Deforestation in the Philippines

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Satellite image of the Philippines in March 2002 showing forest cover in dark green Satellite image of Philippines in March 2002.jpg
Satellite image of the Philippines in March 2002 showing forest cover in dark green
Small-scale logging and coal-making operations at the lower areas of the Sierra Madre mountain range Oriod burnt.jpg
Small-scale logging and coal-making operations at the lower areas of the Sierra Madre mountain range

As in other Southeast Asian countries, deforestation in the Philippines is a major environmental issue. Over the course of the 20th century, the forest cover of the country dropped from 70 percent down to 20 percent. [1] Based on an analysis of land use pattern maps and a road map an estimated 9.8 million hectares of forests were lost in the Philippines from 1934 to 1988. [2]

Contents

A 2010 land cover mapping by the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) revealed that the total forest cover of the Philippines is 6,839,718 hectares (68,397.18 km2) or 23% of the country's total area of 30,000,000 hectares (300,000 km2). [3]

Deforestation affects biodiversity in the Philippines and has long-term negative impacts on the country's food production. [4] Deforestation in the Philippines has also been associated with floods, soil erosion, deaths, and damage to property. [5]

History

Colonial era deforestation

It is unknown the percentage of forest the Spaniards found in the Philippines in 1521, before and during the Spanish colonial period, 380 years, some land was cleared for agriculture, roads and cities, and in 1900, more than 70% of the country was still covered by jungles. But after 46 years of American and Japanese occupation, more than 20% of forest was destroyed, and by the end of the 20th century, only 20% of the country was covered by forest. [6]

Forest clearing was notable in the Visayas, particularly in the islands of Negros, Bohol and Cebu, where much of the forest cover had already been lost. Agricultural expansion continued throughout the 20th century. [7]

Indigenous peoples, such as the such as the Yapayao and Isneg peoples who used to live in the Ilocos Region, were slowly pushed into living in the sparsely populated but resource-rich mountains, which would expose them to conflicts with developers in later eras, particularly during Martial Law under Ferdinand Marcos. [8] :47

Deforestation during the martial law era

The 1960s and 1970s saw a boom in the logging industry, [9] with the industry reaching its peak during the era of President Ferdinand Marcos. [10]

Under Marcos, logging took on an increasingly central role in the Philippine economy. [11] Following the declaration of martial law in 1972, Marcos handed out concessions to large tracts of land to his senior military officials, cronies, [12] and relatives. [13] The government encouraged log exportation to Japan resulting from soaring wood demand during Japan's period of rapid economic growth, [14] and pressure to pay foreign debt. Forests resources were exploited by set-up companies and reforestation was rarely undertaken. [9] Japanese log traders purchased massive quantities of cheap logs from unsustainable sources, accelerating deforestation. [15] Log production increased from 6.3 million cubic metres (220×10^6 cu ft) in 1960 to an average of 10.5 million cubic metres (370×10^6 cu ft) between 1968 and 1975, peaking at over 15 million cubic metres (530×10^6 cu ft) in 1975, before declining to about 4 million cubic metres (140×10^6 cu ft) in 1987. [11] The 1970s and 1980s saw an average of 2.5% of Philippine forests disappearing every year, which was thrice the worldwide deforestation rate. [16]

Deforestation after 1986

Deforestation remained very high during the Corazon Aquino and Fidel V. Ramos administrations despite tree planting efforts due to corruption and inefficiency in the government agencies involved. [9]

According to Global Forest Watch, from 2001 to 2020, most of the loss of forest cover in the Philippines took place in Palawan. Other provinces that have lost significant forest cover are Agusan del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, Davao Oriental, and Quezon Province. [17]

Causes

Government policies

According to scholar Jessica Mathews, short-sighted policies by the Filipino government have contributed to the high rate of deforestation: [18]

The government regularly granted logging concessions of less than ten years. Since it takes 30–35 years for a second-growth forest to mature, loggers had no incentive to replant. Compounding the error, flat royalties encouraged the loggers to remove only the most valuable species. A horrendous 40 percent of the harvestable lumber never left the forests but, having been damaged in the logging, rotted or was burned in place. The unsurprising result of these and related policies is that out of 17 million hectares of closed forests that flourished early in the century only 1.2 million remain today.

