Forests in the

Philippines

Philippine Forest
The Philippines is one of the most

biologically diverse nations in the world.

Species endemism is very high covering at

least 25 genera of plants and 49% of terrestrial

wildlife.
The Philippines, 4th in bird endemism, 5th in
number of plant species and maintains 5% of
the worlds flora.
About 121 endemic and 76 threatened species.

Philippine Forest Cover

(as of December 31, 2003)
Closed Forest = 2,560,872
Open Forests = 4,030,588
Mangrove = 247,362
Plantation Forest = 329,578
Total Forests = 7,168,400

Philippine Forest Cover

Between 1990 and 2005, Philippines lost

32.3% of its forest cover, or around

3,412,000 hectares. Measuring the total
rate of habitat conversion (defined as change
in forest area plus change in woodland area
minus net plantation expansion) for the 19902005 interval, Philippines lost 7.9% of its
forest
and
woodland
habitat.

DIPTEROCARP
any of a family (Dipterocarpaceae) of tall

hardwood tropical trees chiefly of

southeastern Asia that have a 2-winged fruit
and are the source of valuable timber,
aromatic oils, and resins;especially: a tree of
the type genus (Dipterocarpus)

Types of
Forest in
the
Philippines
The molave
forest is a dry,
monsoonal forest
which is found
only in parts of
the western
Philippine (central
Luzon, Mindoro,
and Palawan).
The molave
forest type
makes up
only 3% of
the total area
of the
Philippines.

Types of
Forest in
the
Philippines
The beach forest
used to occur on
coastal areas and
was a transition
between the
mangrove forest
and other forest
types inland.
For all
practical
purposes,
beach forests
no longer
exist in the
Philippines.

Types of
Forest in
the
Philippines
There two types
of pine native to
the Philippines:
Benguet pine,
found in
northern Luzon,
and Mindoro
pine, found in
parts of Mindoro
and western
Luzon.
Altogether
pine forests
occupy
2,390 km2.

Types of
Forest in
the
Philippines
Mangroves are
restricted to
coastal fringes
and tidal flats and
now occupy
approximately
1,391 km2. They
have been
subjected to
increase pressure
because their
woods are
valuable for fuel
(charcoal).

Types of
Forest in
the
Philippine
s
The mossy forest
(also referred to as
mountain or cloud
forest). It is a
stunted forest and
has no commercial
value. It is
distributed
throughout the
Philippines and its
primary role is in
water-and-soilholding functions.
It presently
covers 11,347
km2.

FORESTS
Forests cover almost one-third of the earth's land surface; the global
area of forest systems has been reduced by one half over the past
three centuries
Worldwide, the total forest area in 2005 is just under 4 billion
hectares; the rate of deforestation is about 13 million hectares per
year. The net change in forest area in the period 2000-2005 is
estimated at -7.3 million hectares/year
Tropical forests are home to about 50% of all plant and animal
species on the planet
Approximately 1.5 billion tonnes of wood is harvested for fuel
annually worldwide
Forests are among the most notable storehouses of biological
diversity on the land - they house over two-thirds of known
terrestrial species; they also harbour the largest share of
threatened species
CIDA 2006; WRI 2005; WWF 2005

Importance of Forest
It provides human beings with many products

and services such as:

1. food and medicine
2. lumber, furniture, paper, etc.
3. stop erosion
4. refresh air
5. control stream and river flows

Forest & Woodland

Forest crown of trees touch to form a canopy

while in woodland trees grow apart, so that

the canopy is open.

Effects of Deforestation in the

Philippines
1. Denuded Upland- after several harvests of

the forest the cleared land is no longer

suitable for planting trees.
2. Degraded Watershed- when forest

mountain denuded, watersheds are degraded

and this leads to the loss of sustained water
supplies for lowland communities.
3. Serious Water Shortage

4. Heavy Soil Erosion- landslides easily

happens.
5. Flooding
6. Silting of Rivers and Dams- silting of river

sediments deposit which shortens its lifespan

and clogs irrigation system.

