The State of Philippine Environment

The state of Philippine environment is very alarming in the sense that almost 90% of our forests covers are already gone. This would mean our country is already prone to landslide, flash floods and other natural and man - made calamities. According to IBON, depleted forests would mean fewer sources of food, medicinal plants and renewable energy, and less capacity to nurture genetic species. The Philippine forests are one of the most diverse in the world and also one of the most endangered. This rapid decline of forested land is already critical in the sense that there are flora and fauna in the country which are already endangered, threatened or extinct. The Philippine forests have been steadily shrinking at an average rate of 2% per annum, or a relatively fast deforestation rate of 550,000 hectares per year (IBON, 2006). This rate means that every hour, 63 hectares of forests are cleared.