Category: Forest

Executive Summary

The utilization of supposedly forestall areas for agricultural production purposes and industrialization inevitably results in the loss of important natural resources that could support both human and other animal life. The shrinking forestall areas all over the country manifest large-scale deforestation. Human activities led to this problem and so as caretakers of this planet, it is just right to take action to solve the problems we have inflected to the environment that is also affecting us. The Philippines is losing its forest cover fast, making it 4th in the world’s top 10 most threatened forest hotspots. If the deforestation rate of 157,400 hectares per year continues, the country’s remaining forest cover will be wiped out in less than 40 years. Climate change can be attributed to deforestation and other human-initiated environmental problems. There is only one way to solve deforestation and that is to give back to nature what we have taken. Hence, Reforestation is the absolute solution to deforestation.

Importance of the problem

Disforestation in Brgy. Sumpong is becoming a bigger issue in the environment, specifically in the forestall reservation area in Brgy. This problem if not addressed will cause another environmental issue that may impact not only the locale but might as well other areas. Though there are advantages when the forest is utilized there will always be equivalent disadvantages. When forestalled areas are to be used for economic purposes it will generate income for both the public and private sectors. It will boost the local economy through the attraction of investment which will generate employment. However, the disadvantage would be bigger compared to the benefits it will offer if it will be utilized. Loss of biodiversity for instance will emerge. It is everybody’s knowledge that forest areas are home to different flora and fauna and they serve as habitats for different species of animals. Moreover, forest areas are the home of indigenous people whose lives highly depend on the resources in the forest. In addition forest areas in Malaybalay such as that of Brgy. Sumpong help maintains the humidity in the City. In the past 10 years temperature in the City roused to a significant level. This change in the city’s temperature can be directly attributed to deforestation. This implies that deforestation in the locale has contributed to another environmental problem. Hence, the problem needs to be addressed urgently. If the problem will be neglected it can guarantee further damage to the environment in various ways. The problems that will emerge from not addressing deforestation issues will certainly affect no one but the residents and the people of Malaybalay. The above-mentioned environmental issues that may arise will lead to a large-scale environmental problem that will affect not only the locale but as well as other communities nationally or globally. It is our responsibility to give back to nature what we have taken. Thus, deforestation in Brgy. Sumpong needs urgent actions to avert further environmental problems that may emerge from this issue.

Policy Recommendation

Strengthen the implementation of total log ban P.D 705.

• Information campaign for the indigenous people.
• Conduct periodic monitoring activities.
• Memorandum between
• The creation of Bantay Kalikasan

Summary and call to action

The Philippines is among the countries that are losing their forest cover fast, making 4th in the world’s top 10 most threatened forest hotspots. If the deforestation rate of 157,400 hectares per year continues, the country’s 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. If we will not take action today then the next generation of Filipinos will suffer from the problems we have neglected to address in our time.

Protecting the Forest in Brgy. Sumpong Malaybalay City:

A Policy Brief

Introduction

The Philippines in the global community is proverbial a country with rich natural resources. This directly pertains to the availability of various environment-provided resources such as forests and the life and biodiversity within. However, as the country aims to achieve economic development for the purpose of providing its people sustainable life by converting forestalled areas into industrial zones it seems to neglect to consider the collateral damage it may inflict on its natural resources. The conversion of forest areas into an economic zone and the utilization of these resources are being justified with the aim to provide and achieve a better quality of life often called a “sustainable life”. As a result, problems like the loss of biodiversity, loss of habitat, water pollution, soil erosion, air pollution, and the like arise. All these problems can be attributed to a main problem known as “Deforestation”. This word is often heard yet most of the time neglected if not forgotten by the authorities and by the public. This problem is the consequence of the country’s aim to become a developed economy along with the other neighboring countries. To attain sustainable development and provide sustainable livelihood to the public oftentimes lead to a bigger problem. The utilization of supposedly forestall areas for agricultural production purposes and industrialization inevitably results in the loss of important natural resources that could support both human and other animal life. The shrinking forestall areas all over the country manifest large-scale deforestation. Numerous studies have been conducted and their findings reveal that the Philippines’ forest cover has declined from 17.8 million hectares or about 60% of the land area in 1934 to about 7.17 million hectares or 24% in 2011(PFS, 2011). From a position as one of the top ten deforestation countries contributing to global greenhouse gas emissions of 17-20 percent from global forest loss in 2000 (FAO, 2006), the country has since recovered with a modest forest cover increase and is now in the list of countries with positive forest growth (FAO, 2010). This problem has become perennial along with the aim of the government to achieve economic development as justification for the utilization of its natural resources. Moreover, deforestation is also a problem even in the global community. Human activities led to this problem and so as caretakers of this planet, it is just right to take action to solve the problems we have inflected to the environment that is also affecting us. Climate change can be attributed to deforestation and other human-initiated environmental problems. There is only one way to solve deforestation and that is to give back to nature what we have taken. Hence, Reforestation is the absolute solution to deforestation.

