Hayop? Oo! Nakikita sa Pilipinas? DATI…

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                Isa sa mga sikat na larong napapanood sa telebisyon ang Pinoy Henyo, na kung saan ay huhulaan ng isang manlalaro ang salitang naka-flash sa LED na nakakabit sa kanyang ulo. Magtatanong ang nauna sa kanyang kakampi ng iba’t-ibang katanungan o salitang aangkop o tutugma sa salitang pinapahulaan. Ang salita ay pwedeng pangngalan na sumisimbulo sa isang tao, bagay, lugar, o hayop. 'Oo', 'Hindi', at 'Pwede', lamang ang pwedeng isagot ng kasama sa tanong na bibitawan ng kanyang kakampi. 

                Marahil ay nagtataka kayo kung bakit ito ang napili kong titulo para sa lathalaing ito. Kung ating titignan sa isang mababaw na perspektibo, marahil ay wala itong saysay basahin o pakinggan. Ngunit kung titignan natin ito sa isang anggulo na kung saan ay pwede nating ihalintulad at ikonekta sa estado at kalagayan ng biodiversity dito sa Pilipinas, marahil ay makukuha ninyo ang ibig kong ipakahulugan sa titulong nakasaad sa itaas ng blog na ito.

Philippine Marine Biodiversity
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                Kilala ang Pilipinas bilang isa sa mga bansang may pinakasaganang likas na yaman sa buong mundo. Magmula sa mga iba’t-ibang uri ng mga halaman at punong sadyang sa Pilipinas lamang matatagpuan (halintulad nalang ng Rafflesia), at mga hayop at insekto na endemic sa ating arkipelago (tulad ng Pilandok o Mouse-deer, Tamaraw, Pandaca Pygmaea, Pawikan, Butanding, Philippine Eagle, atbp.), ang Pilipinas ay natural na mayaman at maunlad pagdating sa usaping Biodiversity.

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                Subalit gaya nga ng pahayag ng isang salawikain, walang permanente sa mundo. Ang lahat ng bagay ay nagbabago… nauubos… naglalaho. Sa mga kagawiang ipinapakita at ginagawa natin sa kasalukuyan, tulad ng walang habas na pagmimina, pagpuputol ng mga puno, pag-ubos at pag-abuso sa mga buhay ng mga hayop at iba pang likas na yaman, ang sinasabi nating kasaganahan ng bansang Pilipinas sa likas na yaman ay maaring humantong na lamang sa isang matandang paniniwala. Na minsan ay nagkatotoo, ngunit sa bandang huli ay naging isa na lamang alamat.

                Ikaw, bilang isang mamamayang Pilipino, ano ang pwede mong gawin para sa kaligtasan ng ating likas na yaman? Sapat na ba ang blog na ito para maimulat ang iyong mga mata sa nakakarimarim na katotohanang maaaring maging isang bangungot sa kinabukasan ng ating bayan? Hindi ngayon ang tamang panahon para sa salawikaing “To see is to believe”! Huwag nang hantaying makita natin sa ating mga mata mismo ang malagim na epekto n gating kapabayaan sa kasalukuyan. Huwag nating hintaying isagot ang katagang “DATI” kung halimbawang isa sa mga nabanggit na nanganganib nang mawalang likas na yaman ang siyang pinahulaan sa atin sa larong Pinoy Henyo.

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Kilos na tayo para sa ikaliligtas ng ating mga likas na yaman. Hindi bukas. Hindi sa susunod na taon. NGAYON.

By: Jaybee T. Domingo

Hotspot: An Overview on Philippine Biodiversity

The Philippine Archipelago
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                With 7,100+ islands composing the archipelagic state of the Philippines, it is considered as the second largest archipelago in the world next to Indonesia. Moreover, across and around these macro and micro islands, a rich population of flora and fauna can be found in the country. Some are endemic. Some are not. Some are still waiting to be discovered.

