ARTICLE 1:FACTS ABOUT TROPICAL RAINFOREST ECOSYSTEMS

Tropical rainforests are the planet’s oldest ecosystems. The largest area of this ecosystem in
the world is found in South America (45%), followed by Africa (30%), Southeast Asia (16%), and
Australia (9%). The Congo Basin in Africa has the second largest rainforest on earth after the
Amazon. Tropical rainforests house about two-thirds of the world’s wildlife species. Within a four
mile square area of a tropical rainforest, there are over 750 species of trees, 1500 different
kinds of flowering plants, 125 species of mammals, 400 species of birds, 100 reptiles, 60
amphibians,150 species of butterflies and countless insects.

There are as many as 500 million people worldwide depend directly or indirectly on tropical
rainforests for fresh water, food, herbal medicines and building materials. Fifty million
indigenous people have their homes in the rainforest. Around 80% of the world’s poorest people
depend on the rainforest for their sustenance.

Rainforests are the sources of natural ingredients for medicines, wherein, an estimated one in
four pharmaceutical products comes from tropical rainforest plants. Despite the fact that 25% of
Western pharmaceuticals are obtained from rainforest ingredients, only less than 1% of tropical
plants have been analyzed by scientists. The National Cancer Institute of the United States has
already identified 3,000 plants that have the potential to cure cancer in which 70% of these
plants are found in the rainforest. Some 25% of the active ingredients in the present day anti-
cancer drugs come from organisms found only in the rainforest.

In the not so distant past, tropical rainforest ecosystems covered 14% of the earth’s land
surface; but in the present day they cover only about 6%.There are 50 acres of rainforest are
lost every minute in which around 150,000 sq km of rainforest equivalent to the size of England
and Wales is destroyed every year. 50,000 wildlife species a year become extinct because of
rainforest destruction. Rainforest destruction is the second largest cause of global warming, in
which burning of fossil fuel being the first. Although rainforests produce about 40% of the
world’s oxygen, deforestation produces more CO2 than all the cars, planes, trains and vehicles
on the planet combined. Saving rainforests is one of the quickest, cheapest and the most
practical way to help stop climate change. If deforestation continues at the current rate, there
will be no more rainforests by the year 2050.

ARTICLE 2: THE TROPICAL RAINFORESTS OF THE SIERRA MADRE MOUNTAIN RANGE

In the Philippines, the Sierra Madre mountain range possesses the largest remaining
tract of old-growth tropical rainforest. Considered as the backbone of Luzon Island and
the longest mountain range in the country, the Sierra Madre comprises 1.4 million
hectares of forest land, which represents 40% of the nation’s forest cover. The Sierra
Madre’s ecological importance is that it still has the remaining intact forest in the central
part of the mountain range characterized by its high plant diversity. The mountain
range is also home to hundreds of wildlife species, many of which are only found in the
Philippines, including the golden crowned flying fox (Acedoron jubatus) and Philippine
eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi). Using Google, search for the images of these two species.

Regarded as one of the major natural resources in which the Philippine economy is
being driven, the Sierra Madre mountain range and its watersheds provide services that
irrigate thousands of hectares of farm lands in Central Luzon and the Cagayan Valley
region, provide drinking water and other water utilities and generate energy from
hydrologic power plants that supply Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon.

In spite of several Philippine Environmental Laws that are being implemented albeit
leniently, the majority of the Sierra Madre is still under threat from human
encroachment and associated commercial logging, timber poaching, mining, conversion
of forest lands for agriculture, and settlement. These threats have resulted in forest loss
and degraded watersheds, including siltation and sedimentation of the Cagayan River
and ecosystems at the river’s mouth such as estuaries, reefs, mangroves, and wetlands.
Development — particularly road construction that will improve access and subsequent
potential for exploitation of the area — is also a serious threat. The ecological
interdependence of the Sierra Madre’s terrestrial, coastal, and marine ecosystems hangs
in a fragile balance.

ARTICLE 3: 2011, YEAR OF THE FORESTS, YEAR OF HOPE

(This article originally appeared in the Talk of the Town, Opinion section of the
Philippine Daily Inquirer on February 12, 2011)

The world observes the International Year of Forests in 2011, and as the year unfolds,
let it not be a tribute to a dying resource, but a celebration of hope as we all work
together towards healthier and life-sustaining forests for future generations.

It is hoped that the occasion would serve as an effective “global platform to celebrate
people’s action to sustainably manage the world’s forests.”
To mark the occasion, Conservation International, which works in nearly 40 countries
around the world, highlighted the world’s ten most at-risk forested hotspots. These
hotspots are those that have all lost 90% or more of their original habitat and each one
harbors at least 1,500 endemic plant species (species found nowhere else in the world).
If those forested habitats are lost, the endemic species are also lost forever. These
forests potentially support the lives of close to one billion people who live in or around
them, and directly or indirectly depend on the natural resources.With an estimated
seven percent of remaining original forest, the Philippines comes fourth in the list,
behind Indo-Burma, New Caledonia, and Sundaland, all located in the Asia Pacific
region.

