My Thoughts on Tree-Planting and Why We Should Encourage It

A Reflection Paper By Faye Cience C. Bohol 11286199 2nd Year-Block 2

NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAW Prof. Brenda Jay Angeles Mendoza

De La Salle University 5 September 2013

My Thoughts on Tree-Planting and Why We Should Encourage It A Reflection Paper

The subject of this reflection paper is supposed to be the tree-planting activity held last Sunday, September 1, 2013. Unfortunately, I was not able to participate because I woke up late. I tried to catch up but they finished when I was almost at the venue. Hence, this paper talks about my view on tree-planting in general.

People often take for granted the significance of trees in our environment. When calamities such as flooding happen, the first thing that comes to peoples mind as to the cause is only the heavy downpour of rainwater. Seldom do they consider the fact that trees absorb rain and distribute the water more evenly thus help prevent flooding. The reality that even just an average amount of rainfall already results to flooding in some areas especially in Metro Manila means that we are lacking trees in the environment.

But how could this happen when the Philippines looks so abundant with trees? We are not even a first world country to claim that industrialization here has reached a point wherein its negative effects to the environment can no longer be offset by the combating mechanism of the trees we currently have. This only means that there is more than what meets the eye. According to the 2011 Forestry Statistics conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Forest Management Bureau, classified forestlands covers 15.05 million hectares or 50% of the Philippines total land area of about 30 million hectares; unclassified forestland cover 0.755 million hectares or 3%. Thats a total of 53%, unfortunately still below the 54% ideal forest cover for tropical countries like the Philippines. But thats already more than half of the total area of the country! Why then do we need more trees? Well, it turns out that this matter is better assessed qualitatively than in a quantitative manner. The effects of industrialization, though they cover smaller portions of our lands, bring results that deteriorate even bigger portions that are not covered.

Taking into consideration that forestlands are dying out, the dilemma becomes even becomes worse. According to an article in Philippine Inquirer by Marjorie Pamintuan of the Asia-Pacific Research Network, the Philippines is among the countries that are losing their forest cover fast, ranking 4th in the worlds top 10 most threatened forest hotspots. If the deforestation

My Thoughts on Tree-Planting and Why We Should Encourage It A Reflection Paper

rate of 157,400 hectares per year continues, the countrys remaining forest cover will be wiped out in less than 40 years. The area lost to deforestation every year is twice the land area of Metro Manila.

This imposes a serious threat to the environment. We should all be alarmed by now. We must be mindful of the fact that what deforestation brings is not only flooding. Heavy flooding can also result to landslides. If we have enough trees around, soil erosions can be avoided. Trees reduce the amount of topsoil that runs off into sewers and streams by retaining water. Tree leaves on the ground trap chemicals keeping them out of lakes and rivers and retain moisture close to the ground.

Flood and flood-related calamities are not the only disasters that deforestation brings. Deforestation in general causes global warming, which is the rapid increase in the earths average atmospheric temperature. It doesnt sound very damaging but such condition actually leads to more dangerous interference in natures normal cycles. The most common environmental problems caused by global warming are drought, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Droughts affects crop yields reducing food production, thus increasing cases of poverty and malnutrition. Tornadoes and hurricanes destroy properties and even take away innocent lives. Glaciers are starting to melt thus increasing sea levels and drowning low-land islands. This also results to some animals and plants losing their habitat and source of food. Global warming has so many life-threatening effects; it will be too lengthy to tackle them all here.

Planting trees will help prevent global warming by reducing levels of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, and evaporating water into the atmosphere which increases cloudiness. Clouds will reflect solar radiation so there will be less heat. Atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide is reduced when trees undergo photosynthesis, which is a natural process of plants taking carbon dioxide from the air for growth and in effect releasing oxygen to replace the carbon dioxide.

In 2013 alone, the country has gone through several natural disasters that created havoc to peoples lives and habitat. Last August 18, tropical storm Trami (Maring) caused heavy

My Thoughts on Tree-Planting and Why We Should Encourage It A Reflection Paper

rainfall and widespread flooding in Metro Manila and nearby provinces. A landslide in Sarangani on July 20 which resulted from heavy rainfall affected around 60 households. A tornado in Cebu destroyed 50 houses last June 19. On March 26, at least 10 people including two children died when a passenger boat sank due to a waterspout (twister) in Liguasan River in Philippines. Again, I dont want to go on discussing all the calamities that happened in the country because they are too many to mention each one. Though there is no founded claim that these are direct or indirect effects of deforestation; the point is, considering the situation of our country now, it is not impossible that at least one is caused by deforestation and we could have lessen the happening of these phenomenon or reduced the damages they brought if we encouraged planting of trees in the first place.

Centuries of colonial rule that turned a lot of forests to sprawling haciendas, commercial logging, corruption, and misguided policies issued by the government brought our forests to the brink of total destruction, according to Pamintuan. I couldnt agree with her more. If there is anyone to blame for our sufferings, we should blame ourselves. We have all been too selfish and paid excessive attention to our own interests. We have forgotten that we are dependent on the environment. It provided us too much that we have taken it for granted and have been remised with the need to rehabilitate it. I guess many have not realized that its destruction is our destruction, too. But the thing is, it does not depend on us. It, in fact, doesnt seem to need us at all. The earth can survive without us, but we cant survive without it.

Now, I want to make it clear that not every natural calamity is due to deforestation. Improper waste management, irresponsible mining, and other uncontrolled man-made activities all contribute to manifestations or worsening or natural disasters. Even earths natural activities cause detrimental consequences such as volcanic eruptions that release deadly lava, explosive gases, and toxic chemicals; moving of tectonic plates that bring about earthquakes; and seismic activities that produce tsunamis as a result of an underwater earthquake. Since environmental hazards are caused by too many factors, some of them are beyond our control. Thus, the least we can do is eliminate slowly those we have control of. We can start by getting rid of deforestation. Let us all start planting trees!

My Thoughts on Tree-Planting and Why We Should Encourage It A Reflection Paper

Its time we take our responsibilities in the environment seriously. If we come to think of it, taking care of nature is not a responsibility but a privilege; a privilege to maintain and keep alive the source of our existence. All of us were born in this world provided with free air, water, food, and materials we need for building our homes, producing clothes, etc. Though we pay for most of them, what we actually pay for are the services rendered to gather these things or turn them in their usable forms. But the things themselves are free of cost. How lucky can we get!

I went to our school chapel today to say my regular little prayers. However, I ended up staying when I found out that the Wednesday mass was about to start already. The homily turned out to be related to natural resources. It focused on flooding, thus, the importance of trees was an inevitable part of the discussion. It was so timely since Im in the midst of making this paper. The priest talked about how nature affects our spiritual being. A healthy surrounding does not just benefit us physically; it livens up our spirits, too. We are indeed one with nature.

I want to end this paper with what Engr. Bienvenido Eusebio, Executive Director of the Lasallian Institute for the Environment (LIFE), said about flooding during the mass. I cant remember what he said in verbatim, but it was about flood being just mere water in the wrong place. And what we should actually do to prevent such calamity is to practice proper discernment. Then, I thought to myself, Very well said, Mr. Eusebio. Your statement very well summarizes my whole point in this paper.