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De La Salle University

2401 Taft Avenue, Manila 1004

Science Education Department College of Education

Advanced Zoology for Teachers BIO 651T


We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity. E. O. Wilson

EVENT

"Biodiversity Conservation, the Key to Resilience, Restoration and Sustainability: A National and Global Perspective"
August 17, 2013 (Saturday) 9:00am to 12:00 noon Yuchengco Seminar Room 508 De La Salle University, Taft Avenue Manila

INTRODUCTION According to Microsoft Encarta (1993), biodiversity is a term for variety or diversity within the biological world, which is virtually synonymous with Life on Earth. It refers to different kinds of living organisms which includes plants, animals, fungi, and other living things. The word was coined in 1985 and during the 1990s has become very widely used in the popular media and in government and scientific circles.

All species depend on one another. There is interconnectedness with each other. Harm done with these organisms will certainly cause connection destruction among all species in the ecosystem.

To ponder: By 2025 as many as one fifth of all animal species may be lost, gone forever. In recent times, hundreds of species have become extinct as a result of human activities

Roxanne Diane R. Uy

Biodiversity

1ST TERM S.Y. 2013-2014

De La Salle University
2401 Taft Avenue, Manila 1004

Science Education Department College of Education

Advanced Zoology for Teachers BIO 651T


DISCUSSION The Philippines is considered to be the worlds second-largest archipelago, with 7,100 islands and 18,000 km of shoreline, truly, it is rich in both land and water resources. Majority of the 52,170 described species of plants and animals are unique and cannot be found anywhere else in the world. The country has more than, about half of which are found nowhere else. Because of its various biologic and genetic resources, it is listed as one of the 18 megadiverse countries in the world. In terms of endemism, the countrys species is in worlds top 10. With its land density and the density of both flora and fauna, the Philippines may even be considered to be the worlds most megadiverse country. Thus, according to Myers (2000) said that it is a biodiversity hotspot. However, the countrys unique biodiversity is under severe pressure. Bankoff in 2007 reviewed that about 90% of Philippines land area was filled with forest at the beginning of Spanish rule during the 16th century. 3 centuries after it has been reduced to 70%. Half a century of American and Japanese occupation reduced it to

about 50% forest coverage by 1950. The increase in human population from less than a million in the 1500s to about 20 million in 1950 was attributed to this reduction. As of 2010, according the National Statistics Office of the Philippines, our population exceeds 90 million, having a 5-fold increase. Briones (2007) found out that the forest coverage only about 17-18% of total land area, estimated to be about 7.168 million ha out of the 30 million ha land area, of the Philippine forests remain (Philippine Forestry Statistics, 2003).

The country is also endowed with rich waters. It served the Filipino communities near and far the water areas for hundreds if not thousands of years. But over the last 20 years, human activities threatened the coastal areas. According to Gomez (1994), more than 75 percent of the coral reefs in the Philippines have been degraded. And

according to White and de Leon (1996) mangrove forests are declining at a rate of 2,000 ha/year with only 120,000 ha of mangrove forests remaining today from the 160,000 ha 20 years ago and 450,000 at the turn of the century.

Roxanne Diane R. Uy

Biodiversity

1ST TERM S.Y. 2013-2014

De La Salle University
2401 Taft Avenue, Manila 1004

Science Education Department College of Education

Advanced Zoology for Teachers BIO 651T


With these destructions, other species are affected as well. As said by Undersecretary Demetrio Ignacio of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, marine and wildlife riches are under threat because of disturbing man-made activities. It is

considered as a crisis by executive director of the Asean Center for Biodiversity Rodrigo Fuentes, because the country is the hottest of the hot spots. He described it as a silent crisis: You dont see it, but you feel it. We are in the midst of it.

A variety of preventable causes are the reason for the rapid and continuing depletion of the countrys biodiversity. Habitat destruction, which includes logging, coral mining, invasion of environment, forest fires and natural disasters, is a major cause of loss in biodiversity. Sources are harvested beyond sustainable limits. In addition, pollutants in the air, water and land are also contributors of the problem. These threats have

underlying social, economic and institutional causes, which are the source of many of the countrys problems. High population density and rapid population growth, poverty, a weak economy and government development policies are driving the negative human impacts on biodiversity. The weakness of institutional and legal capacities can be traced to a basic lack of information on the countrys biodiversity and thus, a lack of strategic management options. If action will not be done according to Estes (1989) a phenomenon called ecological extinction will of great consequence.

Roxanne Diane R. Uy

Biodiversity

1ST TERM S.Y. 2013-2014

De La Salle University
2401 Taft Avenue, Manila 1004

Science Education Department College of Education

Advanced Zoology for Teachers BIO 651T


IMPLICATION

The facts present the global importance of protecting and conserving the Philippines biodiversity. Efforts should be done in order to address the call of nature- to restore balance and reduce the threats to its resources. Good thing that there are environmental activist, like the speakers from the seminar, who advocates for the welfare of life on earth. Government agencies and a lot of organizations continue to help marine and wildlife species. Some of them are the following:

Participation in these organizations should be encouraged to all people.

As educators, awareness and involvement should be thought. Environmental education programmes should include biodiversity measures because these are the essential needs for helping individuals and communities in the county develop the knowledge, values and skills necessary to understand, appreciate and manage the environment. Topics such as DIVERSITY AND ADAPTATIONS and BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION should be incorporated into the lesson proper. Though biodiversity is a complex science, approach to its concepts and issues should be simple. It should encourage a wide range of people and the action they can take in protecting the earth and all its gifts to mankind. I end my paper with a quotation by Carl Sagan: To preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

Roxanne Diane R. Uy

Biodiversity

1ST TERM S.Y. 2013-2014

De La Salle University
2401 Taft Avenue, Manila 1004

Science Education Department College of Education

Advanced Zoology for Teachers BIO 651T


REFERENCES
Appalachia (n.d.). Introduction to the biodiversity unit. Retrieved http://appalachiafilm.org/images/neh/AppalachianBiodiversityTeacherToolKit.pdf from

Development Alternatives, Inc. (2007, March 12). Philippine forest and wildlife law enforcementSituationer and core issues. Retrieved from http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADL681.pdf Haury, D. L. (1998). Teaching about biodiversity. http://www.ericdigests.org/2000-2/biodiversity.htm Retrieved from

Microsoft Corporation (1993). Biodiversity. In Microsoft Encarta Premium Suite (2005 ed.). National Geographic Education (n.d.). biodiversity. Retrieved from http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/biodiversity/?ar_a=1 One Ocean (2001). Managing Philippine coasts and seas: Understanding the challenge. Retrieved from http://www.oneocean.org/flash/the_philippine_seas.html SC Soft-Concept (2011). Teaching biodiversity conservation. Retrieved from http://www.scsoft.de/et/et2.nsf/KAP1View/9B2D2202C6F85C5D052568850051D36A

Suarez, R., & Sajise, P. (2010). Deforestation, Swidden agriculture and Philippine biodiversity. Retrieved from http://www.philsciletters.org/pdf/201012.pdf WEPA (2003). State of water: Philippines. db.net/policies/state/philippines/overview.htm Retrieved from http://www.wepa-

Roxanne Diane R. Uy

Biodiversity

1ST TERM S.Y. 2013-2014

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