According to Perlin (1991), in his study, The Social Dynamics of Deforestation in the Philippines stated that if forests could write a history of the world, they would probably not have a good word to say about humans. With the exception of indigenous forest peoples living inside large contiguous forest tracts, people have always had the tendency to conquer and dominate the unknown, dangerous world surrounding their settlements. Forest removal was invariably associated with a process that the history books generally refer to as ‘civilization’. Deforestation in the Philippines in the nineteenth century and control of forest areas was a key factor in geopolitical shifts and indispensable resource in the acquisition of wealth, culture, and military power. The need to supply fuel for shipbuilding, the smelting of copper and silver ore and Rome’s 900 hot baths exacted a heavy toll on European and North African forests. In turn, forest depletion often led to the cultural and military decline.

This paper aims to provide data results from the different studies conducted by different entities concerning deforestation in the Philippines and to provide possible solutions that could help in solving the problem. This paper also intends to highlight the different results of the various study conducted by the different entities concerned as well as to draw recommendations that could help solve the issue.

The forest is a lot of trees. Many animals need a forest to survive and survive. Forests are very important and grow in many parts of the world. They are ecosystems that contain many plants and animals. Temperature and rainfall are two of the most important in the forest. Many places are too cold to dry. Forests can be from equator to Polar Regions, but other climates have different kinds of forests. In colder climates, conifers dominate, but in temperate and tropical climates, forests consist mainly of flowering plants. Forests vary according to precipitation. There are no trees in the desert, and there are several trees where roots can get ground water. Evergreen coniferous forests span Canada, Alaska, North Asia and Northern Europe. They consist of conifers that produce seeds from cones.

The winter weather is cold, but in the spring the snow is completely melted and part of the forest turns into a swamp. There are only eight trees in the conifer forest, including balsams, firs, and black spruce. There are many kinds of trees in the coniferous forests due to cold weather and poor soil. Fallen branches, needles and dead animals do not decay as quickly as warmer areas. This is why the soil of the coniferous forest is not fertile. In addition, only trees adapted to cold weather and poor soil were able to survive. These trees have flexible branches that support snowfall. Because of the needle shape, the water in the leaf is almost not evaporated.

The deciduous broadleaf grows mainly in temperate regions of North America, Europe and Asia. It has a moderate climate in spring, summer, autumn (fall) and winter, and shows rainfall of over 500 mm per year. Summer is warm and winter is cold, but it is not as cold as the northern conifer forest. In winter, snow covers the ground, deciduous trees and plants lose their leaves. Decaying leaves enrich soil nutrients. Many insects, spiders, snails, and insects create houses in this rich land. Wild flowers and ferns grow almost everywhere in the spring. The new leaves capture the sun’s energy and sprout the tall trees before they shade them.

