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Environmental Issues

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Overfishing and destructive fishing

Fishers in the Philippines are increasingly coming home with pitiful catches. Of a number of factors which have led to this situation, one stands out: over-fishing in many areas. According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), there has been a drop of 90% in the quantity of marine organisms that can be trawled in some traditional fishing areas of the Philippines.

This isn’t just a question of declining fish stocks and biodiversity, but also of social impacts and economic losses. Mismanagement of fisheries resources is estimated to cost US$ 420 million annually in lost revenues.

At the root of the overfishing problem is weak fisheries management, ineffective policies and poor enforcement of fishery laws.

Deforestation

After decades of deforestation, which has left about 3% of the original cover, forests continue to be under threat from agriculture and urbanization, illegal logging and forest fires.

Sustained forest loss in the Philippines is causing severe soil erosion, and is threatening the country’s rich biodiversity. This is particularly worrying as many of the Philippines’ species, which depend on these forests, are endemic (they cannot be found anywhere else in the world). For example, of 180 native terrestrial mammal species here, about 61% are endemic.

Inconsistent laws, inadequate regulations, weak enforcement and lack of funding are making forest conservation a major challenge.
Sources
• BirdLife. Red Data Book - Threatened Birds of Asia. Accessed July 11th, 2007.
• World Bank. Philippines Environment. Accessed July 11th, 2007.
• WWF. 2004. The Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion - Cradle of Life. Accessed July 11th, 2007.

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Climate change
Climate change today is less of a natural process. It is rapidly occurring due to the ill effects of human actions responsible for disturbing and harmful out comings such as

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