| Forest Land Management; Protecting biodiversity and watershed while sustaining need for timber and minerals | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: May 21 2017, 11:38 PM (146 Views) | |
| emancampos | May 21 2017, 11:38 PM Post #1 |
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Forest Land Management Protecting biodiversity and watershed while sustaining need for timber and minerals The Philippines is among the countries that are losing their forest cover fast, ranking 4th in the world’s top 10 most threatened forest hotspots. 54 percent forest cover, or 16 million hectares of forest, is the ideal forest cover for tropical countries. DESTRUCTION OF OUR FORESTS Centuries of colonial rule, commercial logging, corruption and misguided government policies brought our forests to the brink of total destruction. Forests covered at least 90 percent of the country’s total land area during the precolonial period. Cultural and religious traditions of the people then allowed the forests to regenerate even if they were used to supply food and building materials. During the Spanish colonization, trees were felled to build roads, bridges, docks and ships for the galleon trade. Forests were replaced by sprawling haciendas owned by Spanish friars, officials and rich families. Large-scale, export-oriented commercial logging was introduced by American colonizers. At the start of the American occupation in the 1900s, the Philippines had 21 million ha of old-growth forests covering 70 percent of the land area. Logs were exported mainly to the United States and used to support the mining industry set up by the Americans. By the 1940s, only 9 million ha of forests covering 30 percent of the Philippine land area were left. Deforestation further worsened during the Marcos regime. The logging industry was controlled by foreign companies and the local elite, some even holding public offices. Timber Licensing Agreements (TLAs) were given out by the Marcos regime to loyalists. From 1965 to 1986, the Philippines lost 7 million ha of forests. TLAs were adjudged unconstitutional under Cory Aquino’s presidency. But instead of immediately revoking the TLAs, a “phase-out” policy was adopted to solve the problem. During the Arroyo administration, however, at least five TLAs were reinstated in 2005 and 2008, including the TLA of Surigao Development Corp., allegedly owned by a senator. Even with the shift toward Integrated Forest Management Agreements (Ifma), Community-Based Forest Management Agreements and Socialized Integrated Forest Management Agreements as the main policy for forest management, the logging industry remained extractive and was geared for export. The Arroyo administration encouraged foreign mining companies to operate even within old-growth forests through the Mining Act of 1995. They even did not fulfill the reforestation. Since, they only cared about profit, they chose not to follow the law and diverted their reforestation fund to stockholder's profits. As for the miners, they also do not respect the forests. Like in the case of Ipilan Nickel Mining in Palawan lately. It cut down thousands of old-growth trees and destroyed the eco-tourism plans of the town, and even threatened its Mayor not to come inside their site or she will be shot. Moreover, this forest is actually a watershed, providing water for irrigation to its locals. More than that, the license has been cancelled by the DENR aside from the fact that the business permit from the Mayor's office has not been granted yet. Despite all these, these miners simply ignored it and claimed that the cutting of trees will not affect the locals. THE END RESULT Disasters such as floods and landslides that resulted in the loss of lives and livelihood are the most visible and devastating effects of forest destruction. The most unforgettable of these is perhaps the Ormoc flood on Nov. 5, 1991, which killed almost 8,000 people There's also the killer flash flood in Aurora province that literally wiped out a thriving community. There's also that killer flash flood and landslide in Quezon which affected Infanta, Real and General Nakar. There's also the same scenario in Cagayan de Oro and other areas. Aside from these are the aggravation of the effects of drought and inability to mitigate effects of global warming due to watershed degradation or disappearance due to severe irresponsible logging. These also involves massive soil erosion, landslides and heavy siltation in the rivers and tributaries. As for the communities, the effects of these changes include loss of fish supply due to the heavy siltation and poisoning of the rivers and tributaries. Rivers where contaminated water from tailing pond, such the case of Marcopper Mining in the province of Marinduque cause many diseases, including skin diseases, respiratory problems and growth problems. All of these point to massive deforestation. Other effects of deforestation are loss of biodiversity and continuing threats to endemic plants and animals. The Philippines has 6,091 endemic plant species and 591 endemic animal species. Among the animal species, 151 are endangered. 