Forest destruction to remove barrier vs storms, says group

LUCENA CITY—The role of Sierra Madre as a protective barrier against typhoons is now being threatened by illegal logging and destructive farming practices in sections of the mountain ranges that stretches from Quezon to Cagayan provinces, environmentalists warned.

Fr. Pete Montallana, president of Save Sierra Madre Network Alliance (SSMNA), said all storms that entered the country and passed through the Sierra Madre had weakened and spared population centers from widespread destruction.

“Sierra Madre is now losing her capacity to absorb a storm’s fury because of rampant illegal logging and other destructive activities,” Montallana said on Friday.

Both Supertyphoon “Lawin” (international name: Haima) and Typhoon “Karen” (international name: Sarika) weakened when these hit the mountains and crossed the Sierra Madre, considerably reducing the damage that the storms brought.

Juliet Borlon-Aparicio, area director of Tanggol Kalikasan-Southern Luzon, shared Montallana’s observation, saying Sierra Madre’s forest cover has sharply decreased.

Aparicio said without Sierra Madre as a natural barrier, highly populated communities would be very vulnerable.

The Sierra Madre has the largest remaining tract of old-growth tropical rainforest in the Philippines. It spans Luzon’s northeastern coast from Cagayan province in the north to Quezon province in the south.

The longest mountain range in the country, also known as the “backbone” of Luzon, Sierra Madre has 1.4 million hectares of forests, representing 40 percent of the Philippines’ forest cover.

Early this month, government forest rangers recovered more than 3,000 illegally cut logs abandoned in General Nakar town in northern Quezon. This area in the Sierra Madre is considered to be a hot spot for illegal logging operations.

Former President Aquino, through Proclamation No. 233 signed on Aug. 10, 2011, declared Sept. 26 as “Save Sierra Madre Day” in a bid to step up rehabilitation and conservation of the mountain ranges.

That day coincided with the second anniversary of Tropical Storm “Ondoy,” which dumped record amounts of rain that triggered widespread flooding. It killed 464 people.—DELFIN T. MALLARI JR.
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