and Agno – are in critical condition due to acute soil erosion and sedimentation.
The rampant cutting of trees has also significantly reduced the volume of groundwater available for domestic purposes. “If the forest perishes, so will the life of people,” contends Diosmedes Demit, one of the farmers who joined the ‘Fast for the Forests’ in 1989. “The trees are our source of life. Without trees, there will be no water.
If there is no water, there will be no life.”
Cebu, which has zero forest cover, is 99% dependent on groundwater.
As a result, more than half of the towns and cities in Cebu, excluding Metro Cebu, have no access to potable water. In Metro Manila, where there are no forests to speak of, the water tables are being drawn at the rate of six to 12 meters a year causing saline water intrusion along the coastal areas.
Deforestation also threatens the country’s wildlife resources. Two particular species of animals, the tamaraw and the Philippines eagle are almost extinct due to the massive deforestation. More than half the birds, amphibians and mammals endemic to the Philippines are threatened with extinction.
Joselito Atienza, secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said that 592 of the 1,137 species of amphibians, birds and mammals found only in the Philippines are considered “threatened or endangered.” Some 227 endemic species of plants are “critically endangered.”
Dr. Lee Talbot, former director of Southeast Asia Project on Wildlife Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, issued this sober thought: “A few decades ago, the wildlife of the Philippines was notable for its abundance; now, it is notable for its variety. If present trend of destruction continues, Philippine wildlife will be notable for its absence.”
Deforestation is nothing new. If we believe in the saying that history repeats itself, then deforestation would be a fine example.
In his book Critias, Plato commented on the deforestation of Attica: “What now remains compared with what then existed is like the skeleton of a sick man, all fat and soft earth having wasted away, and only the bare framework of the land being left… There are some mountains which have nothing but food for bees, but they had trees not very long ago, and the rafters from those felled there to roof the largest buildings are still sound.”
Henrylito Tacio
regarding HENRY
Published in The Daily Guardian 09.11.2008
such a bitter pill of truth we have to face… i do hope we do something about it…
And I bet only about 15% of the populace realizes this…
I am very aware of what’s happening to our country’s forests. And I am nothing but a teenager. But I really want to help save our environment. How can I help? Or what organization can i join?
please e-mail back