From: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu (Rich Winkel)
Subject: Support Philippine Logging Ban
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: PACH
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 22:47:40 GMT

/** reg.philippine: 99.0 **/
** Topic: Support Philippine Logging Ban **
** Written  4:28 pm  Apr  7, 1992 by fbp in cdp:reg.philippine **
From: Foreign Bases Project <fbp>
Subject: Support Philippine Logging Ban

/* Written 12:46 pm  Apr  7, 1992 by rainforest in cdp:reg.seasia */
/* ---------- "Support Philippine Logging Ban" ---------- */
                        URGENT ACTION ALERT

HELP SAVE THE PHILIPPINES LAST REMAINING TROPICAL FORESTS

When the Philippine Congress adjourned in February, without passing the 
Total Commercial Log Ban Bill, the fate of the Philippine forests and the 
only hope of preventing the ecological, social, and human tragedy was left 
imperiled. 
        The Task Force for a Total Commercial Logging ban (comprised 
of over 40 Philippine environmental and development groups) is 
urging President Corazon Aquino to call for a special session to 
approve the compromise bill agreed upon in conference 
committee.  Your support is urgently needed.  International 
pressure can make a difference.

WHY A TOTAL COMMERCIAL LOG BAN

Forest cover is down to only 22% of total land area.  The threshold of forest 
cover required to minimize soil erosion losses and promote ecological 
sustainability is estimated at 54% of total land area.

The Total Commercial Ban on Logging Bill has the unanimous support of 
the environmental and development NGO communities at both the national 
and regional levels.

Current systems of timber production have proven ineffective at 
sustaining forest resources.  Despite reductions in the number of timber 
license agreements, selective logging bans in areas like Samar and 
Bukidnon, and the 1992 ban on logging in primary forests, logging 
continues relatively unabated.   Enforcing these partial bans is nearly 
impossible and actually more difficult than enforcing a total ban for 
several reasons.  First, the government has not yet delineated the primary 
forests, therefore they are being cut faster than they can be identified.  
Second, the government is unable to monitor logging in restricted areas 
due to a lack of funding and staff,  and corruption among some officials.  
Third, there is no means for distinguishing between legally and illegally 
cut logs.
        A total ban on commercial logging eliminates any ambiguity and 
provides strong support for community groups currently attempting to 
stop illegal logging in their areas.  With a total ban any illegally cut logs 
can be easily identified and confiscated along with logging equipment.
        The current bill would prohibit logging in both primary and 
secondary forest for thirteen years.  The bill does provide exemptions for 
public and private tree farms and allows local community based logging 
for community use.  Proposed amendments also call for a program to help 
retrain displaced workers from the commercial logging industry.
        The total log ban is a good first step to restoring their forests. But the 
struggle will not end there.  The present and next administration in the 
Philippines must be pressured to support community and DENR efforts to 
stop illegal logging.

PLEASE SEND LETTERS OF SUPPORT FOR THE TOTAL LOG BAN BILL

The Task Force Total Commercial Log Ban is calling for letters of support to 
be sent to the individuals listed below.  Please write to President Aquino 
and the Congressmen urging them to support the passage of the "total 
commercial log ban" bill. Ask President Aquino to call a special session of 
Congress to approve the bill.  Ask the members of Congress to introduce 
the bill on May 25 when they are supposed to reconvene to validate the 
election results.  After May 25 it will be too late.  It will take the new 
Congress years to pass a bill.  The people of the Philippines cannot continue 
to suffer the loss of this crucial resource.


PLEASE WRITE OR SEND A FAX TO THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE

President Corazon Aquino                        Senator Heherson Alvarez
Malacanang Palace, Manila                       6th Floor PCIB Bldg.
Philippines                                     T.M. Kalaw cor. Churacca Sts.
                                                        1000 Ermita, Manila Philippines
Fax (63-2) 712-4100                                                                             
                                                        Fax  (63-2) 59-08-14

Senator Orlando Mercado
3rd. Flr. Ferlaw Bldg.
Cabildo St. Intramuros
Manila, Philippines

Fax- (63-2 493-029
        

Congressman Ramon Mitra
Speaker, House of Representatives
Philippine Congress, Quezon City

Fax- (63-2) 921-6374

Congressman Jerome Paras
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources
Philippine Congress, Quezon City

(63-2) 922-53-46

Please send copies of your letters or faxes to:

Philippine Development Forum'
1400 16th St. Box 22
Washington, D.C. 20036

Fax (202)- 797-5486

Background

The forests of the Philippines have been rapidly destroyed in 
this century.  Though dwindling in size, primary forests are the 
most lucrative prize for loggers.  The majority of the remaining 
primary forests are located in the upland areas on steep slopes in 
Northeast Luzon (40%), Mindanao (29%) and Palawan (10%).  As for 
secondary forest, many are too young or too degraded to be a source of 
wood for another 30 years or longer. Thus, a World Bank study estimated 
that, at present rates of exploitation, there will be no primary and very 
little secondary forests remaining in the country by the year 2000.

Indigenous People's Rights      

Many areas maintained and occupied by indigenous communities 
remain thickly forested (without or in spite of government assistance).  
Several communities have been displaced by militarization, illegal logging, 
and government forestry programs.

Social Erosion

Recent Senate testimony by an administration official stated that 3,938 
million tons of soil in watershed areas are eroded yearly.  Estimates of 
damage to farms and infrastructure due to erosion 
amounts to $US 258 million per year.
        It is estimated that 21 out of 74 provinces have erosion of up to 50-
85% of their total land area.  Deforestation increases the erosion of farm 
land, and the siltation of coastal resources and dam reservoirs, leading to 
loss of livelihoods and decreased energy generation.

Loss of Biodiversity and Coral Reefs

Deforestation threatens numerous plant and animal species found only in 
the Philippines.  A study of Bacuit Bay in Northern Palawan showed that 
sediment deposits, traceable to the effects of  recent logging operations had 
led to a 50% loss of local coral at one river outlet.

Watershed Degradation

It is estimated that 19 out of 59 major watershed areas of the country are 
now critically deforested.  Loss of forest cover can result in more frequent 
and serious floods like those in Leyte in November 1991, which took 
nearly 7000 lives.
        The forests that make up a watershed serve as protection against 
flooding by absorbing water into the water table during the monsoon 
season and against drought, by releasing this water in drier months. Aside 
from the danger of floods, there have been reports of increased drought 
and degraded drinking water supplies in areas of heavy deforestation.

Information compiled by the following sources:  The Task Force on 
Commercial Log Ban; The Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center: The 
Haribon Foundation; Center for Environmental Concerns; The World Bank;, 
the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Action Alert by Philippine Development Forum, transmitted to email by 
Rainforest Action Network.

** End of text from cdp:reg.philippine **

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