Post by seacid on Jun 27, 2007 7:16:33 GMT 8
Rampant tree cutting threatens wildlife on Luzon's Mt.Pulag
<http://services.inquirer.net/express/07/06/25/html_output/xmlhtml/20070625-73156-xml.html>
June 25, 2007
Updated 14:18:04 (Mla time)
Delmar Cariño
Northern Luzon Bureau
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- The cutting of trees is threatening Mt.
Pulag's forests and ecosystem and the province's environment officials
are alarmed that even mossy forests, which are crucial habitats of
endangered species, have not been spared from clearing.
Manuel Pogeyed, chief of the provincial Environment and Natural
Resources Office, described the situation as "critical" and called for
more drastic legal measures against the culprits.
"The rate of destruction within the identified forest areas needs
intensive law enforcement actions and stepped-up efforts to stop
them," he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Mt. Pulag is Luzon's highest peak and the country's second highest
mountain at 2,922 meters (9,586 feet) above sea level. It covers
11,550 hectares of virgin grasslands and lush forests, and its terrain
slopes down to 14 villages in five towns -- Bokod, Kabayan and Buguias
in Benguet, Tinoc in Ifugao, and Kayapa in Nueva Vizcaya.
Pogeyed said two areas in Kabayan that are within Mt. Pulag had been
declared hot spots -- Sitio (sub-village) Baay in Barangay (village)
Tawangan and Sitio Tabeo in Barangay Ballay -- following an
investigation that showed deliberate bulldozing of trees in those
areas.
Teams that provincial environment office sent to the areas reported
that three separate patches of land, with a total area of 7.65
hectares, have been cleared. The teams' report said the clearing
activities were done deliberately as trees in the mossy forests were
cut.
Pogeyed said 4,057 board feet of illegally cut pine trees were
confiscated in the areas in separate inspections on May 7 and May 29.
He said the cleared areas were intended to be converted into vegetable
farms, judging from the way these were terraced after being cleared of
trees.
"We are worried since it appeared that private interests do not care
at all about the importance of mossy forests," he said.
He said that mossy forests were critical portions of protected forests
and national parks because they made up the habitat of endangered
species of plants and animals.
Mt. Pulag's climate is tropical. Rainfall on the mountain averages
4,489 millimeters a year and August is considered the wettest month
with an average rainfall of 1,135 mm.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said Mt.
Pulag was the natural habitat of the dwarf bamboo and Benguet pine.
Mt. Pulag also hosts 33 bird species and several mammals believed to
be in danger of becoming extinct, like the Philippine deer, longhaired
fruit bat, and the giant bushy-tailed cloud rat.
<http://services.inquirer.net/express/07/06/25/html_output/xmlhtml/20070625-73156-xml.html>
June 25, 2007
Updated 14:18:04 (Mla time)
Delmar Cariño
Northern Luzon Bureau
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- The cutting of trees is threatening Mt.
Pulag's forests and ecosystem and the province's environment officials
are alarmed that even mossy forests, which are crucial habitats of
endangered species, have not been spared from clearing.
Manuel Pogeyed, chief of the provincial Environment and Natural
Resources Office, described the situation as "critical" and called for
more drastic legal measures against the culprits.
"The rate of destruction within the identified forest areas needs
intensive law enforcement actions and stepped-up efforts to stop
them," he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Mt. Pulag is Luzon's highest peak and the country's second highest
mountain at 2,922 meters (9,586 feet) above sea level. It covers
11,550 hectares of virgin grasslands and lush forests, and its terrain
slopes down to 14 villages in five towns -- Bokod, Kabayan and Buguias
in Benguet, Tinoc in Ifugao, and Kayapa in Nueva Vizcaya.
Pogeyed said two areas in Kabayan that are within Mt. Pulag had been
declared hot spots -- Sitio (sub-village) Baay in Barangay (village)
Tawangan and Sitio Tabeo in Barangay Ballay -- following an
investigation that showed deliberate bulldozing of trees in those
areas.
Teams that provincial environment office sent to the areas reported
that three separate patches of land, with a total area of 7.65
hectares, have been cleared. The teams' report said the clearing
activities were done deliberately as trees in the mossy forests were
cut.
Pogeyed said 4,057 board feet of illegally cut pine trees were
confiscated in the areas in separate inspections on May 7 and May 29.
He said the cleared areas were intended to be converted into vegetable
farms, judging from the way these were terraced after being cleared of
trees.
"We are worried since it appeared that private interests do not care
at all about the importance of mossy forests," he said.
He said that mossy forests were critical portions of protected forests
and national parks because they made up the habitat of endangered
species of plants and animals.
Mt. Pulag's climate is tropical. Rainfall on the mountain averages
4,489 millimeters a year and August is considered the wettest month
with an average rainfall of 1,135 mm.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said Mt.
Pulag was the natural habitat of the dwarf bamboo and Benguet pine.
Mt. Pulag also hosts 33 bird species and several mammals believed to
be in danger of becoming extinct, like the Philippine deer, longhaired
fruit bat, and the giant bushy-tailed cloud rat.