AFTER seeing for himself yesterday in Mindanao what environmentalists for years had been warning the government on what would happen, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said trees should be planted in denuded uplands to prevent deadly landslides.
According to a research, 90% of the Philippine archipelago was forested during the 1900s. The original old-growth forest today remains at 3-5%. This has caused a ripple effect in which water, air and other ecological services have been compromised.
Environmentalists have long been warning of an impending biological meltdown due to environmental destruction such as forest denudation.
The government must get serious about biodiversity protection and in implementing a program to build sustainable communities that protect the environment. Our country is blessed with rich biodiversity. This means we have the most to lose as threats of biological meltdown continue to be proven by scientific data and research.
According to the Philippine Eagle Foundation, the Philippines is ranked fourth in the world out of 19 ecological hotspots which indicate the highest concentration of biodiversity in the globe. We are dubbed as one of the megadiverse countries, being among the richest globally in terms of plant and animal species, and because of this we are also the biggest losers of environmental assault. The government and all concerned institutions and departments, especially the local government must come up with a strategy to create sustainable communities which will be able to use our biodiversity responsibly.
Education is also vital in our bid to protect our biodiversity. Let us get everyone on board, each member of the community must be aware of what’s happening. We all stand to lose a lot from a biodiversity meltdown.
Consider this: an estimated 44% of the birds in the world can only be found in the Philippines. This means birdwatching is a unique experience because species like the Philippine eagle, trogon and the tarictic hornbill cannot be found elsewhere but in our country. Can you imagine a world where your children will only see Philippine eagle on photos, or Philippine tarsier will just be part of stories that the older generation can tell their kids?
