Killing their Homes is Killing Yourself

Photo courtesy: Dying Earth Retrieved from http://nosdohr.deviantart.com/art/Dying-Earth-159046036

Imagine that one day, on a bluish and greenish Earth will have no more trees for the monkeys to climb and rest on, corals for the fishes to lay their eggs on, clear and clean water for the deer to drink for, caves for the bats to sleep to,  trunks of trees for the nests of the young birds and flowers for the butterflies to pollinate to? What if all the trees are cut down, water is polluted, and air is unsafe to breathe? Will still animals survive living in our home called Earth? What if sooner or later, Earth will lose all what it takes for all the living creatures depending on it? That moment of time, will earth still be considered as the only planet in the solar system capable of sustaining life?

Definitely not, Mother Earth, as we all know, is the only celestial body in the solar system known to accommodate life. According to Census of Marine Life (2011), it is considered to be the home to over eight million species. They added that there are about 6.5 million species found on land and 2.2 million (about 25 percent of the total) dwelling in the ocean depths. In addition, the researchers of Marine Life stated that there are approximately 7.2 billion humans inhabiting it who depend upon its minerals and what its biosphere can offer. On the other hand, how can Earth continue to support life if it is experiencing suffering from all human activities which destroys all its natural resources needed for survival?

Earth experienced difficulty in maintaining its natural resources because of us. We all contribute to the destruction of the Earth. As a result, we are slowly destroying our home and most especially the homes of other living creatures, their habitat. Habitat, from Latin word habitāre, meaning to dwell (“Habitat,” n.d., para. 1).  According to Kauffman (2001), it is an ecological area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant, or other type of organism. He said it is the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the physical environment that surrounds a species population. He also expressed that it includes all living and nonliving factors or conditions of the surrounding environment.

According to British Broadcasting Channel also known as BBC (2014), habitat can either be called niche, biome or territory in which it is a type of environment where plants and animals can live. Researchers of BBC explained that habitat is suited to plants and animal’s structure and adaptations which will enable them to survive. They said that habitat is dictated by the kind of plants, climate and geography. Some examples of habitats are rainforest, coral reefs, and tundra where different kind of species of plants and animals can be found (BBC).

BBC (2014) added up that habitat has three main classifications. Researchers elaborated the first one which is freshwater habitat that includes bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams. In relation to their surveys, freshwater is only about 3% of Earth’s water. According to researchers of BBC, these include the water locked up in the ice caps and trapped in rocks and soil as groundwater. Another classification BBC included, is Marine habitat which is approximately 71% of the Earth’s surface covered by the oceans. However, according to them, marine habitats are considered to be the relatively poorly studied habitat and great part of it was left unexplored. Also, BBC said that the largest among the three is the terrestrial habitat. It is mainly composed of forests, grasslands, deserts and rainforests (BBC).

In the Philippines, we have terrestrial habitat as the dominant among the three. An example of terrestrial habitat is forest area which is very common in Philippine geography. According to Philippine Forest Cover (2005), Philippines has a total land area (ha) 29, 817,000. On the other hand, researchers added that the most biologically diverse and complex forest is tropical rainforest known to have a rich biodiversity. According to Utrecht Faculty of Education (2011), a vocational university in Netherlands, more than half of all the plants and animals in the world are to be found in the rainforests in which there are more than 3500 species of plants and animals living on it. Utrecht researches expressed that this kind of biodiversity is possible because of constant high temperatures and high humidity. They also added that the most temperature of tropical rainforest ranges up to 25-35 degrees Celsius which was admitted also by the researchers of Utrecht.

According to World Wildlife Organizations (2014), forests have three main roles in the environment and to all the living organisms. They (researchers) expressed these three vital roles which are to provide oxygen, food, shelter and aide in mitigating climate change. First, forests supply the oxygen needed for the plants and animals to survive. We humans are part of those oxygen-dependent organisms to the forests. Second, forests are considered home to 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity which includes different species of plants, animals and fungi, also stated in the research of WWL Organizations. Habitat also provides food for the organisms living in it where there is the presence of predator and prey. Lastly, the most crucial importance of existence of our forests which is interpreted by WWL researchers is its job of being the main attenuator or reducer of climate change as a carbon sinker. As WWL Organization explained, forests take in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Instead of freeing harmful gases in the atmosphere, they take charge of soaking it into its roots to help minimize carbon emission into the Earth’s atmosphere that will worsen the present situation.

But why habitat destruction is happening? On the other hand, it is mainly caused by enormous negative human activities. It is because hundreds and thousands of people nowadays are all depending on forests as a natural resource for their basic needs such as gathering of food and medicine (herbal and chemical), products and other forms of benefits we could get from denuding our forests.

On the contrary, people nowadays can’t see the vital roles played by habitats. In Philippines, it is because of a huge number of Filipinos who were unable to go to school. Balane (2014), ABS-CBN reporter, reported that there are 15 million Filipinos and counting who are illiterate which caused the ignorance of people in regards to environment care. 

According to World Animal Foundation (2014), habitat destruction is made through by humans. They (researchers) said that this destruction is mainly caused by illegal logging activities and mining. Mongabay (2003) expressed that illegal logging is one of the problems of the forests of Palawan. According to a representative from Palawan organization, logging is the number one contributor to forest loss in their place. She added that people there practice slash and burn clearing, cut trees and burn them to make the land suitable for farming. Researchers of Mongabay stated mining as a habitat destruction activity which is very much rampant in any part of the Philippines. In Mindanao there is Surigao, in Visayas you have Bohol and in Luzon you have Palawan in which their mountains and forests experienced this activity that destroys the habitat of many living organisms.

