7/30/2019 log ban

1/13

Source:

http://www.afrim.org.ph/Archives/1999/BusinessWorld/November/18/Total%20log%20ban%20not%20

a%20catch-all%20solution%20to%20forest%20denudation.htm

Total log ban not a catch-all solution to forest denudation

Codes: E81

Author: EARL WARREN B. CASTILLO

Source: Business World - Internet Edition

Date Published 11/18/99

A total log ban may not be the catch-all solution to local forest denudation, the Forestry Development

Center (FDC) of the University of the Philippines Los Baos (UPLB) said in a recent statement.

The FDC recommended that the government adopt a selective log ban only in critical areas since a total

ban on logging in the country will not only be economically risky but environmentally unsound as well.

FDC said the government should implement a logging ban on a per-area basis after completing an

integrated area plan of all local forest lands.

In addition, the UPLB institution said the imposition of a logging ban in selected areas should not solely

depend on environmental consideration.

FDC said such a measure should also be implemented based on the capability of local governments and

other institutions to implement the measure. The ban's socio-economic impact on communities near

these forest lands should likewise be considered, FDC noted.

"What FDC proposes is for all forest lands to be subjected to integrated area planning," it said.

http://www.afrim.org.ph/Archives/1999/BusinessWorld/November/18/Total%20log%20ban%20not%20a%20catch-all%20solution%20to%20forest%20denudation.htmhttp://www.afrim.org.ph/Archives/1999/BusinessWorld/November/18/Total%20log%20ban%20not%20a%20catch-all%20solution%20to%20forest%20denudation.htmhttp://www.afrim.org.ph/Archives/1999/BusinessWorld/November/18/Total%20log%20ban%20not%20a%20catch-all%20solution%20to%20forest%20denudation.htmhttp://www.afrim.org.ph/Archives/1999/BusinessWorld/November/18/Total%20log%20ban%20not%20a%20catch-all%20solution%20to%20forest%20denudation.htmhttp://www.afrim.org.ph/Archives/1999/BusinessWorld/November/18/Total%20log%20ban%20not%20a%20catch-all%20solution%20to%20forest%20denudation.htm

7/30/2019 log ban

2/13

"Through an integrated area planning, the need to ban or allow commercial logging be it by

corporations, communities or individuals can truly be ascertained on grounds of socio-economic

viability, politico-institutional readiness and environmental soundness," the institute explained.

FOREST RESOURCES ACT

The FDC was reacting to the Senate's approval of Senate Bill (SB) 1695 or the proposed Sustainable

Management of Forest Resources Act.

The bill bans the commercial cutting of trees in all types of forests.

It also requires an accelerated reforestation program covering 80% of priority target areas which are

mainly denuded lands.

Senator Loren Legarda-Leviste, principal author of SB 1695, estimates that the country now has only

700,000 hectares of virgin forests, down significantly from 16 million hectares in the 1930s. FDC said

government should take care when formulating guidelines in case it finally decides to adopt a selective

log ban policy. FDC said such rules could be "misused."

"FDC believes that just as loggging can be abused, (a) logging ban as a management strategy can be

misused," FDC said. "However, if applied within the framework of sustainable forest management, (it)can be an effective strategy for the renewal and protection of our forests."

STILL INCAPABLE

Moreover, the UPLB institute noted the Philippines still does not have the capability to effectively

implement a total log ban given its meager capital as well as human resources.

"Displacing timber license agreement (TLA) holders will pass additional load to the already burdened

DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) in protecting remaining forests," FDC noted.

"The only saving grace of (TLA holders) is that they protect the forests from predators. They do it not out

of patriotism but for their own interest and profit--but the result is the same, some modicum of

protection," a former official of the DENR said in a previous interview.

7/30/2019 log ban

3/13

FDC said the government will easily need to jack up its expenditures by 25% to cover additional

transport costs and the employment of more forest rangers who will do increased on-site guarding of

roadblocks and checkpoints.

A study done in 1996 by the International Resource Group noted that the DENR allocates 294 million

Philippine pesos (US$7.285 million at PhP40.354=US$1) every year for the protection of the country's

forests. This amount accounts for 9% of the DENR's annual budget.

