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Taking steps for a greener future
By MITCH M. ARCEO
October 17, 2009, 3:29pm
www.mb.com.ph

Nature sure has a way of getting back at us. With the country losing more and more of its forests, many areas have become prone to flood and land erosion as evidenced in the recent calamities that inundated parts of Northern and Central Luzon, Metro Manila, and now the Bicol region.

According to the Philippine environmental quality report done in 1990-1995, an estimated 200,000 hectares of forest are depleted every year. In Luzon alone, only less than 24 percent is forested. Another study showed that in 1900, about 70 percent of Philippine soil was forested. In the 1930s it was reduced to 57 percent. The forest depletion intensified in the ‘50s and ‘60’s because of illegal logging and mining.                                                   
In this light, Haribon Foundation Inc. launched the “Road to 2020” program which aims to restore one million hectares of rainforests by planting native trees by 2020. Part of this program is the project of GMA Network called “Kapuso Para sa Kalikasan,” a series of tree planting activities being held in different parts of the country. Through this project, GMA network employees, along with volunteer students from various provinces, aim to make the future brighter and greener for the next generation.

The partnership between Haribon Inc. and GMA Network started in 2004. In 2005, the Road to 2020 program kicked off with a tree planting activity in Caliraya, Batangas. Mike Lopez, the youngest of the appointive officials of the National Youth Commission, together with Trumpets’ Raki Vega, and TV personality  Piolo Pascual were designated youth ambassadors of Haribon.

This year, the first tree planting activity under the “Kapuso para sa Kalikasan” was held in Cebu. A total of 1,750 seedlings were planted. Other regional tree planting activities under Haribon and GMA’s program will be held in Iloilo (Nov. 8), Davao (Nov. 28), and Naga (Nov. 22).

“We know that forests play a vital role in our survival. Yet, some people don’t take this into account because they only think of their selfish means. We do get a lot of benefits from forests. It is a good source of food, medicine and water (for irrigation and domestic use).Calamities like flood can be avoided because the forests absorb most of the water,” says Christine Cenal, Haribon’s resource generation and mobilization head.

The biggest threat to forests used to be illegal logging. But now, it points to mining as the biggest threat ever. With mining, chemicals are dumped into the soil, making it impossible for trees to grow. Even after the mining project is over, the soil becomes polluted with chemicals that no life can ever sprout from it.

If the country’s forest cover continues to decrease, then it wouldn’t be surprising if the country will experience much more severe calamities in the future.


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The views expressed in this article are the views of the authors and don not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Haribon Foundation, or its Board of Trustees, or our partners. Haribon does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this article and accepts no responsibility for any consequences of their use. Terminology used may be be necessarily be consistent with Haribon Foundation's official terms.