The primary threat to biological diversity is habitat alteration and loss, especially rapid since 1980, caused by destructive resource use, development-related activities, and human population pressure.These factors are exacerbated by resource extraction (mining and logging) and land conversion for infrastructure, industrial, agricultural, and urban development.
Root causes of these threats include:
- lack of understanding and appreciation for the value of biodiversity;
- weak resource management and governance mechanisms;
- insignificant financial commitment to formal mechanisms;
- lack of political will for conservation of biodiversity;
- insufficient enforcement of environmental laws;
- inappropriate and conflicting conservation policies;
- significant lack of ecological expertise in decision-making institutions and processes.
- lack of conservation knowledge and expertise among key stakeholders; and
- lack of sustainable livelihood for local stakeholders.
Deeper analyses have shown that these causes are rooted in conflicting government policies and weak institutional mechanisms, reflecting a very low budgetary priority for nature and naturalresource conservation. Moreover, inequitable access to resources, poor governance, lack of public awareness and participation, lack of economic incentives, and poor use and allocation of resources all cause or exacerbate threats to biodiversity.
Destructive resource use emanates from extractive industries such as mining, logging and fishing, on commercial and small scales, and from the road building necessary to accommodate them. Philippine forests are subject to unsustainable mining and logging activities. Mining and logging are factors especially in Sierra Madre and Eastern Mindanao. Although these activities are regulated by the government, implementation of regulatory safeguards is inconsistent and hampered by limited resources. Areas abandoned by commercial logging and mining concessions attract many small (and illegal) loggers and miners whose activities are generally more destructive. Where there are commercial logging and mining activities, there is migration of people seeking related employment - opening up areas for settlements and bringing workers and families to previously uninhabited areas. Hunting, poaching, and flora collection follow human migration into upland areas, aggravating the threat to wildlife. Moreover, logged-over areas are often converted to kaingin (slash-and-burn) farms, clearing them of remaining vegetation. In addition, industrial and domestic pollution inland degrade river systems and coastal waters affecting riparian life and habitats. This is the case particularly in northeastern Mindanao.
Population pressure as a threat to biodiversity stems mainly from the encroachment into and exploitation of biologically important areas by impoverished people whose primary concern is simply survival. Such people often migrate in substantial numbers between areas and islands, having lost their lands through such factors as soil erosion and exhaustion, landslips and volcanic eruptions. The destructive slash-and-burn migrant farming of uplands and logged-over areas, illegal logging, and hunting and collection of wildlife and flora are widespread. Further, the mainstreaming of indigenous communities has resulted in the gradual loss of indigenous knowledge and practices, which are conservation-friendly. The lack of economic options forces many people to resort to destructive activities even as they are aware that these are not sustainable. Since these activities are largely fragmented and located in remote places, they are difficult to control without community assistance and support in the area.
Expansion of towns and provinces within the corridors, because of increasing population density, is a further threat to biodiversity. The need for more land to be developed for settlements, economic activities, and transportation infrastructure creates tremendous pressure to convert forestlands to such uses. Industrial sites, housing subdivisions, power plants, and infrastructure projects sometimes encroach on buffer zones of protected areas, critical watersheds, and remaining primary and secondary forests. Tourism in coastal areas leads to the destruction of mangrove forests and reef areas along with their associated wildlife. These are evident in many sites within the corridors. Without proper land use control and environmental mitigation, these activities will result in further habitat destruction and biodiversity loss.
Unclear land use policies at the national level create confusion and conflicts. Overlapping mandates and jurisdictions occur with respect to the use and management of forest lands where logging, mining, plantation, special uses and settlement encroachment are concerned. Similar problems occur at the local level in response to indiscriminate land use conversion and development projects. Weak consideration, if any, is given to environment and biodiversity conservation by local governments in land use decisions. A Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) for each municipality and province is required by law and is a prerequisite to the formulation of local or provincial development plans. The CLUP exercise in many Local Government Units (LGUs), however, tends to be weak and focused on the urban zones. The lack of process and understanding of the natural and socioeconomic resources of these areas, along with the overlapping institutional jurisdictions, precludes the rational determination of land uses necessary for the establishment of appropriate regulations. In cases where proper land use and zoning controls are in place, the problem lies with the political will to enforce those controls, particularly where there are unresolved conflicting uses and contending institutions or influential parties involved.
