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BIODIVERSITY and Rice: Climate Change |
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Hi!
First of all, I took the title of this article from a museum exhibit in Manila. The exhibit is located at the Museum of the Filipino People. The title seems convoluted. What does biodiversity have to do with rice, a staple crop and climate change? To answer this, we need some background about the Philippines -it is a megadiverse country. Which means local flora and fauna are unlikely to be found anywhere else (Think, exotic orchid species and the monkey eating eagle, mouse deer, tarsier) -Rice is a staple crop, and eaten 3x a day by all Filipinos -it is an archipelago located in the fringes of the Pacific Ocean. Hence its vulnerability to typhoons. -the country is densely populated. 100 million Filipinos live in the island country plus a 12 million strong diaspora dispersed globally. RICE CULTIVATION LEADS TO FOREST DEPLETION So, high population density = less land to cultivate crops. Which means forests have to go down in order to cultivate more rice. Forest cover in the Philippines is down more than ever and of course, the biodiversity found in these areas, already vulnerable to manmade activities brought about by tourism and exploitation, is facing imminent destruction. CLIMATE CHANGE FORCES PEOPLE TO ADAPT TO ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS Many Filipinos live along the coastline. Major cities down to the tiniest hamlets are located not far from an estuary, river, or sea. As sea levels continue to rise globally, the Philippine coastline also begins to erode piece by piece. People relocate to higher ground, burning forests, slashing vegetation in order to create new communities. Rice fields replace tree cover. People replace animals. It is with these dire consequences in mind that the National Museum presents the long cultural heritage and paramount importance oft given to rice by Filipino tribal elders. To remind people that our ancestors once worshipped nature, strove to be in sync with it, and thanked the Almighty for the bountiful harvests that came their way. It seems that their descendants have been blinded. Make haste , and together, let's change the world ! |
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6 Comments
Hello guys, been busy again hahhaha. Thank you John for the commentary, appreciate the pedantry hahaha. I should be careful with my wording next time. Heonjun, here in the PH, many farmers practice slash and burn agriculture in order to enhance soil productivity (by burning trees, nutrients seep in from the ash into the ground, hence, fertile soil) which leads to forest depletion. Hopefully, institutions such as the International Rice Research Institute can combat this by developing hardier strains that is palatable and cost effective enough for many Filipinos and other nationalities :)))))
Posted 01-06-2016 22:20
Thanks for uploading Abdelaziz. In addition to John's point, I would also like to hear further explanation on the following several other points: If rice cultivation leads to forest depletion, what about other kinds of cultivation that require even more soil and natural resources? What significance and connotation does the sentence 'RICE CULTIVATION LEADS TO FOREST DEPLETION' deliver? Does that mean the people have to change their staple from rice to something else when it is already proven that rice actually requires lesser resources compared to other types of food we consume? Thanks for the report!
Posted 24-05-2016 17:03
Abdelaziz, rice plantation definitely is related to deforestation and also biodiversity. There should be technolgies developed to guarantee enough amount of rice production so that the megadiversity in the Phillippines could be preserved. When I ever have a chance to visit Malina, like what Adam have mentioned I would love to look over the museum as well. Thanks for such a report and have a great day!
Posted 24-05-2016 12:39
This report was interesting. Never really thought about the correlation between rice cultivation and forest depletion. This was one of the things I learned from this nice report. Great job!
Posted 23-05-2016 03:02
Thank you for the report! Since I live in Manila as well, I would definitely like to take a look at the museum. The statistics you gave were very interesting as well!
Posted 22-05-2016 10:57
Good day, fellow Filipino! What a very nice article you've got there? GOOD JOB!
Anyway, I just have one clarification, in my opinion, it is inappropriate to mention 'exotic orchid' species if emphasizing the megadiversity characteric of the Philippines. Basically, a country is proclaimed to be megadiverse based on species endemism and when we say endemism, we only refer to species that can only be found in the specific area. On the other hand, if we say exotic in terms of biodiversity, technically, it refers to species that were introduced in the area, which implies that they have not been naturally thriving there and have just been brought and planted in the past.
On the other hand, thank you very much for the very nice article! Great job! :)
Posted 21-05-2016 22:17