World’s 10 Most Threatened Forest Hotspots

Hotspot Remaining Predominant Vegetation Type
habitat
1 Indo-Burma (Asia-Pacific) 5% Tropical, Subtropical Moist Broadleaf
Forests
2 New Caledonia (Asia- 5% Tropical, Subtropical Moist Broadleaf
Pacific) Forests
3 Sundaland (Asia-Pacific) 7% Tropical, Subtropical Moist Broadleaf
 Forests
4 Philippines (Asia-Pacific) 7% Tropical, Subtropical Moist Broadleaf
Forests
5 Atlantic Forest (South 8% Tropical, Subtropical Moist Broadleaf
America) Forests
6 Mountains of Southwest 8% Temperate Coniferous Forests
China (Asia-Pacific)
7 California Floristic Province 10% Tropical, Subtropical Dry Broadleaf
(North America) Forests
8 Coastal Forests of Eastern 10% Tropical, Subtropical Moist Broadleaf
Africa (Africa) Forests
9 Madagascar & Indian 10% Tropical, Subtropical Moist Broadleaf
Ocean Islands (Africa) Forests
10 Eastern Afromontane 11% Tropical, Subtropical Moist Broadleaf
(Africa) Forests; Montane Grasslands and
Shrublands
One of richest, most threatened

The Philippines’ forests support a treasure trove of biological diversity. The country as
a whole has been identified as one of the world’s mega-diverse countries, and is also
designated as a biodiversity “hotspot” because its biological riches are also the most
threatened.

Many endemic species are confined to forest fragments that cover only seven percent
of the original extent of the hotspot. This includes over 6,000 plant species and nearly
200 bird species, such as the iconic Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi). Such is the
uniqueness of the Philippines’ biodiversity that some species can only be found in one
island like the Cebu black shama (Copsychus cebuensis) and the Philippine tamaraw
(Bubalus mindorensis), or even in just one mountain like the Mt. Isarog shrew rat
(Rhynchomys isarogensis)!

Historically logged for timber products, today, the remaining forests are also being
cleared for farming and to accommodate the needs of the nation’s high population
growth rate and severe rural poverty.

While the International Year of Forests has been dubbed as a “celebration,” it also
serves as a sounding of alarm and a call to action to protect the world’s remaining
forests.

In the Philippines, forest degradation has been attributed as a contributing factor that
has worsened the impacts of numerous floods and landslides which have devastated
the country, causing significant loss of lives and property. Oftentimes, such disasters
are followed by renewed calls and increased efforts for forest protection, the latest of
which is the signing of Executive Order 23 by Pres. Benigno Aquino, Jr. The EO, in
recognition of the forests’ role in preventing flash floods and hazardous flooding,
prescribes a logging moratorium on the country’s natural and residual forests and
creates an anti-logging task force. But even as communities and conservationists assess
the EO’s possible effects and prepare to monitor its implementation, wood producers
and some upland communities are already protesting the moratorium, citing possible
revenue loss and unemployment impacts.

Beyond timber

Undoubtedly, forests provide livelihood and foster economic growth in terms of

providing wood supply. However, they also provide so much more ecosystem services
or benefits beyond wood. Some of these benefits are not even easily calculated in terms
of financial terms, but they are vital to sustaining our survival.

Forests overall cover only 30 percent of our planet’s area and yet they are home to 80 percent
of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity. They also sustain the livelihoods for 1.6 billion people,
who directly depend on healthy forests for income. The trees, flowers, animals and
microorganisms found in forests form a complex web of life. The interactions between the
species and the ecosystems in them function as natural factories of some of our most basic
needs, like clean air, healthy soils, medicines, crop pollination and fresh water.

“Forests are being destroyed at an alarming rate to give room to pastures, agricultural land,
mineral exploitation and sprawling urban areas, but by doing so we are destroying our own
capacity to survive,” said Olivier Langrand, CI’s international policy chief. “Forests must be seen
as more than just a group of trees. Forests give us vital benefits. They already play an
enormous economic role in the development of many countries as a source of timber, food,
shelter and recreation, and have an even greater potential that needs to be realized in terms of
water provision, erosion prevention and carbon sequestration.”

A hundred years ago, the Philippines was practically covered in forests – about 95% of the
total land area. Today, less than 7% of that remains. How much more can we afford to lose?

Forests and climate change

Climate change is easily one of the most “popular” environmental issues in the world today,
and yet what may not be as widely-known is that deforestation is also a significant climate
change issue. Forests play an important role in stabilizing the climate. It is estimated that
emissions resulting from deforestation represent approximately 15% of total greenhouse gas
emissions, more than the annual emissions of all the cars, trucks, planes, trains and ships in
the world.

