PHILIPPINES

By Rhett Butler   |   Last updated July 14, 2014

The once spectacular primary forests of the Philippines are now a relic of a bygone era. What little primary forest does remain exists on the island of Palawan, the last sanctuary for the Palawan eagle.

Between 1990 and 2005 the Philippines lost a third of its forest cover, according to FAO estimates, but the country's deforestation is down since its peak in the 1980s and 1990s.

Widespread logging was responsible for much of the historical forest loss in the Philippines. Despite government bans on timber harvesting following severe flooding in the late 1980s and early 1990s, illegal logging continues today.

After temporarily lifting the log export ban in the late 1990s, the government has increasingly tried to crack down on timber smuggling and forest degradation. Additional threats to Philippine forests come from legal and illegal mining operations — which also cause pollution and have been linked to violent conflict — agricultural fires, collection of fuelwood, and rural population expansion. In recent years, deforestation has been increasingly blamed for soil erosion, river siltation, flooding, and drought; environmental awareness is now rising in the country.



Environmentalists in the Philippines now fear that plantation agriculture, especially oil palm, could emerge as the newest threat to remaining forests.

The continuing disappearance of Filipino wildlands is of great to concern to ecologists due to the high levels of endemic species. Of the 1,196 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles in the country, nearly 46 percent are endemic. Among plants, the number is around 40 percent. Only about 5 percent of the Philippines land area is under some form of protection.

A closer look at the forests of the Philippines

Estimates of current forest cover in the Philippines are highly variable between sources. According to the national Forest Management Bureau, forest cover in the Philippines declined from 21 million hectares, or 70% of the its land area, in 1900 to about 6.5 million hectares by 2007. This data is very similar that to the U.N. FAO, which is usually based on government data. Both the government and the FAO show an increase in overall forest cover since 1990.






In contrast, data first published in 2013 by Matt Hansen and colleagues paints a much different picture, estimating 2012 forest cover at nearly 20 million hectares, using a 10 percent tree cover definition of forest. Hansen puts dense forests — areas with more than 50 percent tree cover — at 17.4 million hectares, or nearly three-fifths of the archipelago's land cover.


Hansen et al 2013




Hansen et al 2013


However annual loss data between the various sources is similar. FAO estimated that forest cover in the Philippines declined by an average of about 54,750 hectares per year between 1990 and 2010. Hansen puts the figure at about 51,400 ha per year between 2001 and 2012, increasingly slightly over the period. At 3.2 percent, MIMAROPA or the area formerly known as part of the Southern Tagalog Islands — including the provinces of Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan, had the highest rate of loss between 2000 and 2012, accounting for 42 percent of all forest loss in the Philippines during the period.


