The Manila Times Internet Edition, Copyright 2000
December 05, 2000
By Henrylito D. Tacio

“The Philippine forests are among the most diverse in the world. However, they are also among the most endangered.” This frank assessment of the state of our forests comes from the Philippine Environment Quality Report 1990 to 1995, published by the Environmental Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The report classifies Philippine forests into dipterocarp (66.2 percent), mossy (18.8 percent), sub-marginal (8.7 percent), pine (4.1 percent), and mangrove (2.1 percent).

Dipterocarp forests are considered “the most important commercial forest type in the Philippines.” Among the dipterocarp species found in the country include bagtikan, white lauan, red lauan, apitong, tangile, guijo, yakal-gisok, and yakal. Generally, dipterocarp forests are the major source of timber and other forest products. Mossy or mid-mountain forests are situated in high-elevation areas. Sub-marginal forests are those that are dominated by ipil-ipil and lesser-utilized species. Although both are not commercially exploitable, mossy and sub-marginal forests help protect watershed areas and provide a sustainable supply of water for irrigation and domestic use in lowlands.

The pine forests occur in pure stands. Examples are Benguet pine (Pinus insularis) and Mindoro pine (Pinus merkusii). Most pine forests are found mostly in the higher altitude of Northern Luzon. Mangrove forests are restricted to the tidal mud-flat areas at the mouth of rivers, estuaries, and lagoons where the water is brackish. The mangrove species bakawan, tangal, and busain are the most dominant.

Before the Philippines—touted to be the Pearl of the Orient Seas—was “rediscovered” by Ferdinand Magellan on March 16, 1521, the country was totally covered with trees. Today, most of the remaining forests are located in the ecologically-fragile uplands or areas with more than 18 percent slope. These areas are not supposed to be cultivated. But due to upland migration, they are now under heavy cultivation.

“Cultivated upland areas increased from 582,000 hectares in 1960 to over 3.9 million hectares in 1987,” says a report released by the Washington-based World Resources Institute (WRI). Studies conducted by the University of the Philippines at Los Baños (UPLB) showed that migration to the upland takes various patterns. Some migrant families first send their headman and able-bodied males to the area to assess its suitability. If the new-found areas are suitable, the families move there for permanent residency.

Some migrants move to the target area as a whole family and settle there without any reconnaissance or pre-evaluation. Studies have noted that relatives are perceived as source of support should the odds turn against the settlers.

There are also cases when lowlanders moved to the uplands, cultivate the land, then return to their areas of origin. The newly found upland areas are only considered as a satellite settlement needed to support their living.

“Migration accounted for the bulk of the upland population growth,” according to Ma. Concepcion Cruz, who made a study of upland migration. Of the 18.6 million people living in the uplands in 1988, six million were there before 1945, two million migrated between 1945 and 1948 and 10 million migrated after 1948. High rates of upland migration continued in the 1980s. “The highest rates of population growth in the uplands were in municipalities with logging concessions,” the study found out. Today, the uplands are on the verge of collapse. The people living in these areas are among the poorest and earn less than any other group of Filipinos. They are the least educated, least paid, least healthy, least hopeful, and most neglected in agricultural development of all people in the Philippines.

“The upland is the ecological and social frontier where the battle for future survival of the Filipino society will be fought,” remarked Dr. Percy Sajise of the Laguna-based Southeast Asian Regional Center for Agriculture (SEARCA). The WRI report cited several reasons why Filipinos migrate to the uplands. These include downturns in economic growth, limited access to land and inequitable land distribution, widespread poverty, resettlement programs and timber policies.

Aside from upland migration, demand for fuel wood also exacerbates the problem. In 1985, for instance, total consumption of fuel wood was estimated at 28.5 million cubic meters. It is about the same as the volume of wood lost to deforestation and nearly eight times more than commercially harvested wood.

As a consequence of the continuous removal of forest cover, particularly those in the uplands, the Philippines now experienced different environmental problems. Perhaps, one of the most serious problems Filipinos may encounter with the rapid disappearance of forests is soil erosion.

Soil erosion, especially in the uplands, is now an extremely serious problem in the country. Erosion does not only result in increasing the impoverishment of the Filipino farmers, but also destroys other things down under.

Siltation, caused by erosion, shortens the productive life spans of dams and reservoirs. The Magat reservoir, for instance, has had its probable life span of 100 years reduced to 25 years. The Ambuklao Dam reservoir had its life span halved from 60 to 32 years as a result of siltation.

Deforestation also threatens the country’s wildlife resources. The environment department reports that of the 1,657 identified bird and animal species alone, 46 are on the verge of extinction and another 18 are on the endangered list. Seven ornamental plants and several others are on the brink of disappearance. Deforestation has also altered the climatic condition in the country. Periods of drought have become more common and extensive in the dry season while floods have prevailed in the rainy months.

The words of Dr. Ernesto Guiang, of the Development Alternatives, Inc., come in hand to end this column. He says, “We are now at the eleventh hour. We have to pay attention to the handwriting on the wall with respect to our forests.”¨ Error: Unable to read footer file.