At present, the DENR employs one forest ranger for every 3,000 hectares of forest land; however, it

takes two rangers on foot patrol to effectively guard 700 hectares of forest land, or one for every 300

hectares.

DISASTROUS

FDC said a total logging ban may even prove to be both environmentally and economically disastrous for

the country.

FDC said a total logging ban will disallow the harvesting of old trees which are more likely to release

harmful carbon gases into the air when they reach their decaying stage.

The release of carbon gases into the air has been blamed as one of the major culprits of the "global

warming" phenomenon.

FDC said harvesting mature trees and converting them into finished goods will prevent the release of

carbon in the atmosphere.

"Trees are able to lock carbon molecules in its wood. By utilizing this wood through appropriate

harvesting and processing techniques and prolonging its life span in whatever final form it is converted

(e.g. furniture, lumber), we are preserving the carbon in the wood and preventing its release to the

atmosphere," FDC said.

7/30/2019 log ban

4/13

FDC said a total logging ban will also cost the country heavy dollar expenditures at this time when the

Philippines is still trying to recover from the ill effects of the financial crisis.

If a total log ban takes effect by next year, local wood producers estimate that the country would have

to import four million cubic meters of logs by the year 2000 to meet local demand for wood.

FDC also said it is poverty, rather than logging itself, which causes deforestation.

A 1996 study done by FDC showed that forest destruction was much more pronounced in areas where

logging concessions were cancelled compared with teritorries where timber license agreements are still

in force.

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

Over 300 killed in 'Winnie' landslides, floods

MANILA -- Hundreds of people were reported killed and scores of others missing infloods and landslides brought about by heavy rains accompanying tropicaldepression Winnie as it sliced through Luzon Monday night.

in an ABS-CBN report that over 300 persons were killed in Quezon Province alone.

advising residents of coastal areas in Central Luzon to leave for safer areas beforethe tropical storm hits the country.

Thousands of families in Metro Manila and northern Luzon were evacuated due tothe flooding.

No less than 51 barangays in Bulacan, 27 in Nueva Ecija, five in Rizal and MetroManila were submerged in floodwaters Tuesday.

Several bridges and major thoroughfares in the metropolis and affected provinceswere rendered impassable to vehicles.

ravaged by the typhoon.

Power and communication lines in Real and Infanta, Quezon and Dingalan, andAurora were cut off.

The Philippine Army also conducted search and rescue operations in Lucban,Quezon; Gen. Tinio and Gapan, Nueva Ecija; and San Miguel in Bulacan.

the extensive damage wrought by tropical depression Winnie.

7/30/2019 log ban

5/13

the five provinces affected by Winnie.

government is willing to release additional funds for the affected areas.

Arroyo also visited the areas ravaged by typhoon Unding after she arrived from hertrip to Chile, US, Panama and Mexico last November 25.

Source:http://www.philippines.hvu.nl/News2.htm

By Erik de Castro

REAL, Philippines (Reuters) - Rescuers dug with their bare hands Wednesday to findsurvivors from landslides and floods that killed up to 600 people in a part of the northernPhilippines due to be hit by a typhoon in just over 24 hours.

Residents of coastal towns worst hit by heavy rains early this week said food and waterwere running low as rescuers were forced to carry supplies on foot after roads were cutoff and bad weather grounded rescue helicopters.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered a nationwide crackdown on the illegallogging believed to have worsened the landslides and told officials to do everythingpossible to protect people from the coming typhoon.

But the isolated location of the towns and worsening weather conditions made theminaccessible by sea or air, forcing hundreds of residents to wade for miles through deepmud for help.

"Food and water supplies are running low and the stench of decomposing bodies isstarting to overcome us," said Ros Calma, 37, who walked eight hours to escape Real,one of the three towns in Quezon province east of Manila.

"We are worried that an epidemic might break out."

Interior Secretary Angelo Reyes said up to 600 people may have been killed inlandslides and floods that hit several areas in the main northern island of Luzon. Citingpolice reports, he said 412 people were confirmed dead, 63 injured and 177 missing.