Rainforests grow in South America, Congo, Indonesia and neighboring countries, Hawaii and eastern Australia. The rainforest is appropriately named because it rains about half a day. Since the only season in the rainforest is summer, the plants grow for 12 months throughout the year. The trees are tall and thick in the rainforest. The trees seem too close to form a big umbrella called a canopy. The air is rough because it is filtered through the dense canopy cover of the tree. The light that is filtered through this tree cover is faint and green. Plants can grow in the forests because there is enough sunlight along the riverbank and only in the cleared places. Millions of plants and animals live in the world’s tropical forests. The rainforest lives on other layers or layers of trees. Each layer has a special name such as ’emergent’, ‘canopy’, ‘understory’, and ‘forest floor’.

Materials and Methods

Study Area

Location

West Belessa District is one of 13 Central Gondar Zone Districts and 198 km away from Amhara Regional State Bahir Dar town in the North East direction. The district is also found 37038’17.8”-37057’29.1” East in Longitude and 12013’37.8”-12039’23.6” North in Latitude. It covers an area of about 98381.85 ha located southeast of Gondar town. The area is characterized by gently sloping with 94.51% of the area ranging 0-3% slope. The woreda drains into the Tekeze basin and is a distance 85 km from Gondar Town (Zone of the capital city). Particularly the study area is found Gund Tekelhimanot is located at an altitude of 2,361 m, 12°24? 65? N latitude and 37°41? 67? E longitude (Moges, Masersha, et al.,2018.).

Topography

Topography is related to relief characteristics and position on the landscape. West BelesaWoreda is almost gentle. Based on the output of slope reclassification from the Amhara region digital elevation model resolution (20m*20m) DEM 70.99% of the Woreda coverage area has less than 8% slope class, 23.96% area of the Woreda has 8-30% slope class and the remaining 5.05% area has >30% of the slope class according to FAO slope classification (WBWAO, 2018, unpublished data).

Climate

The district has Dega 25818.69 ha (26.25%), Dry Woyna Dega 72550.12 ha (73.75%) in Agro Climatic Zone Based on the out of Amhara DEM Traditional agro ecology reclassification, and the specific study area has Woyna Dega. It has an altitude of a maximum of 3167 meters at the highest area and a minimum of 1521 meters above sea level at the lowest land area. Based on ten years of rainfall data (2004-2013) the mean annual rainfall of the district is 824.4 mm ranging from 640.9 mm to 1005.1 mm. The average annual min temperature and max temperature are 16°C and 30°C respectively (Amhara Design and Supervision, unpublished data).

Farming System and Population

The most common agricultural economic system in the study areas is mixed agriculture. That is crop production and animal rearing. Sorghum, Check pea and Teff are the dominant crops with area coverage and sorghum is the first in its production for food and sale. Cattle, goats, and donkeys are the dominant livestock species. The major income sources of farmers in the area are selling goats, forest products, and crop production (WBWAO, 2018, unpublished data).

The population is a part of socioeconomic information dealing with people of a certain locality about environmental trends. The total population of Woreda is 181,974 among those WBWAO, 2018, unpublished data 91,897 are men and 90,077 are women and it has 44,519 household heads. All of this population was rural and urban dwellers (WBWAO, 2018, unpublished data).

Vegetation of the Study Area

The District has different climatic zones and topography due to this the vegetation of the district falls in various habitats but the dominant vegetation type occurs around Gund Teklehayimanot monastery and the surrounding area forest which is categorized under Dry evergreen Afro-mountains vegetation types and there are also other vegetation types which include riverside vegetation, seasonal wetland vegetation, open wooded grassland vegetation, and hilly area woodland vegetation. In the study area, there are different types of plant species including herbs, shrubs, and tree plant species. Some vegetation that is more common and available in the study areas are Oleaeuropaeasubspcuspidata (Weyra), Carissa edulis (Agam), Calpurnia aurea(Zigita), Acacia abyssinica ( Girar), Euphorbia tirucalli (kinship) and eucalyptus(bahirzaf) tree.

Data and Material

MaterialsTools For Data Source

In this study, both spatial and temporal data gathered from both primary and secondary sources will be used. Primary data will be generated from the analysis of satellite images, field visits, and interviews with concerned bodies. Secondary data will be obtained from published and unpublished materials including books, journals, research articles, and census reports. Satellite imageries and ancillary data will be collected to identify the historical and recent land-use land cover of the forest. The image used for this study will be Landsat and Topographic maps and use a Digital elevation model (DEM) of the study area. This data will used to observe the relationship between topography, mainly altitude and slop for forest cover change by using 3DEM and ArcGIS software.

