“A person without children would face a hopeless future; a country without trees
is almost as helpless.”—American President Theodore Roosevelt
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From the moment of birth until the end of life – this illustrates the significance of trees to us, mere mortals. At the time of your birth, your parents utilized cribs crafted from rattan (a material sourced from the forest), and upon your passing, your family will undoubtedly opt for lumber to construct your casket.
This underscores the vital role trees play in our lives!
When the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan “rediscovered” the Philippines on March 16, 1521, the archipelago was abundant with untouched forests. However, during the 1970s to 1980s, the mountains were stripped of their trees and became barren.
“As the timber boom gained momentum, the government was unable to supervise concessions effectively or enforce logging regulations,” wrote Robert Repetto, author of The Forest for the Trees? Government Policies and the Misuse of Forest Resources. “Links between timber companies and politicians further eroded government control.
“Annual outputs averaging 10 million cubic meters were maintained until 1974, when depletion, world recession, and competition from other log-exporting countries forced a reduction,” Repetto added. “Declines continued over the next decade, and by 1984 the harvest returned to the pre-boom level of 3.8 million cubic meters.”
Today, we are paying for the sins of the past.
As Rev. Harold R. Watson, a former American agriculturist who had been helping the locals in Mindanao, puts it: “When man sins against the earth, the wages of that sin is death or destruction. This seems to be the universal law of God and relates to all of God’s creation. We face the reality of what man’s sins against the earth have caused. We are not facing a mere problem; we are facing destruction and even death if we continue to destroy the natural resources that support life on earth.”
The super typhoon Pablo (international codename: Bhopa), which badly hit Davao region, is a living proof.
The two super typhoons that hit Mindanao were living proof. On December 16, 2011, super typhoon Sendong (international name: Washi) struck Mindanao, leading to a death toll ranging from 1,200 to 2,500 and causing significant devastation, especially in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan.
The following year, another super typhoon named Pablo (Bopha) made landfall late on December 3 in Mindanao, specifically affecting Davao de Oro and Davao Oriental. This storm resulted in extensive damage across the island, displacing thousands and resulting in the deaths of 1,901 people.
Environmentalists and officials, including then-President Benigno Aquino III, emphasized that the breach of logging prohibitions and environmental degradation rendered Sendong the most lethal disaster of 2011. This tragedy was deemed a “chronicle of a disaster foretold” due to the ignored warnings regarding the region’s susceptibility.
On the other hand, senior officials and environmental specialists affirmed that extensive deforestation, fueled by illegal logging and mining activities, greatly exacerbated the effects of Pablo in 2012, directly leading to a high casualty count.
The devastation of forests eliminated natural barriers and diminished the soil’s ability to absorb substantial rainfall, culminating in disastrous flash floods and landslides that engulfed entire communities in regions such as Davao de Oro.
Ramon Paje, then head of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) at that time, claimed that about 80% of the remaining illegal logging “hot spots” in the country were located in the provinces hardest hit by “Pablo.”
Aside from logging (whether legal or illegal), other causes of deforestation in the Philippines are forest fires, “kaingin” farming (slash-and-burn agriculture), and mining operations. Volcanic eruptions have also devastated some of the country’s tropical rainforests. Ditto for typhoons, which have devastated considerable hectares of forest areas.
Surging population has compounded the problem. There were only 19 million Filipinos, according to the 1940 census. Today, the population has surged to more than 110 million people.
“Poverty, lack of jobs and wages, and absence of farm lots in the lowlands have forced some people to invade the forest,” commented the late Senator Heherson Alvarez, who served as environment secretary during the administration of Corazon Aquino.
Spreading cities have also contributed to decimation of forests. “Asphalt is often the last harvest for many forests,” said the late national scientist Dr. Dioscoro L. Umali.
“A forest is more than just trees,” said Dr. Umali, a recipient of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award. “It is a community throbbing with life – an ecosystem of plants, animals and their surroundings, an all-embracing web of life woven into soil, water, and air. These elements interact with each other. They all are essential parts of a whole system.”
Dr. Umali said that tampering any one of these elements disrupts the balance of the ecosystem. “In nature,” the Ramon Magsaysay laureate pointed out, “there are no rewards and punishment; there are only consequences.”
Almost 30 years since the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines issued the pastoral letter, “What is Happening to our Beautiful Land,” the disappearance of forests remains.
Today, “the Philippines is among the countries that are losing their forest cover fast, ranking fourth in the world’s top 10 most threatened forest hotspots,” deplored Marjorie Pamintuan, the spokesperson of Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment.
“If the deforestation rate of 157,400 hectares per year continues, the country’s remaining forest cover will be wiped out in less than 40 years. The area lost to deforestation every year is twice the land area of Metro Manila,” she said.
The extensive loss of forest means catastrophic for a country with lots of biological diversity. “Failure to protect our remaining forest would mean a great loss of the country’s rich repository of biodiversity of all time,” said Fulgencio Factoran during his time as DENR head.
It’s high time to reforest the Philippines – but how? Data from the Forest Management Bureau show that combined reforestation efforts by the government and the private sector are not enough to arrest the rapid deforestation.
Let us increase the number of trees we plant. This action will assist in mitigating the effects of climate change. The Forest Products Research and Development Institute (FPRDI) of the Department of Science and Technology states that a single tree can absorb approximately 21.77 kilograms of carbon dioxide – the main greenhouse gas – within a year. “At this rate, they produce sufficient oxygen to sustain two individuals,” it noted.
Additionally, what is the monetary value of a tree? Indian Professor T.M. Das from the University of Calcutta asserts that a tree that lives for 50 years will generate oxygen valued at $31,250, offer air pollution control worth $62,000, manage soil erosion and enhance soil fertility amounting to $31,250, recycle water valued at $37,500, and provide habitat for wildlife worth $31,250. This assessment does not account for the value of fruits, timber, or the aesthetic appeal provided by trees.