In Real, rescuers used sticks and bare hands to search for friends and relatives who

http://www.philippines.hvu.nl/News2.htmhttp://www.philippines.hvu.nl/News2.htmhttp://www.philippines.hvu.nl/News2.htmhttp://www.sunstar.com.ph/index.htmlhttp://www.philippines.hvu.nl/News2.htmhttp://www.sunstar.com.ph/index.htmlhttp://www.sunstar.com.ph/index.html

7/30/2019 log ban

6/13

had taken shelter in a large building that then collapsed.

Neri Amparo, an official at the National Disaster Coordinating Center, said more than 70could have been buried alive when boulders swept by mudslides smashed into thebuilding.

"So far, only 25 bodies have been found," she said.

Decades of logging have cut forest cover in the Philippines from 34 percent in 1970 to18 percent now, according to the Environmental Science for Social Change, a localactivist group. Continued ...

The government imposed a selective log ban after widespread floods in the early 1990s, but

numerous "crackdowns" have failed to halt a trade that is worth millions of dollars a year to

smugglers and corrupt politicians.

"Illegal logging must now be placed in the most serious crimes against our people,"Arroyo said Wednesday.

TYPHOON BEARING DOWN

Meteorological officials said Typhoon Nanmadol, packing winds of 108 mph at itscenter, was gaining strength and was expected to hit the east coast late Thursday or onFriday.

"We haven't seen anything like this since the start of the year, said Rose Asejo, anofficial at the national weather bureau. "It's a super typhoon with a wider coverage and

very strong winds."

The weather was already worsening.

Attempts to reach the towns with the country's few rescue helicopters failed and a navyship ferrying relief supplies to Real was stuck there due to high waves and logs in thesea.

Soldiers helping in rescue efforts faced the added danger of attacks by communistrebels, who have a strong presence in the Sierra Madre mountains along the easterncoastline.

The military said 10 soldiers were killed and six wounded in an ambush by NewPeople's Army rebels in Bulacan province on Tuesday.

Some flood victims had lucky escapes.

One 20-year-old man and his heavily pregnant wife were swept along in a flooded riverfor two hours, surviving by clinging to a water jug and a banana crate before being

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=OOYYV5H2GLUKQCRBAELCFFA?type=worldNews&storyID=6964727&pageNumber=1http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=OOYYV5H2GLUKQCRBAELCFFA?type=worldNews&storyID=6964727&pageNumber=1http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=OOYYV5H2GLUKQCRBAELCFFA?type=worldNews&storyID=6964727&pageNumber=1

7/30/2019 log ban

7/13

fished out by a local resident, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.

The government imposed a selective log ban after widespread floods in the early 1990s, but

numerous "crackdowns" have failed to halt a trade that is worth millions of dollars a year to

smugglers and corrupt politicians.

"Illegal logging must now be placed in the most serious crimes against our people,"Arroyo said Wednesday.

TYPHOON BEARING DOWN

Meteorological officials said Typhoon Nanmadol, packing winds of 108 mph at itscenter, was gaining strength and was expected to hit the east coast late Thursday or onFriday.

"We haven't seen anything like this since the start of the year, said Rose Asejo, an

official at the national weather bureau. "It's a super typhoon with a wider coverage andvery strong winds."

The weather was already worsening.

Attempts to reach the towns with the country's few rescue helicopters failed and a navyship ferrying relief supplies to Real was stuck there due to high waves and logs in thesea.

Soldiers helping in rescue efforts faced the added danger of attacks by communistrebels, who have a strong presence in the Sierra Madre mountains along the eastern

coastline.

The military said 10 soldiers were killed and six wounded in an ambush by NewPeople's Army rebels in Bulacan province on Tuesday.

Some flood victims had lucky escapes.

One 20-year-old man and his heavily pregnant wife were swept along in a flooded riverfor two hours, surviving by clinging to a water jug and a banana crate before beingfished out by a local resident, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.

