Last June 25, Filipinos observed Arbor Day. This annual community holiday highlighted the country’s dedication to reforestation, environmental preservation, and raising public awareness regarding the significance of trees.
Arbor Day was established via Proclamation No. 643 in 2004. This proclamation required the nationwide observance of Arbor Day, urging all government bodies, educational institutions, private sectors, and citizens to engage in tree planting and various environmental initiatives.
Nelson Henderson once said, “The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.”
Unfortunately, we are cutting trees at alarming rates. Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan, a prominent environmentalist and wildlife photographer, once stated in an article that forests covered 70% of the Philippines during the 1900s. By the mid-1960s, only 13.5 million hectares remained, of which merely 6.3 million hectares were classified as primary forest.
Under the regime of President Ferdinand Marcos, forests were destroyed at an alarming rate of 300,000 hectares annually. By the conclusion of his administration, only 7.2 million hectares of the country’s forest cover remained, with just 2.7 million hectares identified as virgin forests.
A country stripped of its forest cover, many experts believe, signifies an ecological catastrophe. In 2011, Typhoon Sendong unleashed 12 hours of relentless rainfall on Mindanao. Following this, tragedy ensued. The rivers overflowed, and individuals were either crushed by logs or drowned. The government labeled it as “a national disaster,” with the storm impacting 338,000 people across 13 provinces.
Sean McDonagh, a priest who served in the region, stated that decades of deforestation in Cagayan de Oro City and surrounding provinces were responsible for the magnitude of the disaster. A significant portion of the area was transformed 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 “I probably sound baduy (tacky and outdated) but I see the problem in the prevailing system of values, that is, the greed, the need to be the biggest, the wealthiest, and sometimes you feel hopeless.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.”
Environmentalists assert that logging activities, both legal and illegal, are decimating the remaining forests of the nation. The Rev. Peter Walpole, a Jesuit priest leading an environmental organization, remarked that the Philippines had placed its trust in logging companies to responsibly harvest timber and oversee forest management. “But they have performed exceedingly poorly,” he lamented. “This has led to the current issues we face.”
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), which is the primary agency tasked with overseeing the country’s natural resources and ecosystems, finds itself nearly powerless in the face of logging activities.
Logging companies, however, shift the responsibility onto kaingineros, who are slash-and-burn farmers accused of logging without the accountability and care exhibited by larger corporations. Research conducted in the 1970s indicated that when logging companies were prohibited from operating in specific regions, those areas were swiftly stripped of vegetation by kaingineros.
Other causes of deforestation in the country 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 ballooned to almost 110 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 Jethro P. Adang, the current 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: the water crisis. Once trees are cut down, there is a significant reduction of the volume of groundwater available for domestic purposes. Take the case of Cebu, which is 99% 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. Philippine eagle, the country’s bird icon, has become an endangered species because of the rapid disappearance of its natural habitat. “Deforestation is terrible,” said Dennis Salvador, the executive director of Philippine Eagle Foundation.
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.
