The document summarizes the key findings of the Philippines Environment Monitor 2004 report on the state of the Philippine environment. It finds that over 40% of Filipinos live on less than $2 per day and rely heavily on natural resources for their livelihood. Coastal and forest communities are most affected by environmental degradation. The report divides the environment into brown (solid waste, pollution), green (land use, biodiversity) and blue (coastal, marine) categories. It finds issues like deforestation, land degradation, pollution, overfishing and reef degradation threaten these environments and the livelihoods of Filipinos who depend on them, demonstrating the need for improved environmental management and conservation efforts.

1. The World Bank (WB) says 44 percent of Filipinos still earn
less than two dollars per day, and about two-thirds of them
are engaged in activities that rely heavily on environmental and
natural resources. It estimates that 20 million people reside in and
around forests, and 60 million live within 100 kilometers (km) of
the Philippine coastline.
The WB cites evidence that poor people, and those whose in-
come and welfare are more tightly linked to environmental and
natural resources, are disproportionately affected by the con-
tinuing declines in environmental quality.
Coastal and forest communities, and residents of poorer munici-
palities and rural barangays, which are under-served in the pro-
vision of urban environmental services, are worst off. They also
bear the highest income losses due to sickness and medical ex-
penses related to water and air pollution.
Indeed, many Filipinos depend highly on the country’s rich natu-
ral resources, thus, measures must be taken to deal with the man-
made and natural threats that may affect their lives and future.
All these are outlined in the Philippines Environment Monitor
2004 which came out only recently. It contains the latest informa-
tion on Philippine efforts in environmental conservation. It deals
with areas such as natural resources management, biodiversity
conservation, solid waste, air and water pollution control and
coastal and marine management.
The document presents the environment in three colors – brown,
green and blue. The brown environment includes solid waste
management, air quality, water quality, and mining related pollu-
tion. The green environment includes such concerns as land use,
biodiversity, and resource management, while the blue environ-
ment includes coastal and marine resources.
GreenEnvironment
Today, according to the document, of the 52 percent of the
country’s population that lives in rural areas, 22 percent reside in
or near forests. A majority of these people rely on forest re-
sources for their livelihood, thus making sustainable land and
forest management a critically important challenge for the Philip-
pines.
Land use classification is therefore important if we want to pro-
tect and conserve what remains of our forests. However, inaccu-
rate information on land classification is making the task difficult,
and also leads to conflicts over ownership and management,
ultimately serving as a disincentive for protection.
Recent official estimates, based on the 2002 satellite images of
the entire country, show the country’s forest cover increasing to
7.168 million hectares or 24 percent of total land area in 2002.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
attributes the rise in forest cover to stronger public awareness
about the value of forests, especially after the Ormoc flashfloods
in 1991. But this is not enough. Among 89 tropical countries, the
Philippines is one of 11 with the lowest forest per capita and most
of its watersheds are considered degraded. Land conversion is
the principal cause of deforestation; other causes include slash-
and-burn farming, illegal logging, forest fires, pest infestations,
and typhoons.
Another area of
concern is land
d e g r a d a t i o n .
According to the
environment monitor,
of the total land area,
76 percent faces some
extent of
degradation. Forty
five percent of the
total arable land has
been moderately to severely eroded, triggering the movement of
subsistence farmers to marginal lands to meet their daily food
requirement.
State of the Philippine Enviroment:
A Progress Report
Vol. X No.43 February 15, 2006

2. Land degradation has played an increasingly significant role in
the incidence of natural disasters in the country during the past
decade.
Biodiversity is one major concern under the green environment
category. The Philippines is one of the world’s 18 “megadiversity”
countries. It has also been identified by the International Union
for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as a biodiversity “hotspot” –
a country where biodiversity is extremely threatened by
deforestation, conversion, fragmentation of natural habitats,
unregulated trade, and overall low environmental quality.
The government thus aims to protect habitats and strengthen
the National Integrated Protected Area System (NIPAS). It listed
91 critically endangered species, 74 endangered, and 253
vulnerable species.