These threats and their underlying causes are clearly demonstrated in each of the three corridors, which consequently were validated and confirmed by the stakeholder participants during the two consultation workshops. However, it should be noted that the degree of each threats influence differs among the corridors.
The Sierra Madre Corridor is mineral-rich and contains the most extensive forest cover in the country. The major threats to biodiversity in the terrestrial corridor are directly related to the extraction of these resources by logging and mining. The presence of these industries exposed biologically sensitive areas to population pressure, with ensuing small-scale logging, hunting, and agricultural activities that exacerbate the degraded state of much of the forest ecosystem. At the same time, logging and mining concessions (including small-scale illegal activities) have influenced the development of support industries in the lowlands to process timber and mineral products. These ancillary industries, in turn, reinforce the primary industries and serve to influence political support and tolerance for their abuses.
Records of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) showed 52 logging concessions granted Timber License Agreements (TLAs) to operate in the Corridor, specifically in Region 2, from 1965 to 1985. Of these, 12 were cancelled, 34 expired or were terminated, and six are still in effect, three of which operate with an approved Integrated Annual Operation Plan. The three remaining concessions allow extraction of 46,622 cubic meters of timber from 857 hectares every year. Their operations have cut down remaining old growth forests at an average rate of 21,536 hectares per year. In cancelled or terminated TLA areas, on the other hand, indiscriminate timber poaching occurs due to open access.
In the corridor, the cancellation or termination of logging operations has resulted in conversion from forest to agriculture or settlement areas and an increase in timber poaching as an alternative source of income for timber workers who are left behind, or for lowland migrants, due to the open access established during commercial logging. A recent study reported a reduction in commercial logging to less than 6,000 hectares in the corridor. Forest destruction, however, always exceeded 100,000 hectares per year, with forest destruction occurring much faster in areas with cancelled TLAs than in areas where concessions still operate.
Timber poaching or illegal logging has also resulted in the annual reduction of mossy forest areas by 1,010 hectares, and the reduction of pine groves by 253 hectares. It has further led to the expansion of other brushlands at a rate of 12,654 hectares per year in Cagayan Province. Such activities, which primarily involve carabao logging, have also caused soil erosion resulting in severe or heavy siltation of the Cagayan valley river basin. In Isabela, there is timber poaching in the western side of the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park (NSMNP) and its buffer zones. There has also been a substantial increase in the illegal felling and collection of narra, a hardwood species often used in furniture, due to the flourishing furniture trade in Isabela. A similar situation occurs in the province of Bulacan, where there is rampant illegal gathering of forest products for furniture.
In Aurora province, illegal logging activities are rampant in Casiguran and San Luis, as well as hunting and gathering of fuelwood and minor forest products. This has resulted in landslides and soil erosion in the Pingit Watershed in Baler and sedimentation of the Diteki River. Although an 28,000 hectare area of primary forest in Quezon Province could comfortably support eight pairs of Philippine eagles, the area has been declared "alienable and disposable," allowing its owners to obtain a private timber permit. The area is slated for conversion to multi-use development featuring a combination of leisure and recreation areas, housing, and institutional areas.
There have been 390 operating nonmetallic mines and quarries in the Sierra Madre corridor since 1999, including basalt, bentonite, diatomaceous earth, feldspar, guano, limestone, marble, red clay, sand and gravel, silica, and white clay. Only one operational and medium-scale gold mine existed in the corridor, operating from 1978-1984 under a mineral lease covering about 800 hectares.
