Save the Forests, Earn a living: A Perfect Bargain

by Sherri Maigne A. Meneses

    Did you know that Mount Makiling is a restored forest? This dormant volcano was almost totally deforested and became a vast grassland due to urbanization or the growing population in Manila and of the surrounding areas. 

    According to Henrylito Tacio in his article entitled “Showing the way to save the remaining forests” (2005), it was in the late 1800s when Dr. Hugh Curran Sr.—an American forester—began planting different kinds of trees in Mt. Makiling. This became the start of the mountain’s reforestation. It now has an exceptional diversity of woody plants. However, history is now repeating and Mt. Makiling is once again in danger.
    Mongabay.com, an online source that aims to raise interest in wildlife and wild lands while promoting awareness of environmental issues says that, as of 2002, Los Baños is the 26th largest city in the Philippines having a population of 128, 500.  This increase in population along with land conversions by private owners and developers, and use of forest products are just some of the causes of deforestation of Laguna’s highest mountains.

The sad truth about the Philippine Forests
    Mt. Makiling is not the only mountain in danger of forest denudation. The Philippines lost one third or 32.3% of its forest cover between 1990 and 2005. It means that, if a hectare is roughly the size of 22 basketball courts, our country lost a total of forest cover the size of around 75, 064, 000 basketball courts! 
    According to the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF), an international group devoted to conservation of nature, there might be no more forest to speak of by the year 2014 unless we stop the continuous degradation of forests.
    The Philippines is known for its biodiversity. Mongabay.com says that it is home to at least 8931 species of vascular plants, of which 39.2% are endemic, meaning they exist in no other country. It has some 1196 known species of animals according to the World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Of these, nearly 46% are endemic, and 14.7% are threatened. 
    High population growth is said to be one of the culprits for forest loss. Imagine that every time there is an increase in population, there comes a higher demand for housing. A higher demand for housing requires higher demand for timber and lands. In order to supply those needed materials, we turn to our forests—cutting our trees and leaving our animals homeless.

Rescue the Forests!
    In order to stop the misuse of our forests the Philippine government adopted a strategy for sustainable forest management. During President Fidel V. Ramos’ term, issued the Executive Order (EO) 263 was issued. The EO prescribed the Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) as the primary strategy in all forest conservation and development projects in the country. It covers all areas classified as forestlands, including the allowable zones within protected areas.
    In order to unify other forestry programs—such as the Forest Occupancy Management Program and Integrated Social Forestry Program—that existed during the last two decades, CBFM Program was created. Unlike before where there were different instruments used per programs, CBFM integrated all these into one instrument—the Community-Based Forest Management Agreement (CBFMA).
    CBFM is a way to promote sustainable forest management. Sustainable forest management may be described as protecting and rehabilitating the forests at the same time earning money from it. Likewise, CBFM aims to protect the rights of the Filipinos to a healthy environment. Another of its goals is to respect the rights and way of living of indigenous people. In this strategy, the role of local communities—both upland migrant communities and indigenous people—are recognized in forest protection, rehabilitation, development and conservation.

What we can do to help
    What can we do to stop deforestation? Haribon Foundation suggests four ways. First is to support a nationwide total commercial log ban in natural forests. They say that we should also support and develop sustainable livelihood. Another is to stop mining in our remaining forests and plant native trees.
    Why plant trees if they say that leaving the forest alone would allow it to heal on its own? Yes, nature can heal itself without man’s intervention. However, it would definitely take ages for it to fully regenerate—man can not wait that long. We need the forests for our supply of wood, food, oxygen, and many others essential to life.
    We can all work together to save our forests before it’s too late!




References:

Tacio, H D. (2005). Showing the way to save remaining forests. Retrieved 
     August  26, 2009, from BusinessWork Web site:        
     http://www.afrim.org.ph/Archives/2005/BusinessWorld/May/20/Showing%20
     the%20way%20to%20save%20remaining%20forests.txt

Philippines Deforestation Rates and Related Forestry Figures. (2006). Retrieved 
      August 25, 2009, from Mongaboy.com Web site: 
       http://rainforests.mongabay.com/20philippines.htm

Dolom, P C. (personal communication, August 19, 2009)

Stop the Destruction. (2004). Retrieved 
      August 27, 2009, from Haribon Foundation Web site: 
       http://www.haribon.org.ph/Save-Our-Forests

This article was a requirement in DEVC 122 Science Reporting - Feature (1st sem 09-10).

