Eco hot spots: Phl ranks 4th

DAVAO CITY, Philippines - – The Philippines is facing a “clear and serious biological meltdown” as the country ranked fourth in the world out of 19 ecological “hotspots,” an environmental expert said.

“By hotspot we mean places which have the highest concentrations of biodiversity that is under the greatest human threat,” explained Jayson Ibañez, head of the research and conservation section of the non-profit Philippine Eagle Foundation.

He noted that the Philippines is affected by a serious biodiversity loss even if the Philippines is one of the 17 top megadiversity countries in the world, being among the richest globally in terms of plant and animal species.

Biodiversity is the wealth of all life forms. “It is generally defined at three levels, namely, genetic diversity or the variety of hereditary information in every organism; species diversity which refers to the total number of species or kinds of organisms; and the diversity of ecosystems formed by organisms with their environment, or ecosystem diversity,” he explained.

Biodiversity loss is a global concern and international groups and national agencies have taken measures to address the continuous loss of the earth’s biodiversity, he added.

The Philippines was formed through the movement of microcontinents for millions of years, with its own load of organisms, unique plants and animals that have evolved independent of other populations. This is the reason why the country has one of the highest proportions of unique plants and animals in the world, Ibañez explained.

“But sadly, as we all know, we humans are slowly but surely destroying all of these wonderful products of creation to our own peril,” he stressed.

He cited the state of the country’s forests. Almost 90 percent of the Philippine archipelago was forested during the 1900s.

“At present, we only have about 3-5 percent of our original old growth forest. “With the loss of our forests, we do not only lose all creations found therein but also clean and precious water and air and other ecological services that the forests provide,” he said.

The unique biodiversity can be found in the country’s birdlife, where 44 percent of the birds here are not found elsewhere.

“This means that if you go out and watch birds in Mt. Apo for example, four out of 10 birds you’ll see are Filipino birds. Such Pinoy birds include the Philippine eagle, the Philippine trogon and the tarictic hornbill,” Ibañez said.

He also cited mammals, noting that 64 percent of the country’s furred critters are purely native to the Philippines.

“This includes of course the Philippine tarsier, the smallest primate in the world, the Mt. Hamiguitan hairy tailed rat and the Mt. Hamiguitan Gymnure, which are new species from Mt. Hamiguitan in Southern Mindanao, particularly in Davao Oriental,” he added.