As of May 2001, numerous applications for exploration and mining (gold, copper, silver, manganese, other base metals, and limestone, covering an area of 811,541 hectares) have been filed in the three regions, with some of the applications covering overlapping areas. From these applications, 17 Exploration Permit Applications, four applications for Mineral Production Sharing Agreements, and six Financial or Technical Assistance Agreements refer to the slopes of the Sierra Madre Mountains, and two cover areas within the NSMNP. Combined, these applications cover 496,314 hectares. It should be noted that the largest primary montane forest in the NSMNP extends from Mt. Dos Cuernos in San Pablo south through the mountains of Cabagan and Maconacon to Divilacan and Tumauini around Mt. Cresta. This portion of the Natural Park will be seriously threatened once these mining applications are approved and construction and operations begin.
Road building is arguably the most serious threat to conservation of biodiversity in the Sierra Madre corridor.
The 1994-2004 Cagayan Valley Strategic Development Plan identified road development as one of the main priorities in achieving a robust and sustainable economy for Region 2, whose Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) has the second-lowest among the 14 regions of the country since 1998. The relatively slow development of the region is attributed to several constraints, including the underdeveloped transportation infrastructure. The present road network is unreliable and, in some places, nonexistent, making production areas inaccessible and marketing difficult. East-west road development in Northern Luzon is considered a development priority, and most of the proposed roads will go through the Sierra Madre Mountains. There are already five lateral roads and four coastal roads planned that will traverse the mountain range.
Along the coast of the Sierra Madre Corridor, a proposed road from Dingading, San Guillermo to Dinapigue will traverse a protected area. Another proposed national road would cut through 72 kilometers of old growth forest in Gattaran, Baggao and Cagayan, a habitat of many endemic species. In addition, a proposed national road construction of about 67 kilometers will be cross the old growth forest to Barangay Bolos Point in the coastal area of Gattaran. Finally, a proposed provincial road will connect the valley side to the coastal barangays of the NSMNP. The Regional Development Council (RDC) of Region 2 has already approved this road.
In the province of Quirino, the 50-kilometer Maddela-Casiguran Road that will connect Aurora to Quirino, the Maddela-Nagtipunan-A Castaneda-North Ecija Road, and the Maddela-San Agustin-Jones Road will also traverse the Sierra Madre Mountains.
In addition to these proposed roads, there are two major industrial developments planned in the corridor: the Cagayan Special Economic Zone, which covers portions of the forest areas in Gonzaga and Santa Ana, Cagayan, and the proposed Pacific Coast City in General Nakar and Umiray, Quezon, which will affect 28,000 hectares of primary forest within the corridor.
Another major development project that will take place in the corridor is the controversial Trans-Casecnan Hydropower Plant in the province of Quirino. This project will displace a number of indigenous communities from their ancestral lands and encroach on the Casecnan Protected Landscape, the second-largest protected area in the Sierra Madre corridor (which has a priority rating of
extremely high - critical from the results of the priority-setting activity).
It is expected that the construction of these roads and the resulting access to the Sierra Madre mountain range, and related development, will place the entire forest and adjacent marine ecosystem of the corridor in great peril. The physical and biological functions of these ecosystems will be under great pressure from inadequately managed development.
The prevalence of illegal logging and gathering activities and kaingin farming in all the provinces of the corridor is an indication that there is human encroachment in the upland areas where the remaining forest cover is found.
The major threats to biodiversity in Palawan are small-scale illegal logging; unregulated collection of timber and non-timber forest products; commercial and small-scale mining; conversion of mangroves into fishponds and rice fields; and illegal fishing and overfishing.
The uncontrolled population migration in the corridor puts pressure on the limited land resources and has led to encroachment into sensitive areas where resources are exploited in unsustainable and destructive ways.
Palawan is the only island province in the country with more than 50% of its forest cover intact — because, in 1993, commercial logging was banned in the province. This was the first legislative logging ban of its kind. However, small-scale illegal logging continues in parts of the province, especially in the northern and southern parts of Palawan. In fact, from 1993-2001, there were 364 arrests for illegal logging in the province, representing an estimated $1.1 million or more in poached timber for hardwood lumber and narra tiles.
Illegal logging invariably attracts swidden farming or shifting cultivation in the upland areas. This is rampant throughout the province, resulting in deforestation, erosion, floods, and the extensive use of agrochemicals, particularly in the town of Taytay. Migration into Palawan has increased the number of forest occupants practicing shifting cultivation using lowland methods.