Forests are also superior stores of carbon. The World’s 10 Most Threatened Forest Hotspots
store over 25 gigatons of carbon, helping to clean the air and cope with the already inevitable
effects of climate change.
Recognizing the role of deforestation in contributing to greenhouse emissions, CI and its
partners around the world are pushing for governments to adopt REDD+ mechanisms. REDD+
is a suite of policies, institutional reforms and programs that provide developing countries with
financial incentives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to enhance economic growth by
preventing the destruction of their forests. The acronym stands for Reducing Emissions from
Deforestation and forest Degradation “plus” conservation, the sustainable management of
forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks. The “plus” in the acronym ensures that
while we protect forests, we also have opportunities to conserve our ecosystems and
rehabilitate forests for increasing species’ and communities’ resilience in adapting to climate
change, and sustainably use our forests for economic growth.

A global REDD+ mechanism presents a key opportunity to generate the funding, political will,
and internationally agreed-upon policies, economic incentives and social safeguards necessary
to protect forests and combat climate change, while improving human well-being and ensuring
protection of indigenous people and community rights in developing nations. It is a cost-
effective climate change solution that can be implemented now, without waiting for new
technologies.

Working with Communities to Restore Forests

In the forests of Sierra Madre, CI is currently working with the local governments,
communities, the DENR and donors from the private sector through the Philippine Peñablanca
Sustainable Reforestation and Quirino Forest Carbon Projects. Both passed the Climate,
Community and Biodiversity (CCB) Standards garnering Gold Level ratings—the first of its kind
in the Philippines. CCB Standards is the most widely used and globally respected international
standards for evaluating forest-based projects. These standards help ensure that projects
provide multiple benefits expected from them such as climate change mitigation and
adaptation, biodiversity conservation and community well-being.

A third-party auditor of international reputation validates the projects every five years or can
do spot checks intermittently to monitor whether they live up to the standards and can revoke
their global ratings if they fail to maintain compliance. These projects have been started with
appropriate consultation with the stakeholders covering the local communities, the local
government and the DENR to agree on action plans. These plans are implemented in areas
where these stakeholders jointly take part in conserving biodiversity and bringing back the
forest, while sustainably providing themselves with alternative livelihoods.

The Peñablanca and Quirino projects entail working with local communities to establish, protect
and maintain at least 2,600 hectares of reforestation and agroforestry areas, through
conservation agreements with farmer beneficiaries to ensure that they keep their part of the
bargain such as stopping unsustainable practices of firewood collection and charcoal making.
While the forest areas involved make up only a small part of the Sierra Madre mountain range
– the largest block of remaining natural rainforest in the Philippines – it is hoped that the two
projects will serve as models to be scaled up and replicated in other areas. It is also a good
 example of a private-public partnership in conservation working at its best with the private
sector providing the necessary seed funding.

In the Palawan Biodiversity Corridor, the proclamation of the Mt. Mantalingahan Protected
Landscape paved the way for efforts that will protect the 33 watersheds in the area and its
capability to provide various forest-based, ecosystem services that are estimated to have a
total economic value (TEV) of US$5.5 billion.

These ecosystems services include water, soil conservation, flood control, carbon
sequestration, non-timber forest products and the high potential of waterfalls, caves and other
culturally-interesting areas for ecotourism. The watersheds within MMPL are extremely valuable
to the lowland agricultural economy in the area. Again, beyond timber.

Key Biodiversity Areas

There are plenty of opportunities for ecosystems conservation, forest protection and forest
restoration projects. The country has 228 Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA), 116 of which contain
forested habitats while the rest are major marine or wetland habitats. The terrestrial KBAs
were compiled through the collaboration among the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR), Conservation International, Haribon Foundation, and other expert groups

These sites represent the key habitats for globally threatened and endemic species, and are
therefore considered globally significant for biodiversity conservation and habitat protection.
These are where we can possibly prioritize investments for forest protection and restoration
while we set aside the adjacent areas for ecologically-sound forest management and
agroforestry to sustain community livelihoods.

Many of these KBAs still lack formal government protection, while waiting in the wings are an
additional 51 Candidate KBAs, which may be elevated to KBA status when new data or surveys
come in that will confirm the presence of globally threatened species.

REFERENCES:
 http://www.conservation.org/sites/philippines/news/pages/philippineforestprojectgetgl
obalrecognition.aspx
 http://www.conservation.org/sites/philippines/fmg/articles/pages/forestprotectionforsu
rvivalandhope.aspx
 http://www.conservation.org/sites/philippines/where/sierra_madre/pages/sierra_madr
e_biodiversity_corridor.aspx
 http://www.hubbardbrook.org/w6_tour/biomass-stop/single-tree-biomass.htm
 http://myfootprint.org/en/