25/05/2025
๐ช๐'๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ก๐ ๐ ๐๐ข๐ง ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐ฅ๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐ก ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐, ๐๐จ๐ง ๐ช๐๐๐ฅ๐?
A mineral extraction site has recently gained attention from social media influencers, ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐บ๐ ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฑ๐น๐, ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ, on the other side of the Sierra Madre mountain range.
Data from Global Forest Watch reveals that the western slopes of the Sierra Madre, facing the communities of Cagayan Valley, have suffered significant deforestation. From 2001 to 2024, vast stretches of tree cover vanished across the provinces of Cagayan to Quirino. On the map, ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐น๐๐๐ต, ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐, ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ "๐ฏ๐ถ๐๐ฒ" ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ.
The main cause? Land conversion for expanding farms and human settlements, ๐ฎ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฎ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ด๐ฎ๐น. A 2011 study by van der Ploeg and colleagues estimated that 20,000 to 35,000 cubic meters of wood are illegally harvested from the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park alone each year.
This longstanding issue in Cagayan Valley has led to dire consequences, including deadly floods that have devastated communities in recent years. And it's not just Sierra Madre, as even the mountains of Cordillera in the central part of Northern Luzon experienced major tree cover loss in the past several years.
Although progress has been made in the fight against illegal logging, such as DENR's several successful intercepts of illegal logs, it continues to pose a serious threat to the communities along the mountain range - ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐.
Access the data here: https://www.globalforestwatch.org/
The study about illegal logging: https://www.jstor.org/stable/26393043?seq=9
Latest statistics about our forests: https://forestry.denr.gov.ph/fmb_web/about-fmb/statisticses/