Attribution of deforestation to population pressure or agricultural expansion was found not to be backed by existing evidence in a 1992 study. [19] Subsequent research has shown that intensification of existing farmers and improved off-farm income reduced forest pressure. [20] However, in some parts of the country forest encroachment still happens due to high demand for vegetables. [21]

Mining and logging

Mining and logging are major causes of deforestation in the Philippines. [22] [23] [24] Mining operations have cleared large areas of forest land and has led to water contamination, ecological destruction, loss of livelihood, [25] and loss of biodiversity. [26]

Republic Act 7942, or the Philippine Mining Act, allows mining operations to clear trees and relocate Indigenous and local communities. [27] The law allows foreign-owned companies to engage in mining activities. According to environmental group Alyansa Tigil Mina, the law "legitimizes the plunder of our national patrimony," and that the "situation will only worsen if ChaCha prospers and transnational corporations are allowed to act with impunity." [28]

Illegal logging occurs in the Philippines [29] and intensifies flood damage in some areas. [30]

Natural disasters

Coconut trees destroyed by Typhoon Bopha in Boston, Davao Oriental in 2012 Coconut trees destroyed by Typhoon Bopha in Boston, Davao Oriental.jpg
Coconut trees destroyed by Typhoon Bopha in Boston, Davao Oriental in 2012

Destructive typhoons in the Philippines, such as Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in 2013, also cause deforestation and defoliation. [31] [32]

Conservation

Forest Landscape Integrity Index 2019 map of the Philippines FLII Philippines.png
Forest Landscape Integrity Index 2019 map of the Philippines

The Philippine national REDD+ Strategy, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation, was drafted and submitted to the United Nations in 2010. [33] An update to the strategy published by the Forest and Management Bureau of the Philippines showed that as of 2017, the county was still in the early phase of preparing to implement its REDD+ Strategy. [34]

Executive Order 23 was signed in February 2011 banning logging throughout the country. [35]

New mining agreements were banned in 2012 to protect the environment, though existing mines were allowed to continue operations. [36]

A nationwide ban on open-pit mining was put in place in 2017. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Gina Lopez suspended permits for 26 mining operations that violated environmental rules. The ban on open-pit and other mining operations was lifted in 2021. [27]

Reforestation

Government policies

In June 1977, President Ferdinand Marcos signed a law requiring the planting of one tree every month for five consecutive years by every citizen of the Philippines. [37] The law was repealed by President Corazon Aquino in July 1987, [38] through Executive Order 287, which states that the planting of trees "can be achieved without the compulsion and the penalties for non-compliance therewith as set forth in the Decree". [39]

President Benigno Aquino III established the National Greening Program (NGP) [40] with the signing of Executive Order No. 26 on February 24, 2011. [41] The program aims to increase the country's forest cover in 1.5 million hectares (15,000 km2) of land with 1.5 billion trees from 2011 to 2016. In 2015, the program was expanded to cover all remaining unproductive, denuded and degraded forestlands and its period of implementation extended from 2016 to 2028. [42]

In September 2012, President Benigno Aquino III signed a law requiring all able-bodied citizens of the Philippines, who are at least 12 years of age, to plant one tree every year. [43] There is no provision in the law to enforce and monitor compliance to this requirement.

In June 2020, the DENR started allowing a "family approach" under the National Greening Program, permitting families to establish forest plantations composed of timber and non-timber species, which include bamboo and rattan. [44]

Tree planting activities

Man-made mahogany forest in Bilar, Bohol Man-made Forest, Bilar, Bohol.jpg
Man-made mahogany forest in Bilar, Bohol

There are tree-planting initiatives conducted in various parts of the country. On March 8, 2012, 1,009,029 mangrove trees were planted within one hour by a team achieved by the joint efforts of Governor Lray Villafuerte of the El Verde Movement and the people of San Rafael of Ragay, Camarines Sur. [45]

On September 26, 2014, the Philippines broke the Guinness World Record for the "Most trees planted simultaneously (multiple locations)", wherein 2,294,629 trees were planted in 29 locations throughout the country by 122,168 participants in an event organized by TreeVolution: Greening MindaNOW (Philippines). Trees planted during the event included rubber, cacao, coffee, timber, mahogany trees, as well as various fruit trees and other species native to the country. [46]

Proposed legislation

In May 2019, the House of Representatives of the Philippines has approved House Bill 8728, or the "Graduation Legacy for the Environment Act," principally authored by Magdalo Party-List Representative Gary Alejano and Cavite 2nd District Representative Strike Revilla, requiring all graduating elementary, high school, and college students to plant at least 10 trees each before they can graduate. [47] A similar Senate bill was filed but not passed. [38]

