Our blog has just been featured as one of the top stories on the topic of Environment by The Nature Daily! :)
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Nature Daily
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DENR,
FPE,
Haribon Foundation,
Mt. pulag National PArk,
palawan,
preservation,
tarsiers,
WWF
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A developing nation often finds debts as stumbling blocks in its economic development. Debt for nature swaps are a welcome remedy for such nations as the twin objectives of debt minimization and environment conservation are achieved with one agreement.
Debt-for-Nature Swap is a program that helps a country to minimized negative effect of debt owned by a country then preserves d and saved the environment of the country. It was a process which a commercial debt by a certain country will be purchased by an international non-government organization from banks or governments and then transfer them to the debtor country. Then the debtor country can now use the funds for the conservation of the environment. This was begun in the 1980s when institutions like the World Wildlife Fund decided to take up the cause of environment protection and conservation.
Philippines is one from the 50 countries around the world that agreed to participate with the Debt-for-Nature Swap. It was also on REPUBLIC ACT NO. 6724 SEC 4 in which it states that “Debt-for-Nature Swap Program. - To convert limited amounts of Philippine foreign debt into grants for nature, environment and wildlife conservation projects in the Philippines to be undertaken by international conservation groups;”.
It was on 1988 which WWF purchased some debts of the Philippines and it was redeemed by the Central Bank of the Philippines. Haribon Foundation, an environmental organization in the Philippines, used the funds from the debt swap for a variety of conservation actions, ranging from enhanced management support for national parks to training programmes for national conservation professionals. Some of the projects that been made by this programs was the St. Paul Subterranean River National Park and El Nido National Marine Park in Palawan Island, Olongo Island migratory bird sanctuary, Mt. Pulog National Park and Philippine Tarsier Project. The USAID is also one of the donor or purchaser in this program. DENR and FPE is also the beneficiary on this program.
Will the help of this program, we could not only minimized the debts by the country, we can also preserves and maintain our wildlife and environment. I am hoping that our government would not waste any funds from this program to other stuff and also looking forward for more participation in a project like this. All of us will have the benefits on preserving, maintaining and restoring the environment.Sources:http://www.chanrobles.com/republicacts/republicactno6724.html
http://www.fao.org/docrep/w3247e/w3247e06.htm
http://www.dart-creations.com/article-tree/finan/debt_for_nature_swaps.html
http://www.dri.org.uk/pdfs/EngPub4_DebtConv.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_tarsier#Philippine_debt-for-nature_swap_program
http://www.cbd.int/doc/external/wwf/wwf-commercial-swaps-en.pdf
Images from:images.google.com
Author: Lernie Salamat
Author: Lernie Salamat
Conservation programs have been made by our government to shelter the endangered and rare species that are residing in our country's rainforests. Among these few are the Philippine eagle, tarsiers, tamaraws and turtles.
We should conserve our cultural and natural heritage because it could be an inspiration for the next generations to come. These are some world heritage sites that could represent our country around the globe for its beauty and uniqueness.
Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park
To protect the reef from unwanted damages the Protected Area Managemet Board (PAMB) had issued a master plan to include entrance fees to divers because as the reefs fame spreads worldwide the number of divers increase vastly that adds pressure to the fragile nature of the reef. This fee will be used also for conservation of the reef.
Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras
The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras exhibits a great beauty expressing harmony between humankind and the environment. This is why it was declared by the Presidential Decree 260 and Presidential Decree 1505 as a National Treasure. It was also protected by Republic Act No 10066,which provides the protection and conservation of our National Cultural Heritage.
But due to threats to the site and lack of protection and conservation the World Heritage Committee has decided to include the Rice Terraces to the many list of properties which are in danger. It was included to the list because of the abandonment of the terraces. Our government and the Ifugaos should still use the terraces and continue to construct and maintain it.
Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park
The Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River exhibits sensational limestones and features a beautiful underground river. It was inscribed to the list of World Heritage because it exhibits a distinguishing characteristic, it flows directly to the sea and is subjected to tidal influences. It also represents a habitat for the conservation of our biodiversity. The site contains a full sea ecosystem and protects our country's forests.
As a citizen of the Philippines we should also help in conserving and protecting the heritage of our country. Let us be proud of our country.
