Environmental Issues in the

Philippines

The Philippines

90 million people

7,104 islands

Directly in the

vicinity of the

typhoon belt (up to

27 typhoons a year)

Poverty, uneven development, weak

state institutions that

protect natural

resources

Typhoon Frank hit the central islands of

the Philippines in 2008.Pearl Suyo shares her experience of the typhoon’s effect in the city

of Iloilo.

Typhoon Ondoy hit Manila in 2009.

Bob Soledad shares her experience of the floods that hit Manila

suburb of Marikina.

Typhoon Pepeng hit the northern

Philippines in 2009.Robert Fugaban shares his experience of the devastation in

Tuguegarao City.

Environmental degradation

Pollution

Air pollution

Water pollution

Solid waste

Destruction of

resources

Deforestation

Mining

Ill-planned cities have extreme traffic

congestion.Traffic along EDSA, the main thoroughfare of Metro Manila.

The Philippines still relies heavily on coal

and oil for electricity generation.Masinloc Coal Powerplant in Zambales on the island of Luzon

provides power to Metro Manila.

Old factories along waterways still contribute greatly to air and water pollution.

This factory is situated beside the Pasig River, the main river running

through Metro Manila.

Destitute communities beside waterways use the

river as their sewage system.

Several shanties like this are found just beside the waterways that

run through Metro Manila.

Despite laws to regulate it, most of the

garbage in the Philippines go to landfills.This landfill, the Payatas Dumpsite in Northern Manila, is where most of the garbage goes to. Recycling and composting are still not thoroughly implemented.

Deforestation in

the Philippines

has dramatically

decreased forest

cover over the

past century.

Deforestation is due to conversion of land to use

for agriculture, housing or for logging purposes.

Kaingin is a local term for burning down a patch of the forest to

make the land fertile for farming.

Deforestation causes soil erosion.

In 2005, Leyte was hit by a typhoon that caused a massive landslide. It buried the entire town of Guinsaugon, causing up to 20,000 deaths in just a week.

Mining has also

increased in the

Philippines.

Mining inherently disturbs ecosystems and

pollutes tremendously.This open pit mine in Quezon province on the Island of Luzon

extracts nickel. The pond is heavily polluted.