Wednesday, September 03, 2008 300 hectares of Cordillera's forests lost yearly: DENR By Jane Cadalig
CORDILLERA is losing more than 300 hectares of forest every year and authorities are asking the public to help in the preservation of these resources.
Data from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) showed an average of 317.78 hectares of forest cover are lost every year in the region.
Among the factors cited are timber poaching, forest fires and land conversion for agricultural uses.
Agencies like the DENR, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) are calling for a concerted effort to preserve the region's remaining forests.
Aside from the loss in flora and fauna species, the degradation of the forests also poses a threat to the availability of water.
Among the provinces, Benguet recorded the highest annual forest loss, accounting for 266.01 hectares annually.
Records also showed about 29.66 hectares of forestlands are converted to agricultural purposes every year.
Saying forest preservation is not only a job of the DENR, the NIA has embarked on reforestation programs, in a bid to preserve the forests which serve as the major source of water to irrigate agricultural lands.
The DENR data is based on a three-year period, from 2005 up to this year.
With regard to timber poaching, the province of Apayao recorded the biggest number of land used. The province had the highest number of confiscated forest products over a three-year period beginning 2005. The DENR reported the province has an annual average loss of 39.83 cubic meters. The highest number of loss registered in the province was in 2005, with 69.77 cubic meters covering .98 hectares.
In a three-year period, 119.48 cubic meters of timber was confiscated in Apayao.
Kalinga ranked second with 66.77 cubic meters confiscated covering the same period. This translates to an annual average loss of 22.26 cubic meters, covering .31 hectares of land. Benguet came in third with 34.62 cubic meters or an annual average loss of 11.45 cubic meters, coverings .16 hectares of land.
The confiscated timber was either donated to the Natural Resources Conservation or submitted to the courts as evidences for the filing of cases.
Meanwhile, vehicles used to transport illegally cut timber have all been confiscated in favor of the government.