House Bill 5240, or the National Land Use Act, and House Bill 9088, or the Sustainable Forest Management Act, were approved in the House of Representatives to address deforestation, land use conversion, and other environmental issues. The counterpart bills in the Senate stalled in the committee on the environment. [48]

Environmental groups have called for a review the Philippine Mining Act, the Fisheries Code, the Comprehensive Land Use Plan, and the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act to ensure responsible environmental and natural resources management. Environmental groups have also called for the passage of a People's Mining Law and an Environmental Defender's Law. [28]

Activism

Local governments, Indigenous communities, and nongovernmental organizations conduct campaigns against destructive practices such as logging and mining. Organizations include Alyansa Tigil Mina and Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment. [27] [49]

The killing of environmental activists have been allegedly linked to mining companies. According to human rights group Global Witness, a third of land defenders killed in the Philippines from 2012 to 2024 are anti-mining activists. [28]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deforestation</span> Conversion of forest to non-forest for human use

Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated deforestation occurs in tropical rainforests. About 31% of Earth's land surface is covered by forests at present. This is one-third less than the forest cover before the expansion of agriculture, with half of that loss occurring in the last century. Between 15 million to 18 million hectares of forest, an area the size of Bangladesh, are destroyed every year. On average 2,400 trees are cut down each minute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reforestation</span> Land regeneration method (replacement of trees)

Reforestation is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands (forestation) that have been depleted, usually through deforestation but also after clearcutting. Two important purposes of reforestation programs are for harvesting of wood or for climate change mitigation purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illegal logging</span> Harvest, transportation, purchase, or sale of timber in violation of laws

Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase, or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a protected area; the cutting down of protected species; or the extraction of timber in excess of agreed limits. Illegal logging is a driving force for a number of environmental issues such as deforestation, soil erosion and biodiversity loss which can drive larger-scale environmental crises such as climate change and other forms of environmental degradation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sibuyan Island</span> Island in the Philippines

Sibuyan is a crescent-shaped island, the second largest in an archipelago comprising Romblon Province, Philippines. Located in the namesake Sibuyan Sea, it has an area of 445 square kilometres (172 sq mi) and has a total population of 62,815 as of 2020 census. The island has two prominent peaks, the highest is Mount Guiting-Guiting with an elevation of 2,058 metres (6,752 ft) and Mount Nailog with a height of 789 metres (2,589 ft). The people speak the Sibuyanon dialect of Romblomanon, a Visayan language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environment of Sri Lanka</span>

The environment of Sri Lanka exhibits a remarkable biodiversity.

Today, environmental problems in the Philippines include pollution, mining and logging, deforestation, threats to environmental activists, dynamite fishing, landslides, coastal erosion, biodiversity loss, extinction, global warming and climate change. Due to the paucity of extant documents, a complete history of land use in the archipelago remains unwritten. However, relevant data shows destructive land use increased significantly in the eighteenth century when Spanish colonialism enhanced its extraction of the archipelago's resources for the early modern global market. The Philippines is projected to be one of the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change, which would exacerbate weather extremes. As the Philippines lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, it is prone to natural disasters, like earthquakes, typhoons, and volcanic eruptions. In 2021, the Philippines ranked the fourth most affected country from "weather-related loss events", partly due to the close proximity of major infrastructure and residential areas to the coast and unreliable government support. One of the most devastating typhoons to hit the archipelago was Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Yolanda, in 2013 that killed 6,300 people and left 28,689 injured. Congress passed the Clean Air Act of 1999, the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004, the Climate Change Act of 2009 to address environmental issues. The country is also a signatory to the Paris Agreement. However, research has found that outside of cities, the general public doesn't feel equally informed. Environmental activists and land defenders, consisting mostly of Indigenous communities who have been attempting to bring attention to the environmental issues in the country have been met with violence or murder. As a result, the Philippines has been ranked one of the most dangerous places in the world for environmental activists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of Malaysia</span>

The wildlife of Malaysia is diverse, with Malaysia being a megadiverse country. Most of the country is covered in rainforest, which hosts a huge diversity of plant and animal species. There are approximately 361 mammal species, 694 bird species, 250 reptile species, and 150 frog species found in Malaysia. Its large marine territory also holds a great diversity of life, with the country's coastal waters comprising part of the Coral Triangle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deforestation in Thailand</span> Overview of the history and state of Thailands forests