Most mining activities are small-scale, with only one large nickel mine operating in Rio Tuba in the southern part of the mainland. Chromite, copper, nickel, silica, marble, mercury, manganese, limestone, barite, feldspar, sand, gravel, washed pebbles, and guano are mined in small-scale operations. As of May 31, 2001, there are two applications for MPSAs, with a total area of 3,825 hectares. In the town of Camago, about 25 miles northwest of Malampaya, there is uncontrolled commercial mining activity going on.
ADB, JBIC, and the World Bank have ongoing projects intended to develop or improve roads, feeder ports, irrigation and airports in different parts of Palawan that may have direct or indirect adverse effects on the environment as well. There are also four pearl farming operations in the province and other facilities processing marine products. Such activities can have a serious effect on the marine environment.
Planned operations of Malampaya Gas are expected to bring significant revenue to the province from its share in the national wealth and local taxes. There are already some broad discussions of opportunities to use the revenue increase to further the development of Palawan. If such planning is not properly guided by environmental and conservation considerations, it might lead to land uses beyond the limited carrying capacity of Palawan's fragile environment.
Palawan's population is growing at a rapid rate of 3.04% annually, mostly due to inbound migration. The high migration rate puts tremendous pressure on the upland forest areas and coastal areas where most of the migrants settle. Much of the destructive
kaingin (slash and burn) cultivation and illegal fishing is associated with the relatively new migrant population coming to the province in search of livelihood.
Eastern Mindanao covers two major identified Area Development Zones: the Davao Gulf ADZ and the Caraga ADZ. The Davao Gulf ADZ, which includes Davao Oriental, is the most advanced area in Mindanao in terms of infrastructure, market links, and financial services; consequently, it is expected to remain the top exporter of key food crops and industrial products (wood, fabricated metal, rubber, and cement and other nonmetallic minerals) as well as a center of shipbuilding.
The Caraga ADZ - covering Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Agusan del Norte, and Agusan del Sur - is slated for industrial and agricultural development, the growth of which is linked to the regional status of the Cagayan-Iligan and Davao Gulf regions as trade and industrial centers of Mindanao.
These development plans provide the context for assessing human pressures on biodiversity and conservation initiatives in the corridor.
The most significant threat in Eastern Mindanao is the proliferation of mining operations. Gold, silver, nickel, copper, chromite, limestone, silica, and other precious metals, base metals, and nonmetallic minerals are mined throughout the corridor. At present, there are 10 large mines and quarries operating in Surigao and Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur and Compostela. In addition, there are 74 nonmetallic mines and quarries operating in the corridor, plus 16 applications for financial and technical assistance and 48 exploration permit applications. Apart from these, 27 MPSAs (covering 72,464 hectares) and 20 exploration permits (covering 90,259 hectares) had been issued by the MGB in the corridor as of June 2001. Some of these cover declared protected areas and watershed forest reserves within the corridor, where most ongoing conservation efforts will be concentrated.
In Surigao del Norte, industrial waste and mine tailings are being dumped indiscriminately from open pits and tailing ponds of gold mining operations in Hinituan Passage. An open-pit chromite mine in Claver also caused heavy siltation of rivers. Because of indiscriminate dumping of mine wastes, 1,639 damage claims were filed and processed by the DENR from 1990-1994. The DENR has issued only a few minor citations against these operations; however, local grassroots action was able to suspend some mining in 2000.
In Agusan del Norte, gold mining on commercial and small scales is prevalent in Cabadbaran, Santiago, Tubay, and Jabonga. Mine tailings are dumped in rivers such as the Kalinawan, draining into the Mindanao Sea and causing siltation of the coastal areas. Mining operations in San Roque Kitcharao are also polluting the headwaters of the Lambug River. Ongoing mineral extraction activities are mostly small-scale operations, including 15 mining permits as well as illegal miners in the gold rush area in East Morgado, Santiago.