7/30/2019 log ban

8/13

Philippines typhoon

Time is GMT + 8 hours

Posted: 02 December 2004 1108 hrs

Typhoon Nanmadol hits eastern

Philippines

REAL, Philippines : Gale-force winds from Typhoon Nanmadol blacked out theeastern Philippines early Thursday, disrupting rescue efforts for victims of a previousstorm that left nearly 600 people dead or missing elsewhere, officials said.

The government battened down the hatches, with ferry services out of Manila and theBicol peninsula to the southeast suspended, stranding several thousand passengers,the civil defence office said.

Small aircraft were also grounded, and school holidays were declared in the capitaland neighboring provinces, officials from Manila airport and the education departmentsaid.

The Red Cross said Nanmadol has killed at least one person on the island ofCatanduanes off Bicol.

The man was electrocuted in the provincial capital Virac, said Tess Usapdin of theRed Cross.

The air force and the navy said air and sea rescue operations for the victims of aprevious storm that hit the town of Real and nearby areas on Monday weretemporarily suspended.

Northeast of the main island of Luzon, small teams of infantrymen on foot tried to

deliver food and medicines to hamlets buried by mud or marooned by floods.

Monday's tropical depression has left more than 400 people dead and nearly 200others missing, the civil defense office said.

The centre of the relief operations are in the three towns of Real, Infanta and GeneralNakar, a region of about 110,000 people on the eastern foothills of the Sierra Madre

7/30/2019 log ban

9/13

mountain range, which accounted for nearly 90 percent of the known casualties.

Small teams of soldiers fanned out to the worst-hit villages and towns on foot, with oneteam reaching General Nakar before dawn after a 20-hour slog, fording swollen riversand marching through mud-covered and debris-strewn roads, Air Force spokesman

Lieutenant-Colonel Restituto Padilla told AFP.

"They are carrying some noodles, canned goods and others. If they meet anysurviving victims along the way, they will give them relief packs on their way to Realand Infanta," said Colonel Jaime Buenaflor, who is directing rescue operations fromthe outskirts of Real.

Helicopters and light aircraft airlifting casualties and ferrying relief goods have beentemporarily grounded.

"Gust factors of more than 30 knots are beyond the capabilities of the aircraft," Padilla

said.

A naval vessel bringing relief goods to Real sought shelter on the nearby island ofAlabat to escape the typhoon's wrath, said navy spokesman Geronimo Malabanan.

Volunteer rescue workers in the village of Tignoan, on Real's outskirts, said they hadunearthed 97 bloated bodies so far from a beach house that was buried by a mudslideon Monday.

More than 100 residents had sought refuge there to escape the rising floodwaters.

"We are digging with spades and our bare hands" because heavy equipment could notget through collapsed bridges and roads buried by landslides, said their team leaderMario Nanola.

He and a dozen members of the team temporarily pulled out early Thursday to fetchfood for the other members of the team.

"There are no body bags available. The stench is unbearable," Nanola told AFP.

He said he heard from survivors that more bodies were afloat at the coast.

Government meteorologists said Typhoon Nanmadol clipped the Bicol region andCatanduanes island early Thursday with gusts of up to 100 kilometres (62 miles) anhour.

Electricity has been cut and people in vulnerable areas sought refuge at government-run evacuation centers, the Red Cross said.

Manila should feel the effects of the typhoon, with centre winds of 185 kilometres (115

7/30/2019 log ban

10/13

miles an hour) in early afternoon, while the eye will strike Aurora province north ofReal late Thursday, weather forecaster Nathaniel Cruz said.

It should cut through the north of Luzon island overnight on its way to the South ChinaSea, he added.

"This is a strong typhoon," Cruz said, warning of the possibility of high wavesgenerated by strong winds for those living along coastal areas. AFP

PHILIPPINES: 25-year commercial log ban pushed

Source: Copyright 2004, Phillipine Star

Date: December 4, 2004

Byline: Jose Rodel Clapano and Perseus Echeminada

Original URL: Status DEAD

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. asked President Arroyo yesterday to certify asurgent the long-overdue bills imposing a 25-year ban on commercial logging.

