The Philippines is one of the countries in the tropics that was most affected by deforestation. The process of deforestation already started before the 20th century but the most extensive was in the last 40 years. The Philippines was covered by about 21 million hectares of forests in the year 1900 which was about 70% of its entire territory. Today, only about 7 million hectares of forest remain in the Philippines, about 25% of the entire territory. The analysis of the considered sources reveals that extensive deforestation is responsible for decreasing of biodiversity, worsening of the environmental quality, and more devastating impact of natural disasters, such as floods and landslides. There are multiple direct and indirect causes for deforestation in the Philippines, such as burning forests - locally known as kaingin, and commercial logging. The study also exposed some indirect causes, such as population pressure which has significantly increased in the last few decades, and the actions of local authorities. Latter made the situation even worse because of these actions and also corruption. On the other hand, deforestation also brings multiple consequences which are visible in the areas where this process takes place. These are among others endangering endemic biodiversity, and also endangering of dwellings and the lifestyle of indigenous tribes which lives are heavily dependent on forests. In the last few decades multiple laws and policies were passed in the Philippines regarding forest preservation and reforestation. Some of them brought more success, while some less. More successful with reforestations were numerous projects organized by the local population.
|