Chocolate Hills, Bohol
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                According to The Encyclopedia of Earth (www.eoearth.org) , Philippines is one of the biologically rich countries in the globe. Known as the Pearl of The Orient, situated near the Pacific Ring of Fire along the equator, Philippines is considered as a Biodiversity Hotspot. Ergo, the country’s local biodiversity is undeniably prosperous and dynamic. The country is one of the few nations that is, in its entirety, both a hotspot and a megadiversity place, placing it among the top priority hotspots for global conservation and development.

Mayon Volcano
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    Hundreds of years ago, most of the Philippine islands were covered in rain forest. The bulk of the country was blanketed by lowland rainforests dominated by towering dipterocarps (Dipterocarpaceae), prized for their beautiful and straight hardwood. At higher elevations, the lowland forests are replaced by montane and mossy forests that consist mostly of smaller trees and vegetation. Small regions of seasonal forest, mixed forest and savanna, and pine-dominated cloud forest covered the remaining land area. (http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org)

Banaue Rice Terraces
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                 Facts have been delivered. Truth is, Philippines is really a sanctuary that houses a vast diversity of species that must be preserved and conserved. The challenge now for us, Filipinos, is how can we instill into our minds the idea of protecting these gems and blessings of Mother Nature? Currently, the country is facing an excruciating ordeal on dealing with different environmental issues that put the Philippine Biodiversity into peril. Let’s not compromise our future. Philippines is a hotspot. She is in danger as well. Let’s protect, preserve, and love what we have.




By: Jaybee T. Domingo

Video: DEFORESTATION

Mother Earth’s Payback Time

Before we go through the different issues regarding the effects of deforestation, let’s first know what deforestation means.

          A forest is where a group of trees are bound together in one place which became the primary resources here on earth and especially in our own country, the Republic of the Philippines, and it is a place where a lot of living creatures live. Deforestation is a process where forests are converted into farms, ranches, and most of them are used for urban zones expansions.

          Years had passed by, a lot of calamities were experienced which caused too many lives. Most of those issues that, until now, our country experiences are those numerous storms which caused flash floods and great disasters. Floods or Flash floods occur because there are no enough trees to drain the water, and because our tree resources are not enough to hold the soil from higher areas, landslides also happens sometimes. These had destroyed a lot of crops, fisheries, buildings, bridges, and other properties and it also had greatly affected the lives of many people.

          There many occurrences wherein our country experienced those high-impact floods and uncertain landslides but the worst flooding disaster that is triggered happened in the year 2010 which according to research and statistics, “40 people were dead, 453,000 people were displaced, and 1.2 million people were affected with these tragedy.”

          According to some, floods and landslides caused problems in the Philippines. Another case happened only last year 2011 which according to findings, “684,153 people have been displaced and hundreds of people have died in 24 provinces throughout the Philippines.” Aside from those people that have been hurt by the hazardous condition, hundreds of houses and properties are also destroyed. And it is also reported that 1.5 million of people are impacted by the flood.

          The 2 situations given are just some of the occurrences that happened on two previous years. These two just shows how deforestations affect everything and each one of us.

References:
http://hazards.umwblogs.org/2011/01/11/floods-and-landslides-cause-problems-in-the-philippines/


http://www.worldweatherpost.com/2011/01/21/2011-year-of-the-flood/#.TygJy-H7bL0




By: Jean Carolline P. Endozo

An Effect of a Single Tree in our Lives

 

It takes a hundred of years for a tree to fully grow into a large and strong one, but it only takes a minute to cut them off in the forests.  Every tree in the forest consists of numbers of animals that makes it a habitat.

Therefore, cutting trees in a forest may destroy the homes of some animals which may cause of unsure life sustainability because of lack of shelters for them. This habitat destruction may result to reduction of Oxygen which may affect the extinctions of some living organisms.

“No one says there is an increase in real forest cover in the Philippines. Maybe there is an increase in the number of trees, but it is not the forest we idealize, romanticize, log or even live in,” says Peter Walpole, executive director of the Ateneo de Manila University’s Environmental Science for Social Change. “We have lost most of our forest of hold over the past 50 years and, along with them, many of the ecological services they provide.”