Flooding spawned by typhoon "Winnie" Tuesday triggered landslides that left over 600 deadand missing and caused extensive damage to crops and property in various parts of the country.

Pimentel also asked Senate President Franklin Drilon and Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. to directtheir chambers committees on environment and natural resources to immediately conductpublic hearings on the proposed ban on commercial logging.

"Unless the government implements a total log ban, we will continue to lose more of ouralready thinning forests, and the horrible tragedies in Aurora-Quezon this year and in Ormoc in

1991 due to flashfloods and landslides are bound to be repeated," he said.

Pimentel said heavy flooding in upland and lowland villages during typhoons, siltation and

drying up of rivers and other inland waterways, depletion of ground water resources and

diminishing wildlife populations graphically illustrate the critical state of the countrys forests.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)s order to suspend the

logging operations of licensed timber companies in the Sierra Madre mountain range near the

provinces of Aurora and Quezon, is not enough because it is just a palliative measure that will

not eliminate the serious threats posed by deforestation, Pimentel said.

"Forests need a respite from logging for 25 years, the length of time it takes for hardwood trees

to mature and for the country to regain its lost forest cover," he said.

http://www.philstar.com/philstar/News200412040402.htmhttp://www.philstar.com/philstar/News200412040402.htmhttp://www.philstar.com/philstar/News200412040402.htm

7/30/2019 log ban

11/13

From 15 million hectares of forests at the start of the 20th century, the Philippines is left with

less than seven million hectares of forests and only 800,000 hectares of virgin forest, he added.

He cited a DENR report that some 200,000 hectares of forest area are destroyed annually by

legitimate and illegallogging, as well as kaingin (slash-and-burn) farming.

Pimentel, who also filed Senate Bill 1150 which provides for a log ban, said industrial tree

plantations will not be covered by the prohibition so wood requirements for the paper,

construction and furniture industries can still be met.

He said the selective logging policy has proven ineffective in protecting the forests because

loggers still cut trees in areas not covered by their timber permits and their reforestation

methods are poor at best. Focus: MindanaoEnvironment experts warned that the biggest freshwater lake and main source of power in

Mindanao is in danger of disappearing in 25 years unless the surrounding watershed areas are

protected from loggers.

He said the water level in Lake Lanao continues to decline and its conservation is of critical

importance due to the looming power crisis in all of Mindanao.

Pimentel said six hydroelectric power plants of the National Power Corp. (Napocor) depend on

the waters of Lake Lanao and its tributary, the Agus river, to generate power.

"Its about time Congress mustered the political will to approve the log ban bill," he said.

Despite the urgency of a total log ban to give our forests time to grow back, bills seeking a ban

on commercial logging have repeatedly been blocked by powerful logging interests since the

bill was first proposed in 1987, Pimentel said.

Under Senate Bill 1150, any violator of the log ban law shall be punished with imprisonment

from five to 10 years.

Punishment under the proposed bill for large logging firms violating the log ban includes the

revocation of licenses and business permits and fines of P500,000 to P5 million. In addition tothis, the erring companys chairman or chief executive officer faces a jail sentence of five to 10

years. Logging Suspension

In the same vein, the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi) party will seek a 20-year log

ban and ask Malacaang to immediately suspend all logging operations nationwide.

"Kampi will seek an audience with President Arroyo to make strong representation that, while

we are crafting the proposed measure for a total log ban, logging operations all over the

country must be suspended," Kampi spokesman and Isabela Rep. Anthony Miranda told TheSTAR.

Miranda said a 20-year log ban would give the countrys denuded forests time to grow backand would prevent future disasters caused by landslides and flashfloods.

7/30/2019 log ban

12/13

7/30/2019 log ban

13/13

hit the northern provinces, it was Malacaang that provided large logging firms with

concessionaire permits.

Rosal also said Army units in these areas have been "serving as security forces to the biggest

logging and timber companies and allowing the legal and illegal export of timber."

Full Article No Longer Available at Source

Source:

http://forests.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=36937&keybold=illegal%20logging%20serious%20punishment