Satellite Images

The researcher will use the satellite images of Landsat7ETM andlandsat8 OLI in the high resolution of 30m by 30m and multi-spectral bands in the study area.

The Landsat satellites have carried different sensor types these are Multispectral Scanner (MSS), Thematic Mapper (TM), Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM ), and the Operational Land Imager (OLI). For this study, the researcher will use the latest and recent sensors of Landsat 7 ETM for 2001 satellite data acquisition and Landsat 8 OLI for 2020 satellite data acquisition. Landsat 7 was launched in 1999 to continue the Landsat mission of providing up-to-date global satellite images. The main instrument onboard Landsat 7 is the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM ). Landsat 8 is the most recent satellite in the Landsat program and was launched in 2013. Originally called the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM), it is a collaboration between NASA and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Landsat 8 carries two sensors, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) and the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS)

Materials

The researcher will use different software and instruments i.e. ArcGIS 10.2.2, ENVI 5.0, ERDAS 2015, Trimble eCognition developer 64, and use hand handheld GPS instrument.

The applications of GIS are Effective for forest managers to monitor changing conditions and make intelligent decisions for sustainable care. GIS can be used to assess conditions through historical analysis and land-use practices. Modeling enables users to test and consider options in both temporal and spatial contexts. Geospatial records provide forest managers with a baseline for evaluating plans. Some specific image processing operations will be done using the ArcGIS software version 10.2.2. ERDAS 2015 software will used to process the satellite imagery data and ENVI 5.0 software will used to classify, analyze, preprocess, and process these land use and forest cover data. In addition, Trimble eCognition software will be used to design improve, accelerate, and automate the interpretation of geospatial data and geospatial data analysts, giving full flexibility and power to solve even the most challenging remote sensing project data.

Field Observation

Ground truth points will be collected using GPS with the help of a local guide and draft classified maps derived from satellite images with reference years. Besides, interviews will held with the KIIs during the field observation

Interviews

To obtain tangible and practical information about the forest cover changes, key informant interviews will be conducted with the elders. The researcher will interview 21 key informants (KIIs) will conduct in the study area. Out of them10 monks who live 25 years and above in the Gund Teklehaymanot monasteries, 10 aged local people will select a good awareness knowledge about the natural resources and the rest one is will interview the forest resource officer from West Belesa agricultural office (WBAO). The participants will selected purposely based on their age (Who lived more than 25 years and above in the study area) except the officer, have the knowledge and good information on the study area

Methods of Data Collection

To investigate the forest cover change and rate in the study years (2001-2020) cloud-free Landsat 7ETM 2001 to 2013 and Landsat8 OLITIRS 2014 to 2020 were downloaded from freely available United States Geological Survey (USGS) Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) via (https:earthexplorer.usgs.gov). To reduce the effect of seasonal variability images will be downloaded between February and April, two months is less in cloud cover appearance in the study area and also the availability of time-series images. In addition to this, the researcher will collect data by using field observation and KII interviews. The key informants will be selected purposively, based on their age and knowledges of the study area. The researcher follows the following flowchart steps. It shows the steps followed beginning from the acquisition and classification of multi-temporal satellite images of the study area to the extraction of the required information both secondary and primary data to answer the research questions.

Data Analysis

The researcher will analyze the data based on the above flow charts. So the researcher will use different software for analyzing the data. For the image processing and enhancementusingse ERDAS Imagine 2015 software, to use Trimble eCognition developer 64 for Supervised Classification, the Object-Based Image Segmentation Classification, for change detection analysis, will use ENVI 5.0 software and finally will use ArcGIS tool for different purposes of analysis and map compositions. For socio-economic data, SPSS Software and Microsoft Office Excel will applied to analyze the qualitative, data The result will be presented in maps and narratives, and summarized by descriptive statistics such as frequency tables, figures, and graphs.