Illegal Logging in the Philippines
Filipinos are known for being close family oriented. Every weekend, members of the family gather together to share experiences, problems and successes in their daily activities. Our family is not an exemption, we usually have a small "salo-salo" every Sunday and talk about memorable events that transpired during the week. One occasion, my grandmother shared an exciting experience to us. She told us that when she was still young her place was very beautiful. She lived in Tanay, Rizal where the heavily forested Sierra Madre Mountain Range is located. Every morning, the cold breeze of fresh air and the sound of flowing river beside there home awaken her. How I wish I could experience living in such a paradise! This remains a dream for me, for you and for the future generations.
According to the holy bible, "Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward." This observation of Prophet Job is correct that human species is born unto trouble. On all sides of the world, we see violence, poverty, graft and corruption, pollution, deforestation, overpopulation, and so on, endlessly. We wonder what brought the world and the humankind into this deplorable condition. This prompted me to write this paper on one of the crucial environmental problem that we are facing: illegal logging.
Forests in the tropics have a rich biodiversity. More than fifty percent of all the plants and animals in the world are to be found in the rainforests. More than 3500 species of plants and animals! The constantly high temperatures and the continuously high humidity in the tropics make this biodiversity possible. The temperature is in most tropical rainforests between 25 and 35 degrees Celsius. Unfortunately, the forests are threatened. David Orr correctly observed that “ if today is a typical day on planet earth, we will lose about 30,000 hectares of rainforests, or 1200 hectares per hour, or 21 hectares per minute.” Worldwide only twenty percent of the original tropical forests is left. The
According to the holy bible, "Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward." This observation of Prophet Job is correct that human species is born unto trouble. On all sides of the world, we see violence, poverty, graft and corruption, pollution, deforestation, overpopulation, and so on, endlessly. We wonder what brought the world and the humankind into this deplorable condition. This prompted me to write this paper on one of the crucial environmental problem that we are facing: illegal logging.
Forests in the tropics have a rich biodiversity. More than fifty percent of all the plants and animals in the world are to be found in the rainforests. More than 3500 species of plants and animals! The constantly high temperatures and the continuously high humidity in the tropics make this biodiversity possible. The temperature is in most tropical rainforests between 25 and 35 degrees Celsius. Unfortunately, the forests are threatened. David Orr correctly observed that “ if today is a typical day on planet earth, we will lose about 30,000 hectares of rainforests, or 1200 hectares per hour, or 21 hectares per minute.” Worldwide only twenty percent of the original tropical forests is left. The