Bicol part 2

Bicol’s Resources: Threats and Problems
With the 21st century coming at hand, natural resources are also depleting not only because by the doing of nature but also by human who abuse this planet. Forest are decreasing year by year, pollution is increasing day by day and human are the cause of this each seconds.
Region 5, situated at the eastern part of the country are experiencing this natural phenomenon that affects and destroys our nature but with the addition of human to the increase of destruction. These threats can be a natural/ geological or manmade/ anthropological.
Natural/ Geological threats to the region’s resources includes:
Earthquakes
Flood
Landslides
Typhoon
Volcanic eruption
Earthquakes An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth, resulting from the sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves.
Earthquakes can be violent enough to toss people around and destroy whole cities. The seismicity or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time.
http://pinoybreakingnews.blogspot.com/2012/08/76-quake-hits-eastern-philippines.html With the great impact of earthquake, it can destroy habitat and infrastructure use in geothermal plant in Bicol. Earthquake can also destroy agricultural land resulting to the economy’s downfall. In addition, it can also cause tsunami, resulting to the destruction of beaches and seafloors of the ocean, damaging the habitat in the s
Flood and Landslide
According to the report of Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), half of the Bicol region is prone to floods and landslides. This info depicts that most of the areas in the region are mostly subjected to damage.
http://bicoltoday.com/2012/08/11/bicoltoday-com-aking-bikolnon-accepting-donations-for-ncr-flood-victims/
Many cases of these are happening in the country. With great impact not only to the economy of the country, it causes great loss to the resources examples are in agriculture where most Filipinos are depending and destruction of some habitats.
Every year, our country are experiencing flood because of typhoons, with Bicol facing the Pacific ocean where most typhoons are, it only shows that each area in Bicol are experiencing great loss not only to the economy but also to the environment.
Volcanic eruption
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/08/18/1358843/mayon-overdue-eruption
With Bicol and its famous Mayon Volcano, volcanic eruption occur in the region especially in Albay. In every eruption many Bicolanos experiencing great loss not only to their family but to their livelihood also.
Forestry near the volcano are subjected to destruction as lahar, lava flow and pyroclastic assaults the environment. With these, obviously many habitats are loss and animals and plants are also affected and the biodiversity near the volcano is destroyed.
Typhoon With Bicol residing on the eastern part of the Philippines, it is mostly affected by many typhoons travelling from the Pacific Ocean. Recently a new typhoon visited Bicol, typhoon Nina with not much damage yet with big impact to the agricultural state of the region.
http://www.typhoon2000.ph/season08-3.htm With this alarming rate of damage, mostly the eastern part takes all the damage because it is where the typhoon fisrt land causing destruction to many natural resources in the region. With typhoon, comes landslide, causing great damage to some habitats and flood that destroys agricultural land.
On the other hand, manmade/Anthropological threats to the region’s resources includes:
Mining
Overfishing
Illegal logging
Kaingin system
Pollution
Mining
Environmental Damages of Mining
Mining has been the popular business in the world, with it shares of billions of profit in every country mining has been the top notch to provide the economy’s need to progress yet with its prosperity comes a risk of damaging our nature.
http://bicoltoday.com/2013/04/07/catanduanes-folks-church-vs-coal-mining/
Bicol has been one of mining site in the Philippines. Although of relatively lesser volume at 1.2 million tonnes compared to those found in 18 more provinces that comprise the so-called coal districts of the Philippines, Catanduanes coal deposits turned out to be the highest grade in the country as contained in a report submitted by a body of experts led by Manuel V. Mapa which was designated to make comments on the proposed coal mining operation in the island province by Altura Mining (Soliveres, 2013).
There are two kinds of mining: open pit and underground mining
Open pit mining
Open pit mining, where material is excavated from an open pit, is one of the most common forms of mining for strategic minerals. This type of mining is particularly damaging to the environment because strategic minerals are often only available in small concentrations, which increases the amount of ore needed to be mined.
http://justcliqit.com/in-the-phils-the-famous-tide-flats-biggest-eagle-and-open-pit-mine/
Environmental hazards are present during every step of the open-pit mining process. Hard rock mining exposes rock that has lain unexposed for geological eras. When crushed, these rocks expose radioactive elements, asbestos-like minerals, and metallic dust.