7. Destruction of Corals along the Coast- effects of

siltation which increase flooding during rainy

seasons and decreased stream flow in dry seasons.
8. Illegal logging
9. Green House Effect- increases the amount of

CO2 in the atmosphere. Philippines contributes

50% of CO2 into the atmosphere.
10. Extinction of Thousands of Species

Number of Threatened
Plants
Other wildlife species
Other threatened
Vulnerable
Endangered
Critically endangered
0

20

40

60

80 100 120 140 160 180 200

Deforestation
ROOT CAUSES OF DEFORESTATION
Commercial logging
Mining operations
To provide for cattle pasture to graze
To grow crops like banana, sugar cane, coffee, etc.
Intensive logging over decades
Upland migration
Agricultural expansion (conversion)
Development policy failures (reconstruction of dams
as source of electric power)
Inequitable land distribution (housing, industries
and roads)
Forest fires

Declining wood availability, heavy soil

erosion and flashfloods led to logging bans

on primary forests with concessions
reduced to a few sustainable operations
and massive reforestation efforts in the
last few decades.

Natural Causes of
Deforestation
Forest Fires
Volcanic Eruption
Typhoon

EFFECTS OF

DEFORESTATION
Not only the typical giant
trees will disappear more
and more, also more
than 3500 species of
plants
and
animals,
many of them only found
in the Philippines, will
disappear,
for
always.Some
of
the
threatened animals are:
the Tarsier
the Philippine Eagle
the
Philippine
cockatoo
flying lemurs

Protected Areas

RA 7586
Also known as National Integrated

Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act

which was enacted in June 1992.
This law provides for the establishment and
management of protected areas in the
Philippines.
The NIPAS law, serves to "protect
outstandingly remarkable areas and
biologically important public lands that are
habitats of rare and endangered species of
plants and animals representative of
biogeographic zones and related ecosystems."

RA 9147
Also

known
Wildlife
Resources
Conservation and Protection Act (2001
July).
An act providing for the conservation and
protection of wildlife resources and their
habitats, appropriating funds there for and for
other purposes.
To conserve the country's wildlife resources
and their habitats for sustainability.

TOP 10 MOST
CRITICALLY
ENDAGERED SPECIES
IN THE PHILIPPINES

#10: PHILIPPINE
CROCODILE

Scientific Name: Crocodylusmindorensis

Common Name: Philippine freshwater
crocodile
Habitat: Mindoro, only about 100 left

#9:THE MINDORO BLEEDING-HEART

Scientific Name:
Gallicolumbaplatenae
Common Name:Kulo-kulo
Habitat: Mt. Siburan, Mindoro

#8:RUFOUS-HEADED
HORNBILL

Scientific Name: Aceroswaldeni

Common Name:Kalaw
Habitat: Panay, some part of Zamboanga del
Norte, extinct in Guimaras

#7:HAWKSBILL SEA
TURTLE

cientific Name: Eretmochelysimbricata

ommon Name:pawikan
abitat: global

#6:RED-VENTED
COCKATOO
Scientific Name: Cacatuahaematuropygia
Common Name:Katala, Kalangay
Habitat: Palawan, only about 180 left

#5:PHILIPPINE
FOREST TURTLE

Scientific Name: Siebenrockiellaleytensis

Common Name: Palawan turtle
Habitat: Palawan

#4:PHILIPPINE NAKED-BACKED
FRUIT BAT

cientific Name: Dobsoniachapmani

ommon Name:kwaknit
Habitat: Cebu, Negros Island (very small numbers)

#3: VISAYAN WARTY

PIG

cientific Name: Suscebifrons

ommon Name: Cebu warty pig, Negros warty pig
abitat: Cebu, Panay, Negros Island

#2: TAMARAW

Scientific Name: Bubalusmindorensis

Common Name:Tamaraw
Habitat: Mindoro

#1: PHILIPPINE EAGLE

Scientific Name: Pithecophagajefferyi

Common Name:Haribon
Habitat: Philippines

top 10 endangered plants in

Philippines
1) Waling-Waling
2) Almaciga
3) Jade Vine
4) Rafflesia
5) Kris plant
6) Ipot palm
7) Agarwood
8) Aloewood
9) Eaglewood
10) Lign-aloes