Endangered Tales

The Philippines is one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world. The biodiversity of

the Philippines is extremely wide and the rate of discovery of new species in the Philippines is the

highest in the South East Asia. This rate of discovery is possible because the explorations done before

were in the big islands while the explorations done today are in the small islands and explorers continue

to find new species on those small islands. The number of orchid species in the Philippines is a

testament to its being biologically diverse. The number of mammals in the Philippines is even five times

greater than the expected number of mammals of a country the size of the Philippines. The animals and

plants are proof to the diversity of the Philippines since more than half of the flora and fauna are not

found anywhere else in the world. Examples of these flora and fauna are the cloud rats, Tawilis, Taal

Lake Snake, Visayan Leopard Cat, flying lemur, and Cebu Cinnamon. One of the reasons behind the

extreme biologically diversity in the Philippines is due to its location and its nearness to the equator,

because countries near the equator have a good environment and their environment is appropriate for

many species. Another reason of the biological diversity in the Philippines is that the Philippines is an

archipelago and the isolation of the islands/regions from each other is a factor for its high biodiversity.

Sadly, the Philippines is considered to be a region in the world where there is a high concentration of

threatened species. Species such as the Philippine Crocodile, Philippine Cockatoo, Black Shamba or

siloy, Visayan Spotted Deer, Golden Crown Flying Fox, and the Cebu Cinnamon. There is a major threat

to the biodiversity of the Philippines and they come in the form of hunters and poachers; these people

would hunt the animals for illegal trade or sometimes for food. Another threat to the flora of the

Philippines are farmers who practice kaingin; these people would destroy flora to make space for the

planting of crops. The practice of dynamite fishing is also a threat to the marine species in the

Philippines. Siltation is also a major threat to the coral population in the Philippines.
 The thing that struck me as interesting is the gradual destruction of the ecosystem by people

who use them for profit in the Philippines. It is interesting because I always wonder why those people

destroy the very thing that gives them life. In an economic perspective, I believe that those people are

destroying things that can give them marginal benefits in the long run. Those people may capture and

sell the animals they caught in the black market, but those people tend to look in the micro level; if they

would only take a step back and look at the big picture then they would see how protecting our

biodiversity is a great asset not only to them but to the whole country.

The importance in learning the value of the biodiversity of the Philippines brings about great

economic growth and economic benefits. As an aspiring economist, I believe that the biodiversity of the

Philippines is one of the greatest assets of the country and it can bring environmental tourism, pleasure

to the population, positive emotional assets, and technological and medical advance. The importance of

the biodiversity of the Philippines is vital for our economic success because for a country to advance

technologically it must have an environment and society that campaign for such advance. The lack of

education and information regarding the value of our biodiversity is counter-productive to our goal of

economic growth and development. The importance of learning the importance of our biodiversity is

vital to the conservation to the conservation of our environment because as the documentary stated:

The most important thing in conservation is the spreading of information to the common people. As an

aspiring economist, I will take a stand in protecting our biodiversity and will teach people the value of

our environment.

Kier Jesse Ballar

2014-66976