During separation, residual rock slurries, which are mixtures of pulverized rock and liquid, are produced as tailings, toxic and radioactive elements from these liquids can leak into bedrock if not properly contained (Environmental Risks of Mining, 2016).
Underground Mining
https://www.hrw.org/report/2015/09/29/what-if-something-went-wrong/hazardous-child-labor-small-scale-gold-mining
Underground mining has the potential for tunnel collapses and land subsidence (Betournay, 2011). It involves large-scale movements of waste rock and vegetation, similar to open pit mining. Additionally, like most traditional forms of mining, underground mining can release toxic compounds into the air and water. As water takes on harmful concentrations of minerals and heavy metals, it becomes a contaminant.
This contaminated water can pollute the region surrounding the mine and beyond (Miranda, Blanco-Uribe Q., Hernandez, Ochoa G., & Yerena, 1998). Mercury is commonly used in as an amalgamating agent to facilitate the recovery of some precious ores (Miranda et al., 1998).
Mercury tailings then become a major source of concern, and improper disposal can lead to contamination of the atmosphere and neighboring bodies of water. Most underground mining operations increase sedimentation in nearby rivers through their use of hydraulic pumps and suction dredges; blasting with hydraulic pumps removes ecologically valuable topsoil containing seed banks, making it difficult for vegetation to recover (Miranda et al., 1998).
Deforestation due to mining leads to the disintegration of biomes and contributes to the effects of erosion (Environmental Risks of Mining, 2016).
Because mining is dependent on Fossil fuels to operate, the carbon output of many companies in Bicol are the one who are progressing the effect of climate change and the worsening of air pollution in the region.
Waste or tailings from the mining site can also cause water pollution that can kill many aquatic marine animals to sea.
With this to happen, many fishermen will be affected creating a major damage not only to the economy of the region but also to the nature itself. In addition, with mining on the line, forest destruction is the next to happen of the degradation of mountains, many habitats will be destroyed creating imbalance to the nature and the extinction of many species of plants and animals.
Kaingin System
The cutting down and burning of trees and plant growth in an area for cultivation purposes. Kaingin is a Filipino word that means clearing. Known as swidden farming in other countries, it is a traditional but destructive agricultural system practiced in many parts of the globe.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/373570/news/regions/ocd-govt-spent-p5m-to-control-albay-bush-fire With this system, many habitats will be destroyed especially the forest where many animals and plants are living making them vulnerable and critically endangered. Examples of these are Kaloula kokacii or commonly known as Taplang bukid, a Catanduanes Narrow-mouthed frog Endemic to Catanduanes Island and some parts of Bicol region and the Brachymeles makusog or commonly known as Loam swimming skink, Endemic to Catanduanes Island and some parts of Bicol Region. These species of life residing in Bicol are slowly decreasing in population and soon they will perish on earth because of this system that destroys their home.
Illegal logging
http://www.camarinesnorte.net/paracale-mps-illegal-logging-operation/
The term ‘illegal logging’ is often used as short-hand to describe illegal practices related to the harvesting, processing and trade in timber and timber products. Illegal logging and the related trade occurs when national or sub-national laws are broken at any point along the supply chain, for example: logging with an illegally acquired license or in protected areas; harvesting over allowed quotas; processing of logs without the necessary licenses; non-payment of taxes; or exporting products without paying export duties.
It may also be linked with illegal forest conversion, in which natural forests are cleared for other land uses, such as agriculture, infrastructure and mining.
The social, economic and environmental impacts of illegal logging and the related trade vary widely, depending on both the scale and the type of illegal activity. Thus, it may take place on an industrial scale, or entail small-scale infringements, with minimal or highly localized impacts.
The type of illegality is also significant – for example, infringement of harvesting rules will have direct environmental impacts, while financial misdemeanors affect revenues and overall management of the sector. It should be noted that illegality and unsustainability are not synonymous – illegal practices may be sustainable and legal practices unsustainable.