Deforestation in Thailand refers to the conversion of its forested land to other uses. Deforestation numbers are inexact due to the scope of the issue. According to the Royal Forest Department (RFD) in 2019, Thai forests cover 31.6% of Thailand's landmass. The department claims that forest coverage grew by 330,000 rai in 2018, an area equivalent in size to the island of Phuket. A year earlier, an academic claimed that, since 2016, forested area has declined by 18,000 rai, a significant improvement over the period 2008–2013, when a forested million rai were lost each year. In 1975, the government set a goal of 40% forest coverage—25% natural forest and 15% commercial forest—within 20 years. To achieve that target in 2018, 27 million rai would have to be afforested.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Land clearing in Australia</span>

Land clearing in Australia describes the removal of native vegetation and deforestation in Australia. Land clearing involves the removal of native vegetation and habitats, including the bulldozing of native bushlands, forests, savannah, woodlands and native grasslands and the draining of natural wetlands for replacement with agriculture, urban and other land uses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deforestation in Cambodia</span>

Deforestation in Cambodia has increased in recent years. Cambodia is one of the world's most forest endowed countries, that was not historically widely deforested. However, massive deforestation for economic development threatens its forests and ecosystems. As of 2015, the country has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forestry in India</span> Environmental resource – India

Forestry in India is a significant rural industry and a major environmental resource. India is one of the ten most forest-rich countries of the world. Together, India and 9 other countries account for 67 percent of the total forest area of the world. India's forest cover grew at 0.20% annually over 1990–2000, and has grown at the rate of 0.7% per year over 2000–2010, after decades where forest degradation was a matter of serious concern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deforestation in Brazil</span>

Brazil once had the highest deforestation rate in the world and in 2005 still had the largest area of forest removed annually. Since 1970, over 700,000 square kilometres (270,000 sq mi) of the Amazon rainforest have been destroyed. In 2001, the Amazon was approximately 5,400,000 square kilometres (2,100,000 sq mi), which is only 87% of the Amazon's original size. According to official data, about 729,000 km² have already been deforested in the Amazon biome, which corresponds to 17% of the total. 300,000 km² have been deforested in the last 20 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deforestation in Nigeria</span>

Deforestation in Nigeria refers to the extensive and rapid clearing of forests within the borders of Nigeria. This environmental issue has significant impacts on both local and global scales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest</span>

The Amazon rainforest, spanning an area of 3,000,000 km2, is the world's largest rainforest. It encompasses the largest and most biodiverse tropical rainforest on the planet, representing over half of all rainforests. The Amazon region includes the territories of nine nations, with Brazil containing the majority (60%), followed by Peru (13%), Colombia (10%), and smaller portions in Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deforestation in Sri Lanka</span>

Deforestation is one of the most serious environmental issues in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka's current forest cover as of 2017 was 29.7%. In the 1920s, the island had a 49 percent forest cover but by 2005 this had fallen by approximately 26 percent. Between 1990 and 2000, Sri Lanka lost an average of 26,800 ha of forests per year. This amounts to an average annual deforestation rate of 1.14%. Between 2000 and 2005 the rate accelerated to 1.43% per annum. However, with a long history of policy and laws towards environmental protection, deforestation rates of primary cover have decreased 35% since the end of the 1990s thanks to a strong history of conservation measures. The problem of deforestation in Sri Lanka is not as significant in the southern mountainous regions as it is in northern and lowland southern Sri Lanka, largely due to the nature of environmental protection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deforestation by continent</span> Removal of forests worldwide

Rates and causes of deforestation vary from region to region around the world. In 2009, two-thirds of the world's forests were located in just 10 countries: Russia, Brazil, Canada, the United States, China, Australia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, India, and Peru.

Deforestation in New Zealand has been a contentious environmental issue in the past, but native forests now have legal protection, and are not allowed to be tampered with by humans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deforestation in Indonesia</span>

Deforestation in Indonesia involves the long-term loss of forests and foliage across much of the country; it has had massive environmental and social impacts. Indonesia is home to some of the most biologically diverse forests in the world and ranks third in number of species behind Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deforestation in Borneo</span> Deforestation

Deforestation in Borneo has taken place on an industrial scale since the 1960s. Borneo, the third largest island in the world, divided between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, was once covered by dense tropical and subtropical rainforests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deforestation in Papua New Guinea</span>

Deforestation in Papua New Guinea has been extensive and in recent decades from 2001 to 2020, Papua New Guinea (PNG) lost 1.57Mha of tree cover, equivalent to a 3.7% decrease in tree cover since 2000, and 1.15Gt of CO₂e emissions.

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Further reading