Man-made Calamity

A series of typhoons shows how vulnerable our environment is

They are called “natural calamities” but the real disaster was, for the most part, man-made and self-inflicted. The force that fell upon Quezon, Aurora, Nueva Ecija, and other nearby provinces in late November and early December was not only inflicted by Mother Nature but by the people themselves. The heavy rainfall caused by typhoons Violeta, Unding, Winnie, and Yoyong triggered landslides and mudslides that sent a tsunami of logs and debris tumbling down the denuded Sierra Madre mountainside, sweeping the surrounding provinces and killing thousands of innocent victims.

Illegal logging is being blamed for the killer floods that came after the typhoons

It was not the typhoons’ strength that shocked the country and the world but the fact that excessive and unabated logging in the mountain area had rendered the surrounding provinces vulnerable and defenseless from the wrath of nature. According to the National Disaster Coordinating Council, 1,062 lives were lost, while another 1,161 were injured and 552 were missing. The calamity will reduce the growth of the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sector by 1.7% in the fourth quarter of 2004.

What transpired in Quezon, Aurora, and Nueva Ecija was a tragedy bound to happen. According to the Forest Management Bureau, the total forest cover of the country has been reduced to 23.9% of the total land area or approximately 7,171,000 hectares, way below the prescribed 54% of the total land area needed to maintain ecological balance. Not enough trees were standing to hold the soil and absorb rainwater, which eventually led to the flooding of the provinces around the mountain.

In the 1890s the country had 65% of forest cover or 19.5 million hectares of forest. However, as the years progressed, land conversion became the trend and this green wealth shrunk up to about five million hectares in 1995. Through the combined efforts of the government, private sector, non-government organizations and people’s organizations, forest cover increased to seven million hectares by June 2004.

Pointing to illegal logging as the culprit to the unfortunate landslides, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo initially ordered a total log ban on the provinces of Aurora and Quezon and the suspension of commercial logging permits to certain areas. Days later, the President extended the total log ban to all areas. Secretary Defensor of DENR, however, clarified that timber processed from private plantations were exempt from the ban. President Arroyo noted that a total log ban could be enforced effectively through a law enacted by Congress. Currently, the Senate committee on Environment is investigating the illegal logging activities that lead to the catastrophe suffered by the country.