West Visayas State University

College of Education
La Paz, Iloilo City

Lucille May G. Gabriel BSED Social Studies 3-F

Lesson 4: Activity 4.1 & Activity 4.3

Activity 4.1
Please refer to the Attachment.

Activity 4.3

Given this news article entitled “DENR stops cemetery dev’t in Cebu City with 300
mahogany trees illegally cut “from the Inquirer.Net, dated July 10, 2020, make a
reaction paper pertaining to the human impact to our ecosystem.

Humans have reduced the production of ecosystem services as a consequence of

modifications to components of the Earth's biological diversity and ecosystems, as
well as economic development. Human population growth elevated the conversion
of ecological systems to agricultural, manufacturing, and domestic use, as well as
supply for ecosystem inputs such as freshwater resources, fiber, and soil quality, as
well as greater pressure on natural ecological capacity. Deforestation, as mentioned
in the article, has resulted in the progressive degeneration of natural habitats. The
result is a loss of biodiversity, in addition to the removal of the forest, which
eliminates habitat and food for forest-dwelling wildlife.

Between 2001 and 2021, Cebu lost 33ha of forested areas due to fires and 9.32kha
due to all other causes of loss. In 2012, Cebu experienced the greatest tree cover loss
due to fires with 6ha of loss — 1.0% during that year. So far in 2021, 0ha of land in
Cebu has burned. Overlapping maps of land use and forest destruction in the creation
of a cemetery in the environment have been identified as possible causes of
fragmentation. The processes associated with such land use intersecting forest
fragments were hypothesized to be a prospective cause of deforestation. The loss of
biodiversity-dependent environment services as a result of urbanization is likely to
exacerbate social inequalities and marginalization of society's most vulnerable
sectors, by restricting their access to basic resources for a healthier lifestyle and
limiting their freedom of choice and active engagement. Even if other parts of
society benefit from economic and social development that does not consider the
impact on these ecological systems, the standard of living of these vulnerable
communities may still suffer. Changes in biodiversity are thus inextricably related to
poverty which is the most serious threat to humanity's future (United Nations). The
most significant changes in ecological systems are likely to result from altered
functional compositions of societies and the destruction of locally abundant species
within a single trophic level, as opposed to the loss of already critically endangered
species. The direct effects of depletion of natural resource drivers (pollutants,
burning, soil degradation, flash floods, and so on) on ecosystem services and
processes are frequently more profound than those induced by biodiversity change.

If these dilemmas intensify in the near future and we continue to lose biodiversity,
coming generations will face hunger, thirst, illnesses, and calamities. It contributes
to many sentient components of our everyday life, both directly and indirectly, such
as stability, basic materials for a good life, well-being, excellent interpersonal
relations, and the ability to choose and act (Shende and Patil, 2018)..

References:
Shende V.A. and Patil K.G. (2018) Human beings and biodiversity degradation.Int. J.
of Life Sciences1(1): 1-8.
Deforestation – United Nations Sustainable Development. (n.d.).
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/tag/deforestation/