Repair Nature: Think Organic

by Sherri Maigne A. Meneses

    Did you know that even the soil gets sick, too? This may be due to people’s overuse of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides on crops. What better way to heal the soil than using what nature has already provided for us: green manures.

    Yes, you read it right! Not all manures are from animals. Unlike animal manure that we know as a yucky, smelly, sticky poop, green manure is a plant grown and used to improve soil quality based on organic matter and nutrient content. Green manures can be used in two ways: in the in situ method or as green leaf manure.
    In order to explain this better, let’s have doing the laundry as an example for these two ways. Imagine the soil as your dirty clothes, the stains and dirt as the infertility of the soil, the green manures as your own detergent, bleach and water, and you—the washer—as the farmer.

The in situ method
    In the in situ method, green manure crops are grown in a field before cultivation. You fix the sick soil by planting these green manures directly on your fields. It is like doing your own laundry manually. You remove all the stains and dirt from your clothes to clean them up so you can use them again. This can be done directly by washing thoroughly, scrubbing, and leaving it soaked in water with bleach and detergent to further remove the stains. Like in the in situ, when about half of the green manures are flowering, these will be cut, buried under the soil and left to decompose. Like the bleach which removes the tough stains in your clothes, green manures have beneficial organisms, such as nitrogen fixing bacteria to make the soil healthy again.
    These bacteria use the energy released by decaying plant tissues for rehabilitating processes. There are many processes that happen during this decomposition.
One of the processes is called nitrogen fixation. It is called such because it repairs the nitrogen content in the soil which is essential for plants.

The green leaf manure method
    The method of green leaf is different from in situ manure. This method grows crops in live fences or on barren lands. The leaves will be cut and bundled. It is then transported to farms and then mixed into the soil. It will be left to partially decay before planting the main crops. It can be compared doing your laundry using a washing machine and then switching to manual soaking to further remove the stains. 
    An example of green manure crops used in this method is banago (Thespesia populnea). Banago can be found along the seashores in the Philippines and other places that have the same climate condition. It is usually grown for tobacco, grapes and banana fields.
    Green manures are better than inorganic fertilizers because it rehabilitates saline soils. Saline soils have too much salt content. Too much salt in soils could badly affect the crops. Green manure also produces greater soil fertility, and improves the soil for healthier crop production and reduces risks to soil health. 
It stimulates the growth of beneficial microbes found in the soil. It also serves as food for earthworms. Yes, those creepy, crawling worms are beneficial. Earthworms are important because they help in the decomposition process. Most of all, it is cheap and readily available. Try digging a nearby moist soil, you’ll most probably find a worm or two.
    Although green manure has many benefits for the plant industry, it is still not 
practiced by all farmers. It is because “green manuring” is more labor intensive than when using inorganic fertilizers. The method also need large amount of green manure crops. Moreover, the nutrients that will be produced here only become available after the decomposition process that last for two to three months.
    But people, look at the difference that we can make if we use green manures. Besides the fact that we can be able to help feed millions of earthworms in the entire planet, we can be able to help cure Mother Nature! 
Using organic fertilizers can help reduce the carbon footprints that we leave behind us. So now I may see you raise you’re eyebrows. What the heck now is carbon footprint?? 
    To make it simple, carbon footprint is the carbon that we directly or indirectly release in our daily activities. We produce carbon footprint just by driving or riding a car, buying a new cellular phone or buying groceries, etc. These carbon footprints are some of the many causes of global warming or the heating up of the Earth’s average temperature. 
    Green manure is a gift from Mother Nature. She has given us a good alternative for better crop production. All we have to do is use it, improve it, and benefit from it. But it is not all about us. Stopping the use of inorganic fertilizers can help reduce pollutants in the environment. 
    Repair nature. Think organic!


