PICTURE AN IMMENSE land area teeming with plants looking up the sky for sunlight and rainshowerand where animals freely roam. And a water body as seemingly infinite as the sea and as small as a pond where fishes dance to their lungs’ content. Terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems they are, where diverse living organisms interact with each other and the surrounding environment.
The Philippines is blessed with beautiful natural ecosystems but sadly, some of them are drifting away from their pristine state. And more sadly, it’s the rational human species largely causing the harm through massive extractive, polluting, and toxic activities.
THE VALUE OF ECOSYSTEMS
In the past decades, there are two global concerns prompting the urgency to protect or save our ecosystems: climate change and loss of biodiversity. (Climate change is a change in global or regional climate patterns attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels. Biodiversity refers to the variety of all living things – the different plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms, the genetic information they contain and the ecosystems they form.)
The trees in the forests are considered the best carbon sink, a mitigation method to reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions. Biodiversity preservation in both terrestrial and aquatic systems will securecontinuing nutrition and health for humans. Thus, these responses will result in our planet’s and humanity’s sustainability.
Since my heart is more for forests and I have direct experience in conservation activities particularly for the Sierra Madre mountain range which spans from the north to east and south of Luzon, I will dwell more on this ecosystem.
RESTORATION AND REGENERATION
A long-time Ecology professor at the graduate school of Miriam College, Donna Paz Reyes, PhD, described the two methods of renewing the health of forest ecosystems. “Restoration is reverting back to the natural state of a forest. This will be an assisted natural regeneration like planting new and native species with knowledge of what will conform to the original species in the area and not destroy them.
“Regeneration is based on the fallow concept of leaving a farmland unsown for a period of time and its fertility will be restored on its own. Indigenous people know this too well.”
Dr. Reyes does not only formally educate but also leads activities that promote conservation and preservation of ecosystems. Like, she has authored a book on her native province with partly an Ilocano title, Salimetmetan ti Gameng: Protecting andPreserving the Natural Heritage of Ilocos Norte.
SUPPORT FOR CRITICAL ECOSYSTEM
A leading environmental organization, the Forest Foundation of the Philippines, has identified the country’s most critical forest landscapes which are Sierra Madre, Palawan, Samar and Leyte, and Mindanao (mainly Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental).For them and other natural land areas, FFP provides grants to organizations and individuals that empower people to protect and conserve the forests.
At the 5th Philippine Environment Summit in Iloilo last February, organizer Green Convergence had other organizations present their programs for healthy ecosystems to address the urgent and long-term need for climate resiliency and the planet’s sustainability.
All these supportive efforts for our ecosystems certainly seek to build a resilient Earth, one out of gratitude to the Creator and another, to sustain humanity and its common home.