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Located on the Ring of Fire and in a main alleyway for typhoons, the Philippines

will never be disaster-proof, experts say. But it can cut the risk.
If typhoons of identical intensity were to strike Japan and the Philippines, the
Philippines would have 17 times the death toll, according to the Geneva-based
Internal Displacement Monitoring Center. Even in 2011, the year of the Great East
Japan Earthquake and nuclear catastrophe, disasters forced three times the number
of people from their homes in the Philippines.
Over the past two decades, the Philippines has experienced more than 300 disasters
� everything from landslides to floods to volcanic eruptions. And Filipino
officials say their disasters are becoming more severe, in part because of climate
change. Four of the country�s 10 deadliest disasters have come in the past 10
years. The national statistics board says typhoons � 19 per year on average � have
grown in power since the 1970s.
Research suggests that a warmer world will lead to stronger storms. Although most
scientists balk at connecting any one event with climate change, the Philippines�
representative at a climate summit in Warsaw said recently that �hell storms� like
Haiyan could become the �new norm.�
The impact of climate change isn�t spread equally, with the burden heaviest for
countries close to the equator and lacking the �economic, institutional,
scientific, and technical capacity to cope and adapt,� according the World Bank.
And the Philippines is struggling to keep up.

The Philippines is suffering from degradation of the natural environment. It has


fifty major rivers now polluted due to abuse and neglect. Approximately two-thirds
of the country's original mangroves have been lost. A hundred years ago, the
Philippines had close to 22 million hectares of old growth forest. At the start of
2000, we had less than 600,000 hectares of old-growth forest left. In one century,
we had cut down close to 97 percent of our original forest. A study by the
Environmental Scientists for Social Change (ESSC) reveals that we have
systematically cut this forest down and that we have not stopped its destruction
and that of its core biodiversity.

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) estimates that it takes over 4,000
liters of water to produce one kilo of rice. Because of the loss of forests, we
have less water since most of our freshwater comes from watersheds found in
forests. Therefore, loss of forests means loss of food.

More than 400 plant and animal species found in the Philippines are currently
threatened with extinction, including the Philippine eagle, the tamaraw, and the
dugong. In 2001, 49 of the nation's mammal species, 86 bird species, and 320 plant
species were threatened with extinction. Endangered species in the Philippines
include the monkey-eating eagle, Philippine tarsier, tamaraw, four species of
turtle (green sea, hawksbill, olive ridley, and leatherback), Philippines
crocodile, sinarapan, and two species of butterflies. The Cebu warty pig, Panay
flying fox, and Chapman's fruit bat have become extinct.

EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE

access to satellites plays a key role, thus, the Philippines will launch and
maintain several nano- and micro-satellites for multi-spectral Earth observation,
provide maritime domain awareness and monitor vital natural resources.
the Philippines will also launch a geosynchronous telecommunications satellite by
2022 for civil and military use.

ITO NAAAAA

https://center.noah.up.edu.ph/disseminating-near-real-time-hazards-information-and-
flood-maps-in-the-philippines-through-web-gis/

https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/clay-westrope-28042014-
065633-phl-osm-damage-assessment-final-report-to-submit.pdf

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