Biodiversity crisis in the Philippines
Poverty and tribal hunting threaten the Philippines, a top biodiversity hotspot.
Photo: mtoz/Flickr
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Biodiversity crisis in the PhilippinesPoverty and tribal hunting threaten the Philippines, a top biodiversity hotspot.By PlentyMag.comMon, Apr 27 2009 at 11:19 AM EST
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Photo: mtoz/Flickr More than half of the native fauna in the Philippines face the threat of extinction, according to the country's Environment and Natural Resources Department. One of the world's top biodiversity hotspots, the Philippines hosts thousands of species that can be found nowhere else on Earth. Of the 1,137 bird, mammal and amphibian species endemic to the country, 592 are considered "threatened or endangered" by the IUCN Red List, along with 227 endemic species of flowering plants.
One species in particular has made the news in recent weeks. Tempers flared after a farmer shot and ate a critically endangered Philippine eagle. There are just a few hundred pairs of these birds, the world's largest and most endangered eagle, left in the wild, and conservationists have spent decades trying to bring the species back from the brink of extinction. The bird in question had only been re-released into the wild in March after being nursed back to health following a previous shooting in September 2006.
The 22-year-old tribal farmer who shot the eagle now faces 12 years in prison for his crime under the Philippines' Wildlife Conservation Act. The farmer says he didn't know the birds were endangered, or that there were penalties for killing them.
To combat this lack of knowledge in indigenous communities, the Philippine Eagle Foundation has embarked upon a door-to-door education campaign, delivering leaflets to teach native peoples that the eagles and other species need to be protected.
Of course, tribal peoples aren't the ones primarily responsible for the perilous biodiversity problems in the Philippines. The country faces extreme poverty, a huge illegal logging problem, rapid development to support a growing population, a massive economic reliance upon mining, and the introduction of invasive species.
We could be hearing about a number of extinctions in the Philippines in coming years, but hopefully the hard work of the government and conservation groups will keep things from getting too bad too quickly.
Story by John Platt. This article originally appeared in Plenty in July 2008.
Copyright Environ Press 2008
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Related Topics: Biodiversity, Extinction
Comments
James77
12/14/2010 03:51 AM
Habitat destruction, poaching, fishing, illegal hunting and capture of society threatened and endangered species for export or trade in Brazil pet creates deep concern at the loss of biodiversity...
clenntroy guzman
09/29/2010 09:04 AM
biodiversity is one of the inevitable problems we are facing. we can solve it hand in hand. through different faces, and different races, we can surely work togethr dspite all.
Rommie Pacana
09/03/2010 00:34 AM
The two major threats of biodiversity in the Philippines are mining and mono-agriculture (plantations). It is unfair to blame the indigenous peoples (not tribal) of their occassional hunting since there is rarely no more big game to hunt in the first place due to wildlife habitat loss caused by mining, plantations, deforestation and the uncontrolled population growth that further impoverished the Filipino people. With the loss of biodiversity, food security is endangered and so are the.... More Add your commentSign in with one of these accounts or just add your comment below. |
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