Illegal logging can also be an important part of the livelihoods of rural communities. In the Philippines illegal logging is quite massive for they use it for residential and commercial purposes which sacrifices trees and other parts of the environment.
Illegal logging id the root cause of forest decrease, they clear land and the habitat of some organisms in some area that could threaten their lives to survive.
Overfishing
Overfishing occurs when more fish are caught than the population can replace through natural reproduction. Gathering as many fish as possible may seem like a profitable practice, but overfishing has serious consequences.
http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Overfishing
The results not only affect the balance of life in the oceans, but also the social and economic well-being of the coastal communities who depend on fish for their way of life.
Billions of people rely on fish for protein, and fishing is the principal livelihood for millions of people around the world. For centuries, our seas and oceans have been considered a limitless bounty of food. However, increasing fishing efforts over the last 50 years as well as unsustainable fishing practices are pushing many fish stocks to the point of collapse.
Pollution
http://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/pollution
Look at any ecosystem and there could be multiple forms of contamination—streams full of toxic chemicals from industrial processes, rivers overloaded with nutrients from farms, trash blowing away from landfills, city skies covered in smog.
Even landscapes that appear pristine can experience the effects of pollution sources located hundreds or thousands of miles away. Pollution may muddy landscapes, poison soils and waterways, or kill plants and animals.
Humans are also regularly harmed by pollution. Long-term exposure to air pollution, for example, can lead to chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer and other diseases. Toxic chemicals that accumulate in top predators can make some species unsafe to eat. More than one billion people lack access to clean water and 2.4 billion don’t have adequate sanitation, putting them at risk of contracting deadly diseases.
H&WB Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. Corp., a local energy development company, is building a 700-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Jose Panganiban, Camarines Norte manila (Flores, 2015). With this news and the coal plant in line, expected the accumulation of pollution in the region using coal to produce electric resources to Bicol. With this likely to happen, expected severe impact to nature contribution to the worsening of global warming. Then, the effects to the nature where many plants and animals will be disrupt.
Tabulation of threats to the natural resources in Bicol Region
Bicol Region’s Natural Resources
Geological Threats to Natural Resources
Anthropological Threats to Natural Resources
Agriculture
Earthquakes
Flood
Typhoon
Volcanic eruption
Mining
Pollution
Fishing industry
Earthquakes
Mining
Overfishing Pollution
Geothermal energy
Earthquakes
Landslides
Typhoon Volcanic eruption
Endangered species
Earthquakes
Flood
Landslides
Typhoon Volcanic eruption
Mining
Overfishing
Illegal logging
Kaingin system Pollution
Forestry
Earthquakes
Flood
Landslides
Typhoon Volcanic eruption
Mining
Overfishing
Illegal logging
Kaingin system Pollution
To warp up, because of the geological feature of the region, it is vulnerable to many geological threats that could disrupt natural resources in the area. With this, we can conclude that Bicol is one of the area in the Philippines that are fragile in terms of geological threats to the resources that could affect nit only to the economy but also to the human and other living things living in the area. In addition, with human interference and abuse to natural resources we can conclude that this increases the threats to its own natural resources. With our doings, nature itself is slowly being destroyed because of our exploitation and abuses.
References:
Arguelles. (2013). Inquirer: Half of Bicol prone to flood and landslides. Retrieved from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/430099/half-of-bicol-prone-to-flood-and-landslides
Earthquake. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthquake
Environmental Risks of Mining. (2016). Retrieved from http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2016/finalwebsite/problems/mining.html
Flores. (2015). 700-MW coal plant to rise in Bicol. Retrieved from http://www.thestandard.com.ph/business/176002/700-mw-coal-plant-to-rise-in-bicol.html
Illegal Logging Portal. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2017, from http://www.illegal-logging.info/TOPICS/What-ILLEGAL-Logging
Overfishing. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2017, from http://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/overfishing
Pollution. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2017, from http://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/pollution
Soliveres. (2013). Catanduanes coal is country’s best; mining it is disastrous to the province. Retrieved from http://www.bicolmail.com/2012/?p=7372
Wikipedia. (n.d.). List of threatened species of the Philippines. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_threatened_species_of_the_Philippines