Surigao Port in a Mining Company
Photo Courtesy :http://www.lrcksk.org/

Mining in Bohol, Philippines
Photo Courtesy: Sun Star Cebu Retrieved from http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2014/01/05/team-review-mining-activities-321649

Mongabay (2003) also expressed the two other factors that added the destruction of habitat. One is overpopulation and second is palm-oil movement in Palawan. Growing population of Philippines really affect habitat destruction because of land conversion for human benefit purposes. Other reason also is that huge numbers of humans are competing to other organisms for their food and etc. On the other hand, DENR (as cited by Mongobay,2003) identified 185.25 hectares of oil palm cultivation in municipalities of Quezon and Rizal which was  discovered by an unknown environmentalist to be significant cause of forest loss.

Protest against palm-oil in Palawan
Photo Courtesy: https://www.rainforest-rescue.org/mailalert/973/the-philippines-stop-the-palm-oil-rush-in-palawan

In the case of the Philippines, the country is now facing serious problems in biodiversity preservation, specifically conservation of forest areas. According to Utrecht researchers, hundred years ago, Philippines is covered by a total 70% rainforests. As the years passed by, in year 2001, less than 8% of the country is covered by original tropical rainforests which is caused by unending cutting of trees and conversion of forests to industrialized areas. This is most evident in some part of Mindanao and Visayas (Utrecht). They concluded that if these practices continue, Philippines will have no more rainforest left after 15 years.

Aside from the things mentioned above, what are the ill effects and consequences of these anthropogenic activities to the animals and to the humanity as well? According to WAF, when habitats are destroyed, animals and plants living in it will have difficulty in surviving which results to extinction. Parts of these extinct animals are identified as the top most predators. For example, predators of frog are snakes. When the habitats of frogs are destroyed, frogs will no longer survive in that specific niche causing a difficulty for the snakes also to survive. It is for a fact that snakes will no longer have food to eat because of the absence of its prey, the frog. If this situation continues, frogs and snakes will face extinction. Therefore, habitat destruction is currently ranked as primary cause of species extinction worldwide. But how this extinction affects our lives?

First and for most, according to Bove (2014) plants, animals and humans varies dependently on each other as well as microorganisms, land, water, and climate to keep our entire system alive and well. She said that when one piece is removed in our ecosystem, regardless of its size, will lead to more serious problems that aren’t easy to solve.

To quote some words of the World Wildlife Fund (as cited by Bove, 2014), “When you remove one element from a fragile ecosystem, it has far reaching and long lasting effects on biodiversity.” It is because everything in this world, from the very minute organisms to the largest of all creatures of God has roles to play in maintaining the balance of nature. Each of us has functions in the world we live in. Trying to kill other’s home, is just as you’re also putting your life closer to death.

Online References

• World Animal Foundation. (2014) . Habitat Destruction . Retrieved November 20, 2014 from 
• http://www.worldanimalfoundation.net/f/HabitatDestruction.pdf

• World Wildlife Fund for Nature. (2013) . Impact of Habitat Loss on Species . Retrieved on November 20, 2014 from http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/species/problems/habitat_loss_degradation/

• Philippine Clearing House Mechanism for Biodiversity . (2009) . Forest and MOuntain Biodiversity: Overview . Retrieved on November 20, 2014 from http://www.chm.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=68:forest-and-mountain-biodiversity-overview&catid=36:biodiversity-in-the-philippines&Itemid=90

• The Regents of the University of California. (2000-2014) . Habitat destruction, alteration and fragmentation . Retrieved on November 21, 2014 from http://amphibiaweb.org/declines/HabFrag.html

• World Wildlife Fund . (2014) . Overview . Retrieved on November 22, 2014 from http://www.worldwildlife.org/habitats/forest

• The Utrecht Faculty of Education . (2011) . The Philippines . Retrieved on November 22, 2014 from http://www.worldwildlife.org/habitats/forests

• Buttler, R. (1994-2006) . Philippines . Retrieved on November 21, 2014 from http://rainforests.mongabay.com/deforestation/archive/Philippines.htm

• Bove, R. (2014) . Habitat Destruction . Retrieved on November 23, 2014 from

• Balane, L. (2009) . Illiterate Filipinos now 15 million, and counting . Retrieved on November 25, 2014 from http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/09/23/09/illiterate-filipinos-now-15-million-and-counting

• Mongabay . (1999-2003) . 'Too many people': Philippine island being deforested despite extensive protections - See more at: http://news.mongabay.com/2014/1031-gfrn-panela-palawan-loses-forests.html#sthash.P1UzCVRY.dpuf

Book References

• Habitat.(n.d.). Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved 15 June 2012.

• Kauffman,J. B. and D. A. Pyke. (2001) . Range ecology, global livestock influences. In S. A. Levin (ed.), Encyclopedia of Biodiversity 5: 33-52. Academic Press, San Diego, CA.

• Abercrombie, M.; Hickman, C.J.; Johnson, M.L (1966). A Dictionary of Biology. London: Penguin Reference Books.