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).