2000 Data Between 1990 and 2000, Philippines lost an average of 262,500 hectares of forest per year. The amounts to an average annual deforestation rate of 2.48%. Between 2000 and 2005, the rate of forest change decreased by 20.2% to 1.98% per annum. In total, between 1990 and 2005, Philippines lost 32.3% of its forest cover, or around 3,412,000 hectares. Measuring the total rate of habitat conversion (defined as change in forest area plus change in woodland area minus net plantation expansion) for the 1990-2005 interval, Philippines lost 7.9% of its forest and woodland habitat. Biodiversity and Protected Areas: Philippines has some 1196 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles according to figures from the World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Of these, 45.8% are endemic, meaning they exist in no other country, and 14.7% are threatened. Philippines is home to at least 8931 species of vascular plants, of which 39.2% are endemic. 5.1% of Philippines is protected under IUCN categories I-V. THIS IS THE PROBLEM! Loggers, miners and even land developers only cared about profit. These selfish and ill-willed businessmen didn't care about the environment and the poor people who would be affected by their activities. The laws are sufficient, yet they simply ignore these. They used their money, influence and power to circumvent the law. The law says they should allocate funds for the rehab of areas damaged or affected by their mining operations but these miners have never done so. Even loggers did not fulfill reforestation deliberately. All they cared about is profit. SOLUTION Logging, the biggest threat to our forests, should be properly monitored, managed and controlled. The old ways should be stopped. It is a fact that timber is a vital resource but the problem is that these loggers failed to respect the importance of the forests. Same thing with miners. Since, about less than 3% of our original forest cover since 1900 remains, that's around 800,000 hectares total, we should not allow it to be destroyed too BECAUSE THIS REMAINING FORESTS ARE FOR OUR BIODIVERSITY PRESERVATION. We cannot bring back biodiversity. Once it is destroyed, we can no longer replace it. Biodiversity involves a complex collection of the birds, mammals, amphibians, insects, plants, trees and even microorganisms that thrive in those forests. They live together in a harmonious way or that they depend on each other. Reforestation alone will not be enough to bring them back. It is a part our heritage that we need to protect. As for the loggers, no more old-growth trees should be cut. They must plant first and then harvest these after 10 or 20 years of nurturing, like what PICOP had done before. In the meantime, we can buy those 20-year old trees planted by our farmers for this purpose. I've seen many in Luzon. The trees are just around their homes and farms. Importation is another temporary solution. Long-tern is the industrial tree plantations. No more cutting of trees in the primary forests, natural parks and the watersheds beginning today!. For miners, they should not be allowed to do open pit mining on primary forests and watersheds. They should wait until they can pursue other environmentally safe methods such as the use of tunnels instead. The majority of the people, the poor ones, needs the forest much more than the mines and all the share of taxes that it can give. These taxes will not even be enough to rehabilitate the damaged environment just like in the case of Marcopper mines. In South Korea, they spent millions and worked hard for decades just to make a totally denuded forest green again. The effort lasted for 40 years. Nonetheless, the biodiversity it once enjoyed is now lost forever. Taxes? Well, it may not even be enough to cover reforestation, the damage due to mining disasters, decreased yield in agriculture due to lack of water supply caused by the damaged watershed, and the lost business opportunities from eco-tourism. Now, see image below. All timberland or industrial tree plantation, existing and new, should consider this zoning. The top part of the mountain must serve as a watershed and forest reserve. Perhaps allotting about 100 hectares minimum per 1,000 hectares of land area for the forest reserve and the trees are a good mix of native varieties to bring back the old forest that it once been. Again, no more cutting in the primary forests, natural parks or national parks, nature reserves and watersheds. Allot the top part of the mountain or 100 hectares per every 1000 hectares in all timberlands or industrial tree plantations for the forest reserve. This covers all mining and logging operations. ![]() LICENSES and PERMITS Tree-cutting permits should only be issued by the DENR Secretary since CENRO or even the PENRO can be intimidated because many loggers and miners have connived with high-ranking officials in the PNP and officials of the LGU. An example is the case of 5-hectare mangrove area in Sitio Barimbing, Barangay San Manuel in Puerto Princesa City. The area is a mangrove swamp forest reserve. Corals were used as roads, mangrove trees were cut, and houses were built around the area. Rafael Cervantes was identified as the person behind the occupation. He showed up bringing documents showing his tax declaration and land classification map saying the area is alienable and disposable. He was intercepted by NBI agents before he was able to talk to the DENR. According to DENR, his documents are not enough to grant him a right to occupy the area since mangrove forests are protected by law and should not be occupied and transformed into residential areas. According to Presidential Proclamation 2152, Palawan is a mangrove swamp forest reserve and cutting of mangroves is prohibited. Authorities believe that Cervantes has been illegally occupying the mangrove area since 2010. You know what? The DENR Sec. Gina Lopez before even mentioned that a certain provincial commander is