Among the various environmental resource management is being
done through various strategies. Among these are community-
based forest management, protected areas management, NGO/
PO-initiated forest by non-government organizations and
peoples’ organizations, and private sector management.
In June 2004, the government issued Executive Order No. 318
“Promoting Sustainable Forest Management in the Philippines”.
The order identified watersheds as ecosystem management units
to be managed through a scientific and community-based
approach that would involve LGUs, and recognize and respect
the rights of indigenous peoples.
BrownEnvironment
The color brown could signify mother earth thus, in
environmental efforts, this could mean solid waste management,
mining related pollution and air and water quality.
The document states that mismanagement of waste has serious
environmental consequences: ground and surface water
contamination, local flooding, air pollution, exposure to toxins
and spread of disease. Many of the disposal sites contain
infectious material, thus threatening sanitation workers and
waste-pickers.
Furthermore, organic waste decomposition releases greenhouse
gases, and burning of waste releases toxic gases. Odors from
non-sanitary landfills can be so bad that people living in the
surrounding areas are taken ill.
Several measures have been taken to address the need for better
solid waste management. These include solid waste generation,
collection and disposal, recycling, effective treatment of
hazardous and infectious waste, community-based ecological
waste management and private sector initiatives in waste
management.
Thankfully, we now have a comprehensive air pollution control
policy for the country with the passage of the Clean Air Act
(1999). Furthermore, active NGO initiatives have raised public
awareness on the effects that high levels of pollution could have
in people’s health.
Data on surface and groundwater quality and availability indicate
that access to clean water is becoming an acute seasonal problem
in many urban and coastal areas.
With the Clean Water Act, which was passed in 2004, the problem
of water pollution will hopefully be effectively addressed. The
Act seeks to designate specific water quality management areas
and establishes a National Sewerage and Septage Management
Program that will allot funds for construction and rehabilitation of
infrastructure for wastewater management.
BlueEnvironment
The color blue is associated with water or the deep blue sea, thus
the blue environment includes concerns such as the country’s
rich and diverse coastal and marine resources.
The Philippines’ coral reefs are among the richest and most diverse
in the world, with about 464 species of hard corals and more than
50 species of soft corals. However, over 30 percent of the reefs in
the country are in poor condition. Moreover, there has been a
steady decline in the quality of the coral reefs.
Our valuable seagrass beds have declined continuously since
the mid-1990s. Natural causes aside, man-made impacts, especially
population growth close to shallow bays, lagoons, and islands
fringed by seagrass beds have impacted seagrasses. Rising poverty
in coastal areas may be contributing to shortsighted resource
overuse and destruction. Destructive fishing and over-fishing
continue to top the list of anthropogenic impacts on the country’s
reefs and seagrass areas.
Nevertheless, the number of marine protected areas is growing.
These areas are displaying improved reef parameters of living
coral cover and fish abundance and healthy seagrass beds, both
inside and adjacent to the sanctuary portion of the protected
areas.
The fishery sector, on the other hand, contributes significantly to
the country’s GDP or gross domestic product. Exports of fishery
products amount to billions with the top commodity exports being
tuna, shrimp and seaweed. The fishing industry provides
employment to about one million people.
One problem that hounds this sector is resource limitations in fish
capture which could threaten its long-term sustainability. A recent
study indicates a decline of 30 percent in selected municipal
fisheries and five percent in commercial fisheries due to
sedimentation, siltation, blast fishing, and muro-ami among others.
The use of cyanide has also been noted as a cause of habitat
destruction.
The country has numerous laws aimed at protecting and
conserving our coastal and marine resources while various
community-based projects have engaged coastal residents in
reforestation, rehabilitation and management efforts.
Whether it’s green, brown or blue the story remains the same. It
always starts with the fact that our resources are rich and diverse
but sadly ends with the bleak forecast that without immediate
mitigating measures, and a committed partnership between the
local government and the affected communities, we are bound to
lose this abundant natural richness.