Most of the reforestation efforts in our
country focus on the use of exotic trees for the reason that they grow faster
and propagate easily. But this proved to be ineffective as exotic trees
have a detrimental effect on the ecosystem. For one, they tend to alter the
soil around them preventing other plants to grow and thrive. Also, they are not
protective of wildlife, as most animals, especially endangered ones prefer to
inhabit and nest on native trees.
What’s with native trees? Why would
government and nongovernment institutions initiate and encourage us to use
native trees for rehabilitation?
Native trees adapt
naturally to its local surroundings such as the micro-organism in soil, thus
more resilient, that they don’t topple easily. Just like us locals, we
don’t get upset stomach immediately from drinking local water or eating local
food as foreigners do.
The native trees help
to recover and expand
forest habitats for threatened native species of plants and animals; protect watershed and freshwater
resources; improve continuity with
the local natural landscape; connect forest fragments; secure the livelihood of
local people; and link protected areas and natural forests.
Bilar Man-Made Forest
Exotic trees are not
good habitats for local biodiversity. Our Bilar Man-Made Forest is made up of
Mahogany trees that are foreign in our country. We do not have Philippine
mahogany instead, we have Bagtikan, Lauan, Tangile, Guyo, Yakal, and Apitong as an alternative. Mahogany which is alien to the Philippines
may be good for commercial purposes (grow and cut) but to make it a permanent
forest, it is not advisable.
Apitong Tree (Dipterocarpus grandiflorus)
We also have these
majestic and beautiful flowering trees like Bagawak Morado, Butat, Ilang-Ilang,
Banaba and Balai Lamok. We
also have fruit-bearing trees. Katmon, Pili, Bignay, etc.
There are about 25
species of cinnamon of which 20 are native to the Philippines. A little
bit of trivia, in Pigafetta’s journal (Magellan’s chronicler), the galleon full
of spices, including cinnamon, were sufficient to pay all of Magellan’s debt of
7 galleon ships. Sri
Lanka has only one species but the Philippines is known for Cinnamon trees.
Philippine Cinnamon
As a responsible
citizen, what can we do? First, we should continue spreading the word and
educate as many people as we can. Knowledge of proper forest conservation is
limited to only a few. The second is
to drive the public to take action. Plant more native trees and include them in
all of your tree planting activities.
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