intimidating the local DENR team and this is why DENR sought the help of the Philippine Marines and the Coast Guard. Joint forces of the Philippine Marines, National Bureau of Investigation, Community Environment and Natural Resources (CENRO), and Coast Guard raided the 5-hectare mangrove area and served a final notice to vacate issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) central office. Another is the case of Ipilan Nickel Mining, which cut down over 15,000 trees covering more than 10 hectares of natural forests, razing them to the ground. They did this despite the fact that their ECC has been cancelled 5 months earlier and that no Mayor's Permit has been issued yet. Worse, they were denying DENR people from checking the area, and even the PNP and the Mayor herself. The Mayor was only able to go in when she brought along the Marines and Coast Guard personnel. Do you see how aggressive and 'bastos' there miners are? To prevent this from ever happening again, tree-cutting permits should be issued by the DENR central office and there should be a new law strengthening the rule that should there be any cancellation of any documents; the ECC, Mayor's Permit, tree-cutting and other vital documents, the miner or logger should not cut any tree until the DENR lifts the suspension or revokes the cancellation. Also, a Motion for Reconsideration should not be allowed as enough basis to halt the enforcement of the cancellation of permit. 'Kaya nga cancelled eh. Ayusin mo muna problema bago mo ituloy.' REHAB BOND or 'Sagip Kalikasan Bond' Miners and loggers must deposit to the assigned fund manager, a certain amount that will be used to conduct reforestation in case the miner or logger defaults in his responsibility to reforest the area after harvesting the trees or minerals. Logger and miners may pay P500 per every tree that will be cut or equivalent to 1 seedling for every square meter of the total area. The fund will be used to fund reforestation efforts. Aside from this, for the miners, they must also add a certain amount to handle rehab of rivers and lands that will get damaged by mining disasters. Perhaps, P500 Million per 10,000 square meters or computed based on the volume of mineral deposits to be exracted. Again, no more cutting of trees in the primary forests, watersheds, forest reserves and natural parks. For miners, they can try other means except open-pit. Reference: 2015 Philippine Forestry Statistics https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1G5mTNoDPOFVEdpM3BqU2ZlS00/view Philippine Forestry Statistics http://forestry.denr.gov.ph/index.php/statistics/philippines-forestry-statistics Protect Philippine forests http://opinion.inquirer.net/5809/protect-philippine-forests Deforestation - rainforests.mongabay.com http://rainforests.mongabay.com/deforestation/archive/Philippines.htm DOH-Mimaropa sees evacuation of Marinduque residents due to Marcopper http://marinduquenews.com/2017/03/doh-mimaropa-sees-evacuation-of-marinduque-residents-due-to-marcopper/ 1996 Marcopper mining disaster http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/issues/disasters/165051-look-back-1996-marcopper-mining-disaster DENR reclaims mangrove area transformed into subdivision http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/01/17/denr-reclaims-mangrove-area-transformed-into-subdivision Charges to be filed vs. Ipilan Nickel Corp. for cutting trees in Palawan http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/companies/610980/charges-to-be-filed-vs-ipilan-nickel-corp-for-cutting-trees-in-palawan/story/ DENR stops Ipilan Nickel Corp. from cutting more trees in Palawan http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/companies/611547/denr-stops-ipilan-nickel-corp-from-cutting-more-trees-in-palawan/story/ Solving the Problem Damaging Ipo and Angat Watersheds; Solution to the illegal activities within the watersheds http://s15.zetaboards.com/emancampos/topic/10204448/ Edited by emancampos, May 23 2017, 06:56 AM.
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| emancampos | May 24 2017, 06:40 AM Post #2 |
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Administrator
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WATERSHED MANAGEMENT![]() photo: credit to mwmo.org A watershed is the area of land where all of the water that falls in it and drains off of it goes to a common outlet. Watersheds can be as small as a footprint or large enough to encompass all the land that drains water into rivers that drain into the sea. Watershed is not just the dam or lake. It also involves the trees or the forests surrounding it. If the forest surrounding it is healthy, expect a good supply of water from the rains, runoff and groundwater. If the hills or mountains are denuded, expect much lower water level and cloudy water. TO KNOW MORE ABOUT WATERSHED MANAGEMENT, click here; http://z6.invisionfree.com/flipzi/index.php?showtopic=790 Edited by emancampos, May 24 2017, 06:41 AM.
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| emancampos | May 24 2017, 06:45 AM Post #3 |
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Administrator
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TREE-PLANTING TECHNIQUES 1. Improving survival rate of seedlings 2. Selection of what tree variety to plant (native variety and not the invasive or imported varieties) 3. Best time to plant See here http://s15.zetaboards.com/emancampos/topic/10201829/ ![]() Seedlings with Self-watering device / drip water system |
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