Hansen et al 2013


Total forest areaDense forest areaForest gainForest lossTotal land area
>10% tree cover (ha)% total land cover>50% tree cover (ha)% total land cover2001-2012 (ha)% total forest cover2001-2012 (ha)% total forest cover(ha)
Abra28508671.8%24428261.6%9470.3%25040.9%396880
Agusan del Norte25087586.1%22617977.6%39031.6%72422.9%291360
Agusan del Sur79082092.4%75950088.7%172802.2%484426.1%856309
Aklan12594576.5%10710965.1%20401.6%21441.7%164547
Albay18324273.3%15798363.2%24931.4%61513.4%250040
Antique16611860.9%13767950.5%12170.7%22621.4%272634
Apayao35654291.2%34446788.1%43561.2%164464.6%391019
Aurora28026392.4%27159689.5%23780.8%73082.6%303394
Basilan12628393.7%12196790.5%19161.5%46053.6%134806
Bataan7461357.3%6674551.2%2950.4%13101.8%130268
Batanes1278163.9%1092354.6%3762.9%2702.1%20000
Batangas16038753.8%14023547.0%29111.8%46272.9%298121
Benguet20697578.6%17705367.2%11540.6%21701.0%263379
Biliran4525785.0%4193278.7%4501.0%4871.1%53252
Bohol22561257.0%17791945.0%42901.9%36021.6%395747
Bukidnon54402459.9%43803448.2%51090.9%107322.0%908427
Bulacan13388154.7%11665947.7%10300.8%35172.6%244786
Cagayan54927762.8%50337357.5%51990.9%249114.5%875166
Camarines Norte17776484.8%16458078.5%17711.0%43672.5%209651
Camarines Sur37068570.9%32762562.6%40321.1%83522.3%523084
Camiguin2164489.0%2006182.5%2591.2%1490.7%24306
Capiz12921849.4%9308835.6%19961.5%29932.3%261350
Catanduanes13334591.4%12894188.4%17591.3%31532.4%145846
Cavite5231342.2%4478336.1%2990.6%9961.9%123930
Cebu25301652.1%17353135.7%29331.2%67492.7%485686
Compostela Valley37537888.4%34962182.4%81342.2%174034.6%424406
Davao del Norte26784776.9%22659465.1%48961.8%82643.1%348314
Davao del Sur42300770.0%35434358.7%71551.7%88822.1%604087
Davao Oriental46502091.1%43897686.0%86761.9%151623.3%510372
Dinagat Islands6532282.1%5646670.9%4920.8%13702.1%79602
Eastern Samar40560795.3%39073091.8%36630.9%81952.0%425780
Guimaras2607543.7%2062734.5%4361.7%5252.0%59719
Ifugao15244361.1%12906451.7%11790.8%34752.3%249561
Ilocos Norte19906459.0%16871350.0%7680.4%15730.8%337355
Ilocos Sur14849059.4%12416749.6%4480.3%9120.6%250099
Iloilo17364437.1%13209128.2%28651.6%55583.2%468481
Isabela54196953.1%50127449.1%28970.5%208063.8%1020881
Kalinga20839972.0%18890065.2%14520.7%43992.1%289554
La Union8370057.5%6759446.4%2410.3%5960.7%145634
Laguna12353067.5%11403062.3%11710.9%54794.4%183113
Lanao del Norte22519079.5%19908370.3%11760.5%39431.8%283331
Lanao del Sur29487783.9%27125477.2%9640.3%69492.4%351576
Leyte42723077.0%38717169.8%47481.1%81321.9%554774
Maguindanao10028140.8%6329825.7%12971.3%35533.5%245889
Marinduque7523681.5%6995275.8%14111.9%16772.2%92288
Masbate17266543.3%13562034.0%29361.7%47542.8%398656
Metropolitan Manila587810.8%23474.3%320.5%661.1%54454
Misamis Occidental14909878.8%12656866.9%23641.6%28141.9%189232
Misamis Oriental22818968.6%18894856.8%22721.0%28791.3%332435
Mountain Province16695078.5%14942570.2%8600.5%37522.2%212810
Negros Occidental25731333.0%18583823.9%24601.0%43911.7%778940
Negros Oriental22435844.9%16882033.8%28191.3%55552.5%499182
North Cotabato31988550.4%24527338.6%38931.2%94623.0%634974
Northern Samar30625090.7%29205586.5%37881.2%70212.3%337578
Nueva Ecija17491432.2%14315726.3%16671.0%36312.1%543761
Nueva Vizcaya27665070.5%23589860.1%28231.0%75672.7%392241
Occidental Mindoro35972161.0%31638253.6%59941.7%82082.3%589963
Oriental Mindoro30562573.7%27071565.3%70182.3%92633.0%414606
Palawan122450785.0%114821379.7%280122.3%643475.3%1441271
Pampanga4545421.0%2820813.0%4461.0%10902.4%216395
Pangasinan16616032.2%11070121.5%6590.4%19811.2%515664
Quezon71924186.3%68011481.6%116901.6%307084.3%833110
Quirino24218278.3%22397772.4%15230.6%98444.1%309245
Rizal8090064.0%7042955.7%11701.4%21492.7%126432
Romblon10533579.8%9613272.9%12131.2%31813.0%131943
Samar48686489.8%44724982.5%93461.9%160473.3%542184
Sarangani23246571.7%19134959.1%28671.2%70393.0%324006
Shariff Kabunsuan14212662.2%10726447.0%10970.8%39422.8%228381
Siquijor1653251.6%1143135.7%4893.0%1430.9%32008
Sorsogon16099481.3%14794374.7%12810.8%23881.5%197925
South Cotabato24948857.5%20311446.8%41831.7%71032.8%433999
Southern Leyte15078589.7%14256684.8%12460.8%30072.0%168034
Sultan Kudarat27403962.0%23426353.0%40701.5%102933.8%441872
Sulu13173090.3%12241984.0%23711.8%29252.2%145812
Surigao del Norte16764384.2%15167376.2%10310.6%21551.3%199027
Surigao del Sur39670292.6%38092588.9%74651.9%181394.6%428458
Tarlac8758329.1%7154323.7%12871.5%17662.0%301321
Tawi-Tawi10428994.7%10069791.5%20982.0%58955.7%110087
Zambales19723454.2%15931643.8%6810.3%34061.7%363598
Zamboanga del Norte48483876.0%41947865.8%131872.7%260415.4%637981
Zamboanga del Sur34422665.5%28132753.5%76782.2%115723.4%525809
Zamboanga Sibugay20219375.0%17436164.7%41612.1%100445.0%269565
Philippines1979928267.7%1741592959.5%2726381.4%6169103.1%29251764


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Philippines Forest Figures

Forest Cover
Total forest area: 7,162,000 ha
% of land area: 24%

Primary forest cover: 829,000 ha
% of land area: 2.8%
% total forest area: 11.6%

Deforestation Rates, 2000-2005
Annual change in forest cover: -157,400 ha
Annual deforestation rate: -2.1%
Change in defor. rate since '90s: -20.2%
Total forest loss since 1990: -3,412,000 ha
Total forest loss since 1990:-32.3%

Primary or "Old-growth" forests
Annual loss of primary forests: n/a
Annual deforestation rate: n/a
Change in deforestation rate since '90s: n/a
Primary forest loss since 1990: n/a
Primary forest loss since 1990:0.0%

Forest Classification
Public: 89.5%
Private: 10.5%
Other: n/a
Use
Production: 75%
Protection: 11%
Conservation: 12%
Social services: n/a
Multiple purpose: n/a
None or unknown: 2

Forest Area Breakdown
Total area: 7,162,000 ha
Primary: 829,000 ha
Modified natural: 5,713,000 ha
Semi-natural: n/a
Production plantation: 304,000 ha
Production plantation: 316,000 ha

Plantations
Plantations, 2005: 620,000 ha
% of total forest cover: 8.7%
Annual change rate (00-05): -46,400,000 ha

Carbon storage
Above-ground biomass: 1,566 M t
Below-ground biomass: 376 M t

Area annually affected by
Fire: 6,000 ha
Insects: n/a
Diseases: 1,000 ha

Number of tree species in IUCN red list
Number of native tree species: 3,000
Critically endangered: 46
Endangered: 35
Vulnerable: 134

Wood removal 2005
Industrial roundwood: 403,000 m3 o.b.
Wood fuel: 138,000 m3 o.b.

Value of forest products, 2005
Industrial roundwood: $60,272,000
Wood fuel: $722,000
Non-wood forest products (NWFPs): n/a
Total Value: $60,994,000


More forest statistics for Philippines

Suggested reading - Books CIA-World Factbook Profile
FAO-Forestry Profile