UP expert: Upland farming main driver of deforestation

Agricultural activities such as upland farming have become the main driver of deforestation that, in turn, affects watersheds in the country, according to a watershed management expert and professor emeritus at the University of the Philippines Los Baños.

Considering the occurrences of water-related disasters, scientist Rex Victor Cruz said many of the watersheds in the country “are not in good condition” and unable to regulate the excessive amount of rainfall anymore.

A watershed is an area of forested land that temporarily holds and drains rainfall downhill into rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans.

He noted, however, that if rainfall was really very excessive, disasters and hazards related to flooding could still be expected notwithstanding the condition of the watershed.

In a study conducted by one of his graduate students, results showed that “the no. 1 driver [of deforestation] is agricultural activities within and around the protected areas.”

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“Agricultural activity, if we don’t watch out for them, will become one of the major sources of our problem,” he said last week at the sidelines of the 2023 Asia Pacific Congress on Watershed Management.

Maria Lourdes Ferrer, director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau, pointed out that the government could not prevent these agricultural activities given the prevailing food shortages.

“We are looking at how to balance it because we cannot really do something about it, that’s their livelihood. Somehow, we will have to try to balance … the trees and agricultural crops,” she said.

The event featured more than 50 presentations on innovative solutions that merge sustainable practices with climate resilience based on the experiences of delegates from different countries such as the Philippines, Bangladesh, Fiji, Nepal, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Germany, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

Assistant Environment Secretary Daniel Darius Nicer underscored that the balancing of agricultural activities and the need to protect the watershed showed how managing the environment was “not so simple.” INQ