RESTORING VANISHING FORESTS

By Henrylito D. Tacio
“Where have all our forests gone?” environmentalists wonder.
“Our forests are being denuded at the rate of 25 hectares per hour,” says Rep. Mark Villar, Lone District of Las Piñas City.
Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan, a noted environmentalist and wildlife photographer, once wrote that forest covered 70 percent of the Philippines in the 1900s.  By the mid-1960s, only 13.5 million hectares remained, of which barely 6.3 million hectares were considered primary forest.
During the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos, forests were decimated at an astonishing rate of 300,000 hectares per year. Towards the end of his regime, only 7.2 million hectares remained of the country’s forest cover, of which barely 2.7 million hectares were reported virgin forests.
To many experts, a country devoid of its forest cover spells ecological disaster.  In 2011, Typhoon Sendong brought 12 hours of continuous rain to Mindanao Island.  Tragedy took place after that.  The rivers flooded and people drowned or were crushed by logs. The government declared it “a national disaster,” with the storm affecting 338,000 people in 13 provinces.
Sean McDonagh, a priest who worked in the area, said decades of deforestation in Cagayan de Oro City and nearby provinces was to blame for the scale of the disaster. Much of the region was converted from rainforest into pineapple plantations.
“The deforestation was literally criminal,” he told The Universe Catholic Weekly. “If the rainforest in the area had been left intact, even 12 hours of continuous rain would not cause this devastation. The rainforest canopy would stop the torrential rain from hitting the ground directly. Trees would also absorb the water.”
“Deforestation is a symptom of a bigger problem,” says Nicolo del Castillo, an architect by profession who teaches at the University of the Philippines.  “I probably sound baduy (tacky and outdated) but I see the problem in the prevailing system of values, that is, the greed, the need to be the biggest, the wealthiest, and sometimes you feel hopeless. I am an optimist, but possibly there will be more tragedies and maybe then more people will wake up.”
According to environmentalists, logging operations – legal and otherwise – are mowing down the country’s remaining forests.  The Rev. Peter Walpole, a Jesuit priest who heads an environmental group, said the Philippines “trusted” logging companies to cut down trees and manage the forest.  “But they did a very bad job,” he decried.  “That started the problem that we have now.”
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the lead agency responsible for the country’s natural resources and ecosystems, is virtually powerless against logging. 
But logging companies pass the blame on to kaingineros, slash-and-burn farmers who supposedly log without the restraint and responsibility of big companies.  A study done in the 1970s showed that when logging firms were banned from certain areas, these places were rapidly denuded by kaingineros.
Other causes of deforestation in the Philippines are forest fires, mining operations, geothermal explorations, dam construction and operation, and land development projects such as construction of subdivision, industrial estates, and commercial sites.
Volcanic eruptions have also devastated some of the country’s forests.  The country’s surging population – now numbered to 100 million Filipinos – has also contributed to the problem.
As a consequence of the continuous removal of forest cover, the Philippines now reels from different environmental woes.  “Most of these were not seen in such intensity and magnitude before our time,” pointed out Roy C. Alimoane, the director of the Davao-based Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center.  “The signs cry out for immediate, nationwide attention.”
Soil erosion and siltation are the two most common problems associated with deforestation.  “Soil erosion is an enemy to any nation – far worse than any outside enemy coming into a country and conquering it because it is an enemy you cannot see vividly,” said Harold R. Watson, an American missionary who received a Ramon Magsaysay Award for his work in Mindanao.
Another problem: water crisis.  Once trees are cut, there is a significant reduction of the volume of groundwater available for domestic purposes.  Take the case of Cebu, which is 99 percent dependent on groundwater.  As it has zero forest cover, more than half of the towns and cities in Cebu have no access to potable water.
Deforestation also threatens the country’s natural wildlife. The Philippine Eagle has become an endangered species because of the rapid disappearance of its natural habitat.  “Deforestation is terrible,” said Dennis Salvador, the executive director of the Philippine Eagle Foundation.
Data from the DENR’s Forest Management Bureau show that combined reforestation efforts by the government and the private sector are not enough to arrest the rapid deforestation.  “Although the national government allocates funds for reforestation, projects have been largely dependent on foreign funding,” observed Marjorie Pamintuan, the spokesperson of Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment.
On September 26, 2014, people living in Mindanao will try to break the Guinness world record for most trees planted simultaneously at multiple locations.  The world record-breaking attempt will mobilize 185,440 people who will give a shot at planting 4,636,000 trees at various sites covering a total area of 9,200 hectares within the island-region.
“We encourage every Mindanawon to participate in this endeavor, which will not only elevate the island-region as a Guinness world record holder, but more importantly will also provide the constituents the opportunity to be part of the larger efforts to reforest Mindanao,” said Luwalhati Antonino, chair of Mindanao Development Authority which co-organized the endeavor along with some government agencies.