            Can you imagine life without Deforestation? It’s the total opposite of what we are currently experiencing right now. No or minimal extreme calamities will be encountered, no flash floods that can kill a lot of people and can destroys houses and shelters, there will be minimal natural hazards, and more foods and shelters will be provided for animals and other living organisms in the forest, and increased production of Carbon Dioxide which is one of the sources of life.

             “Deforestation in the Philippines is attributed to two things, increasing agriculture and illegal logging,” a statement from a Case Study conducted by TED. “Deforestation in this case is a two step process, conversion of primary to secondary forests by logging, and then removal of secondary forests by the expansion of agriculture, mainly small subsistence cultivation. Interestingly enough, population growth is not a driving force behind deforestation in the Philippines.”

            Rampant cuttings of trees have caused many disasters which affected the lives of many people and their territories. The country’s wildlife resources are also threatened with extinction by massive deforestation. 

            “592 of the 1,137 species of amphibians, birds and mammals found only in the Philippines are considered ‘threatened or endangered,’” said DENR’s Joselito Atienza. “some 227 endemic species of plants are ‘critically endangered.’”

            Now, you think twice and thrice before you cut a single tree that is remaining here on earth. Let us take care of what we still have right now, consume enough resource. Preserve everything that exist here on earth, and don’t be so greedy of those spare resources.

Reference:

 http://www.gaiadiscovery.com/agriculture-industry/rate-of-deforestation-in-philippines-erodes-topsoil-kills-wi.html

 By: Jean Carolline P. Endozo

If Planet Earth Doesn't Have Trees

Trees…..this is one of the most vital resources which have the fundamental role in sustaining of life on the planet. These are greatly used to satisfy the basic necessities of every human being and also other living creatures here on earth. Trees mainly provide oxygen and food for people to survive and it also provides shelter and other things which can now be easily processed or manufactured through man-made technologies.

Because of the increasing number of population, the number of demands to basic needs is rapidly increasing also; that is why big industries tend to increase more production and extended more branches which also affects increasing the number of deforestation cases.

Since the world are continuously becoming civilized, more companies and industries are constantly growing too, to the extent that a lot of them are clearing forests just to build large establishments and enormous buildings. Even the indigenous forests are also affected with the economic growth, development and changes.

People just focus on the development of the country’s economy, but how about the nature’s concern? These bad practices of people are the main causes why natural calamities occur. Typhoons, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, landslide, tornadoes are just some of the natural hazards which clearly shows the effects and the results of brutal acts of people to nature.

          Large businesses should have made some appropriate actions because they have greatest contribution on making the situation more severe. The only thing that they should do is to provide or create some methods or operations that will not only help them in developing their business, at the same time, it should also make sure that it may not be harmful or better, it will help and contribute in the restoration of our old and beautiful nature.

At this generation, industries governments must be more concerned for a greener and cleaner environment. This is not applicable only on big influential industries and government, showing concern for nature is also a concern of every individual.

According to statistics, “10 million trees are being cut down everyday worldwide” and the worst conclusion is that it is like a size of 20 soccer fields that are cut down every minute. This really affected the natural habitat of some wildlife living in the forest. “30 million acres of forests are cleared annually wherein 11 million of them are for commercial and property industries. This follows that we are losing 50-100 animal or plant species daily and 25% of medicine comes from the forests that we are destroying.”

Without trees, can you imagine the world now? Who will provide for organisms that depend on those trees? Who will provide resources for the people?  Who will absorb water when it rains? Who will provide fresh air for people to breathe in? These are just some of the questions if ever trees don’t exist.

 Our beautiful natural environment is being destroyed in one blink of an eye. Deforestation kills trees, animals and humans. Don’t just stand still; make a move, because even a little action could help so much.

Reference:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46A_wVivbX8&feature=related

By: Jean Carolline P. Endozo