The Get Real Philippines Forum: De-forestation

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   Refer here for the complete article from which the following excerpts were gathered.
Firstly, the following statistic provides a picture of how astoundingly backward the energy infrastructure of the Philippines is:

"About half the population depends on fuelwood in the Philippines and Indonesia," the Food and Agriculture Organization notes. But, "in some parts of these countries, the situation is approaching critical levels."

(bold text by this poster for emphasis)
Yet the Philippines, true to form, was a trend-setter in the business of self-destruction.

In the 1960s, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Papua New Guinea and Cambodia followed the Philippines as it blazed the path for logging concessions. At that time, this country had 291 concessions sprawling over 9.5 million hectares. Indonesia issued licenses for 584 concessions.
That's kaput now. Many Filipino operations were "cream-and-scram": after logging, most concessionaires abandoned them. Timber barons splurged but did not reinvest in conservation and processing. In contrast, some Malaysian, PNG and Indonesian firms became multinational firms. Today, they operate in South America and Africa.
We were a prima donna among world timber exporters in the 1970s. Today, we are a wood pauper. We import wood from New Zealand, Sabah and Australia. In the process, we became, willy-nilly, a case study for how not to manage a vital -- and if properly managed, renewable -- resource like forests.
"The Philippines was the first Asia-Pacific country in the post-World War II era to extensively liquidate its forest wealth," notes the study, "Asia-Pacific Forestry Towards 2010." Its experience "provides a poignant lesson for (still forest-rich) countries like Cambodia, Burma, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands."

That's development -- Pinoy-style -- for you! Shortsighted, instant-gratification-driven, and utterly clueless.

Edited by benign0 - 19 Jul 2006 at 9:15am

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benign0 Admin Group Joined: 02 Jun 2006 Location: Australia Online Status: Offline Posts: 57	Topic: De-forestation - into the abyss! Posted: 19 Jul 2006 at 9:15am
	Refer here for the complete article from which the following excerpts were gathered. Firstly, the following statistic provides a picture of how astoundingly backward the energy infrastructure of the Philippines is: "About half the population depends on fuelwood in the Philippines and Indonesia," the Food and Agriculture Organization notes. But, "in some parts of these countries, the situation is approaching critical levels." (bold text by this poster for emphasis) Yet the Philippines, true to form, was a trend-setter in the business of self-destruction. In the 1960s, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Papua New Guinea and Cambodia followed the Philippines as it blazed the path for logging concessions. At that time, this country had 291 concessions sprawling over 9.5 million hectares. Indonesia issued licenses for 584 concessions. That's kaput now. Many Filipino operations were "cream-and-scram": after logging, most concessionaires abandoned them. Timber barons splurged but did not reinvest in conservation and processing. In contrast, some Malaysian, PNG and Indonesian firms became multinational firms. Today, they operate in South America and Africa. We were a prima donna among world timber exporters in the 1970s. Today, we are a wood pauper. We import wood from New Zealand, Sabah and Australia. In the process, we became, willy-nilly, a case study for how not to manage a vital -- and if properly managed, renewable -- resource like forests. "The Philippines was the first Asia-Pacific country in the post-World War II era to extensively liquidate its forest wealth," notes the study, "Asia-Pacific Forestry Towards 2010." Its experience "provides a poignant lesson for (still forest-rich) countries like Cambodia, Burma, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands." That's development -- Pinoy-style -- for you! Shortsighted, instant-gratification-driven, and utterly clueless. Edited by benign0 - 19 Jul 2006 at 9:15am

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sugargame Newbie Joined: 13 Jun 2006 Location: Philippines Online Status: Offline Posts: 9	Posted: 20 Jul 2006 at 6:41pm
	It was hard to control illegal logging in this country because the authorities were dipping their hands in this activity. Not only did the top DENR officials make millions by spuriously approving logging concessions to timber barons(most of whom were not engaged in timber harvesting before but corrupt local mayors and governors), the loggers themselves have an ingenious way of abusing their timber licenses, often clearing out forest areas not included in their permits. They even hire private goons to scare away authorities who tried to stop them. And if things get nasty, they take advantage of impoverished locals willing to cut down logs for them in the middle of the night and pay them a can of sardines for every 10 logs they dump on the river.
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april_thunder Newbie Joined: 06 Feb 2007 Location: Philippines Online Status: Offline Posts: 1	Posted: 06 Feb 2007 at 9:24am
	Yes, you're absolutely right about that! Slowly but surely, the signs of global warning are making themselves quite apparent, and I guess this is a wake-up call for everyone to start thinking seriously about conserving our arboreal resources. The massacre of trees is irresponsibility of the highest order. Have you seen what they're doing in Corregidor Island? Corregidor Island is located near the mouth of Manila Bay, and was the scene of bloody battles during World War II. Today, it is supposed to be a protected area and a monument to the valor of all those who fought in these conflicts. Corregidor Island was so heavily bombed during the war that it was denuded of its foliage. Eventually, it was reforested, and has since then been covered by a lush green forest mantle. I happen to be the son of a veteran of that conflict, and it really violates my sensibilities to see what they have been doing to some areas of the island lately. Last December 5 and 6 (2006), I want on a picture-taking jaunt on the island, and discovered an ongoing project to "clean up" Middleside Barracks. Horrified with what I saw, I embarked on a web-based campaign to bring attention to the way this project was being implemented. We've been at this campaign since then, and we haven't been getting any good answers to the questions we've raised. The island's management appears to be pretty good at the fait accompli game, choosing to conveniently ignore our calls for a stoppage of the work pending a reassessment of their plans. The island is a very interesting test case of balancing HERITAGE, TOURISM, and ENVIRONMENTAL concerns. To get a more complete picture of this hot issue, may I invite you to visit our website at: http://geocities.com/savecorregidor and most specially, a forum where an even hotter discussion is going on: http://corregidor.proboards79.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1165512503&page=1 There are four pages in that forum, so I beg your indulgence regarding the length and breadth of its coverage. But it is very important that you see how the discussion has evolved. I'm quite sure you'll find it very interesting. -april_thunder Edited by april_thunder - 06 Feb 2007 at 9:27am
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candymaxx Newbie Joined: 16 Mar 2007 Location: Philippines Online Status: Offline Posts: 6	Posted: 16 Mar 2007 at 6:30pm
	What puzzles me is that Malaysia is a big time timber exporter yet they maintain their ecological balance. They have more forests than us.
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fharz Newbie Joined: 23 Feb 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 34	Posted: 11 Mar 2009 at 1:59pm
	Really true guys. It so hard to control those illegal loggers not to damage our nature. they are really bad people. If we could not take care of our nature then nature will not take care of us.
	Love Forums Cagayan De Oro Real Estate
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Environment and Natural Resources
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