Reference:
Vakeesan A., Nishanthan T., & Mikunthan G. (2008) Green manures: Nature’s gift to
improve soil fertility. LEISA. 24(2), 16-17

This article was a requirement for DEVC 122 Science Reporting - Blog (1st sem 09-10).

Rice Garden on its 8th year

by Sherri Maigne A. Meneses

     The Rice Garden in Luneta is now on its 8th year of campaign for rice awareness and appreciation. A Ceremonial Harvesting will be done by the end of November, which is Rice Awareness Month—in accordance to Proclamation 524 declared by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2004. The proclamation made the said month as a period for the appreciation of rice as a staple food.

The birth of Rice Garden
    Did you know that 90% of our population consumes rice? According to the Philippine 
Rice Production Training Manual of 2003, this staple food produces 60-70% of the Filipinos’ calorie intake. Oryza sativa, commonly known as rice, is important in the country’s culture, nourishment, and economy.
    The Rice Garden Project aims to increase the knowledge and understanding of the city dwellers about rice. This garden could inform the public about vital roles of rice farmers in society specifically the different technologies rice farmers uses in its production. 
    Rice Garden is a joint project of Philippine Rice Research Institute of Los Baños (PhilRice), Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Plant Industry (DA-BPI), Presidential Commission for the New Century and Millennium (PCNCM), Department of Tourism – National Parks Development Committee (DOT-NPDC) and Asia Rice Foundation (ARF). The said parties agreed upon the project on July 2000 and was established a year after.
    As stated in their memorandum, PhilRice Los Baños will regularly provide the necessary materials, such as the sample rice varieties. The research institute started their four-month preparation on the said project last July. They did the process of seed sowing. In this process, the seedlings of the three varieties of rice were raised for at least 20 days. The rice seedlings were then planted directly on the prepared plots on the third week of July.

Like nurturing a baby
    In the northwest corner of the Rizal Park in Luneta Phase II lies a 300 square-meter space for the annual Rice Garden project. It is a screened-house just in front of the Manila Hotel. It houses the seedlings of three varieties of rice. These varieties are the traditional rice, modern or high yielding variety, and the hybrid rice.
    The traditional rice is tall, takes a long time to fully grow, and produces small amount of yield or grains. They fall over with increase in fertilizer because of their height. Milagrosa and Dinorado, which are commonly seen in rice stalls, are under this variety. 
    High Yielding varieties (HYVs) or modern rice, on the other hand, have short and strong stems. Modern rice varieties, such as PSB Rc18 and IR64, have upright leaves making them efficient in food-making or what we call in plants as photosynthesis. They have higher yield and respond better to fertilizer than traditional rice. 
    Hybrid rice is the product of crossing two genetically dissimilar parents. They are expected to yield 15-25% more grains than many popular HYVs using the same production practices. An example of this variety is the Bigante Rice, which is filled with vitamins and minerals—such as protein, calcium, carbohydrates, iron, and Vitamins B1, B2 and B3—in every cup.
    PhilRice will provide maintenance workers who will take care of the Rice Garden and other displays related to the project until the harvest month. The city will witness the Rice Garden’s 8th year Harvest Festival on November.

Rice Garden’s Birthday Bash
    In the Ceremonial Harvesting, the participants themselves, primarily the elementary and high school students, will be the ones to harvest the rice plants. This will be done in order to enrich the experiences of the participants and for them to realize the value of each grain of rice. Like the traditional celebration, the participants will perform their talents in connection to rice awareness month. There will also be games, and prizes to be won. 
    In order to help reach the goals of the project, PhilRice will provide information and display materials about rice for the visitors to ponder on.
    Truly, this would be another exciting experience for all those who could be part of it. Perhaps this will help Filipinos start regaining the importance of every grain of rice. Hopefully, they will realize that—unlike in bedtime stories—rice will not roll on your doorsteps and knock.

This article was a requirement in DEVC 122 Science Reporting - News Feature (1st sem 09-10).