Sources: http://breakaway.cc/Asia/Philippines/Philippines-Reserves.php
http://www.pcsd.ph/protected_areas/tubbataha.htm
http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/riceterracescordilleras.html
http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=722
http://whc.unesco.org/en/danger/
http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=652
Author: Tyrone Magararo
Labels:
biodiversity,
rainforest
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Laws that are meant to punish those who abuse the country’s natural resources are also passed by the Philippine congress; such is the purpose of Executive Order No. 277 and Presidential Decree No. 1775. Presidential Decree No. 1775 states that “A forest officers or employee of the Bureau or any personnel of the Philippines Constabulary/ Integrated National Police shall arrest even without warrant any person who has committed or committing in his presence any of the offenses defined in this Chapter.”; while Executive Order No. 277 states that “Cutting, Gathering and/or Collecting Timber, or Other Forest Products Without License. Any person who shall cut, gather, collect, or remove timber or other forest products from any forest land, or timber from any forest land, or timber from alienable and disposable public land, or from private land, without any authority, or possess timber or other forest products without the legal documents as required under existing forest laws and regulations, shall be punished with the penalties imposed under Article 309 and 310 of the Revised Penal Code”.
Philippines is abundant with laws that protects its forests. However, illegal activities are still rampant across the map and are still being tolerated. What the country needs now is not more laws to be passed; what it needs is the proper implementation of the existing laws and that the people and entities assigned with the task of preserving the environment be responsible and truthful to their duties bestowed upon them by the people of the Philippines.
Sources: http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADL681.pdf
Author: Willard Yung
Labels:
biodiversity,
DENR,
rainforest
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Philippine forests can be considered as one of the most important forests in the world. This is due to the fact that the Philippines is considered to be one of the 18 mega diverse countries in the world and serves as habitat for more than 50000 species; half of them can only be found exclusively in the Philippines. Yet, many people are abusing it by engaging in continuous illegal logging and other activities that destroys not only the habitat of tens of thousands of species but also destroys the natural treasure and cultural heritage of the country.
In order to prevent the destruction of its forests, the Philippine government established laws to protect and preserve the rich ecosystem its forests provide. Executive Order 192 and Article XII, Sec. 2 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution aims to monitor the activities within its forests. Under the Executive Order 192, 1987, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources was established as the primary government agency responsible for the conservation, management, development and proper use of the country’s environment and natural resources as well as the licensing and regulation of all natural resources. According to Article XII, Sec. 2 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, “…the exploration, development, and utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control and supervision of the State. ..“. This is to ensure that all activities done within the forests are monitored in
order to prevent people from abusing it.
Sources: http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADL681.pdf
Author: Willard Yung
Labels:
deforestation,
DENR,
logging
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Commercial logging was the main cause of the deforestation in the Philippines after 1950. Although there was a logging banned issued in all provinces where forest covers less than 40 percent, legal logging still continue to some parts of the country, mainly on Mindanao where the logged trees was replaced by exotic trees for paper making. Regardless of the law, illegal logging is still widespread and often unchecked, including on those protected areas.
With the conversion of forests to a commercial area, wildlife has been greatly affected. Loss of habitats and place to multiply will push those animals to extinction. Species count has greatly decreased throughout the century. More animals been added to list of endangered species and some was declared extinct. This was mainly due to the damage of the people created due to exploitation of forest products, mining, pollutions, pesticides, conversion to agriculture and development projects.
Sources: http://www.birdlife.org/action/science/species/asia_strategy/pdf_downloads/forestsFO9.pdf
http://www.bulatlat.com/news/4-45/4-45-forest.html
Author: Lernie Salamat
Forest in our country are very rich in biodiversity. Many of our plants and animals could be found in the rainforests. It is due to the constant high temperature and humidity in the tropics. Unfortunately, many forests are threatened due to deforestation. The primary reason are commercial logging and cutting of trees to provide for their agricultural needs.
There are so many effects of deforestation in our country. Not only the giant trees will be lost but also the species living in the forests will disappear. Some of it are the tarsiers and the Philippine eagle. And we should not wonder why our country experiences consistent flashfloods and landslides."According to the recent reports of National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDMC) about 262,107 families have lost their homes while about 1.355 million people have been affected." Some negative consequences of deforestation also include the disruption of water cycle and climate change.
During the 20th century the Philippine Forests covers almost 70%. But due to massive forest exploitation, excessive annual cuts and weak reforestation efforts it dropped to less than 20%. Based on the analysis almost 9.8 million hectares of forests were lost. If deforestation won't be stopped there would come a time that the natural resources and biodiversity in forests will be lost. And if there would be continuous abuse of resources it is estimated than there would be no more rainforests left within 15 years.
We should make a move now. We should protect our environment. Let us restore our trees and save Mother Earth.
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deforestation_in_the_Philippines http://www.philippines.hvu.nl/forest1.htm
http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/deforestation-a-growing-problem-in-the-philippines-4124319.html http://schoolworkhelper.net/2011/06/effects-of-deforestation/
Author: Tyrone Magararo
Labels:
rainforest,
wildlife reserves
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Let us conserve and protect our Philippine Forests and Wildlife reserves!
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