One of the largest remaining blocks of dipterocarp forest in the country is found along this corridor. However, much of the remaining lowland dipterocarp forest is within logging concessions. In fact, 75% of the country’s timber comes from this area. Large-scale logging and wood processing industries thus constitute a serious threat to biodiversity in the corridor. The two biggest logging concessions in the country are in Surigao province, within the EMC. One of these has a concession area of 360,670 hectares with a registered annual production capacity of 3 million cubic meters. There are only two other TLAs outside of the Surigao provinces: one in Agusan del Sur (72,680 hectares) and one in Agusan del Norte (98,312 hectares).
The logging practices of these companies and TLA holders are often indiscriminate. One company is reportedly operating outside of its approved operation plan, which led to its suspension last year and exacerbated damage to the forest.
Commercial logging is accompanied by the development of industrial tree and forest plantations, such as oil palm and bamboo plantations. As of 1998, there were 38 such plantations in the corridor, occupying more than 300,000 hectares. These plantations grow only one species of plant each; e.g., falcata in Agusan del Norte and bamboo or palm trees in Agusan del Sur. To make matters worse, the DENR proposes to establish a timber corridor in this section of Mindanao that will cover at least 100,000 hectares. These operations threaten biodiversity, as they replace and alter natural ecological processes and create monocultures susceptible to pests and disease. Endemic plant species in the corridor are especially at risk.
Illegal logging and
kaingin activities in the uplands have also led to loss of forest cover and consequent soil erosion and sedimentation of rivers. Local authorities made arrests in 1999-2000 for illegal extraction of hardwood lumber, round logs, and narra tiles in the corridor.
Development plans in the Caraga ADZ include economic centers that will catalyze domestic and foreign investment in the region. The 10 economic centers planned in Caraga would be the highest concentration of such facilities in the country. Two agro-industrial estates are already slated for development in the corridor: the Nasipit Industrial Estate and the Tubay Agro-Industrial Estate in Agusan del Norte.
There are four large industrial establishments and two medium-scale manufacturing establishments being considered as a foundation for development of heavy industry and manufacturing in the region. However, agriculture and forestry remain the biggest factors in the region's economy and job growth. The region has oil palm plantations and processing facilities, accounting for most of the country's production, with the largest plantations in Agusan del Sur (up to 8,000 hectares). Agriculture, especially in the Agusan River Basin, and marine fishing grounds in the west-central Pacific will be developed with the municipalities along the north coast of Mindanao. Moreover, the Nasipit and Surigao ports are expected to absorb the expansion of agricultural processing and light manufacturing from Cebu, Cagayan-Iligan, and Davao.
Several industrial establishments in the region are engaged in marine and agricultural processing; most, however, deal with manufacturing of fabricated metal, nonmetallic mineral products, rubber products, industrial chemicals, transportation equipment, and paper products. Most (95ů) of these operations are small-scale; heavy industries are limited to plywood and cement manufacturing and shipbuilding.
In Siargao, there is extensive mangrove conversion by foreigners buying land to convert into beach resorts, and for firewood — one of the main sources of livelihood on the island. Fuelwood is taken as far as Manila to supply bakeries. Artificial fishponds are installed near mangrove areas; reportedly, 576 hectares have been converted in Siargao and Bucas Grande (Management Plan of the Siargao Wildlife Sanctuary). Indiscriminate cutting of mangroves for firewood and clearing for fish ponds and prawn farms is also prevalent in Cabadbaran, Tubay, and Magallanes in Agusan del Norte. Land conversion from forest to farmland and residential and industrial settlements, or from agricultural to residential use, is also widespread throughout the corridor.
Groups of people from Luzon (Ilocanos) and Cebu (Cebuanos) are migrating into Surigao del Sur, giving the area the fastest growth rate in the region. The indigenous population, including the Manobos, Higaonons, Mamanwas, Mandayas and Talaandigs of the corridor forests, are being integrated into the mainstream of lowland culture, losing much of their indigenous knowledge and ecologically sound practices. Some of these indigenous peoples are adopting destructive lowland farming techniques in the uplands. Additionally, they are involved in illegal logging.
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