Name: PATANGAN, Juanne A.

Subject and Section: GEC131 – Cc1

SOLUTION FOR DEFORESTATION AT AURORA, ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR

Deforestation is one of the country's most serious challenges; it entails the permanent removal of

forest cover in order to make land available for residential, commercial, or industrial use. Deforestation is

common in my birthplace due to tower construction in the area. All trees that will be in line with the

tower wires are chopped to make room for tower construction. Many individuals also cut down trees for

furniture and home construction. They also used trees for fuel in the form of firewood and charcoal,

which resulted in tree cutting and felling because the use of electrical technologies in cooking is not

prevalent in our community. The following are the proposed solutions to mitigate the tree felling at

Aurora, Zamboanga del Sur:

 Collaboration

The forest industry can not only provide local and international markets with valuable forest

products but can also employ hundreds of people in local communities of different regions across the

globe. The barangay officials should report the problem to municipal level in order to create proper

actions in solving the problem since the solution is a collaborative effort between the government and the

community. They could touch the help of NGO’s re and organizations working in collaboration like

Green Peace, First Nations, and Stand Earth to save the planet by reducing deforestation. Hence,

collaborating effectively and efficiently can serve the land in a better way and prevent deforestation.

 Strict implementation of Presidential Decree (PD) 705, or Revised Forestry Code of the

Philippines

The law against cutting down trees, or killing trees, Presidential Decree (PD) 705, or Revised

Forestry Code of the Philippines that was signed on May 19, 1975, regulates the act in both public and
private lands. It calls for the prior approval or permission from the government, specifically the Bureau of

Forest Development whose mandate now rests on the Forest Management Bureau (FMB), one of the four

bureaus of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Section 68 of PD 705 states

that “any person who shall cut, gather, collect, or remove timber or other forest products from any forest

land, or timber from alienable and disposable public lands, or from private lands, without any authority

under a license agreement, lease, license or permit, shall be guilty of qualified theft as defined and

punished under Articles 309 and 310 of the Revised Penal Code.” This policy should be strictly

implemented so that the constituent in the barangay will adhere to it. One of the reasons why cutting of

trees is still rampant there is that the barangay officials are lenient and are not giving much importance as

to why cutting down trees is prohibited. They saw their constituents cutting down trees without the

permit, yet they did nothing. This act enables their constituents to believe that what they are doing is just

okay because their actions are not reprimanded. The barangay officials should act as a leader and could

impose sanctions to those proponents who will be caught cutting down trees and they should urge the

community members to report to barangay officials or to the DENR if they witness someone cutting trees

without proper permission. In order to do this, they could offer a reward in the form of money towards the

members of barangay who will report any witnessed illegal cutting of trees.

 SPREADING AWARENESS AND REFORESTATION OF ARENGA SUGAR PALM

( Kaong )

The barangay should hold a program that will teach the community members what deforestation is,

why it is happening, what are its causes and consequences and what solutions they could offer in order to

mitigate or minimize the effect of deforestation. In this way, they could urge everyone to participate in

tree planting to replace the cut tress by planting young trees. Each household should plant 10 trees and

they should make sure that it will not die as they will be given 1,000 pesos if they cultivate their planted

tree. This is the link on how to properly plant and cultivate the Arenga sugar palm,

https://www.agriculture.com.ph/2021/08/08/kaong-a-tree-of-hope/ .
 According to one study, Arenga sugar palm had numerous qualities that made it a virtual sentry

of the forest. Its deep roots mean it can be grown on steep, almost vertical, slopes—offering protection

against erosion. It needs little water and is drought- and fire-resistant, important on volcanic islands. It

is resistant to pests and needs no fertilizer; its presence in a forest actually enhances the soil. Because

of these qualities, the researcher found that the Arenga sugar palm could be a key species in his efforts

to restore forests that had been brutally logged and burned for decades.

Kaong palm, also known as sugar palm, is an upright medium-sized palm tree. Upon reaching its

maturity age which is more than 15 years, it grows to a height of up to 15 meters and a diameter of about

40 centimeters. Provide a variety of products and benefits such as food source, food ingredients,

medicinal benefits, crafts, and furniture. Just like other palm trees, kaong palm has a firm trunk/bark that

can be used as barriers, flooring, furniture and tool handles. The leaves are sometimes used for thatching

roofs, and are woven into coarse baskets and roofs for cottages in resorts. Also, the midribs of the leaves

are cleaned and used as rough brooms.

Moreover, its buds make an excellent salad while the immature seeds are being boiled with sugar to

form a kind of sweetmeat/gel which is then bottled and made into the well-known Kaong ingredient for

different desserts such as Filipino’s “halo-halo”. Processed sweet kaong gels are usually immersed in

syrup and are put inside jars which are available in many stores and supermarkets in the country. This

kaong gel is a very popular ingredient for salad and can be eaten alone as dessert.

Another important food product from kaong is the vinegar which is derived from the palm’s sap.

Stalks could be tapped for its sweet sap a few months before the flowering. Sap is generated through the

help of fruit flies which aids in the production of sap in the palm tree. Normally, a tapper could collect 10

to 12 liters of sap per day per tree. Sap are then processed to derive different products such as tuba (a

distilled liquor), vinegar, sugar, syrup, alcohol, bio-ethanol, and as feeds for hogs.
 Considered as the most important industrial yield of this palm is the black, tough fiber locally

known as “yumot “or “cabo negro” (commercially known as gomuti fibers). Cabo negro is a black,

horsehair-like fiber that’s well-known for its durability to either fresh or salt water, and for being fire-

resistant. Cabo negro are initially used in making ropes and as many studies and research concluded its

promising capacities, it is now used as cleaning brushes, filters, thatching materials, fishing materials,

baskets, bags, home decors, and other handicrafts. Product outputs are originally black, but they can be

made into different colors using dyes.

By planting this Arenga sugar palm, it will help the forest to recover and it will also be a help to

the barangay constituents as they will benefit from its parts when it’s grown. While waiting for the

younger planted sugar palm to grow, they should utilize the present Arenga sugar palm in the area and

conduct program to train and build the capacity of the local community to establish and run small

business utilizing the products that it could offer. The barangay officials could contact a

businessman/businesswoman who buys these raw ingredient for Kaong so that their product will be sold.

I have noticed that Arenga plant is in vast amount in area however, people are unaware to some of its

benefits especially the Kaong product that it could offer.

 SHIFTING FROM FIREWOOD AND CHARCOAL TO USING MALIGAYA RICE

HULL STOVE IN COOKING

Some 1.6 million tons of rice hulls is produced each year. Because many areas consider rice hull a

waste, it has created serious disposal problem. Rice millers would dump and burn mounds of rice hulls

along the roadside, irritating motorists and commuters of its smoke and ash. With the increasing cost of

liquified petroleum gas (LPG) and the decreasing supply of firewood, there has been a renewed interest in

tapping rice hull as an alternative fuel. Several rice hull fueled stoves have been developed in the past.

However, these models were smoky and difficult to ignite, requiring additives like kerosene, wood

shavings, paper, and wood stick to start and keep the fire burning. With the Maligaya Rice Hull Stove,

you simply drop a burning paper, straw, or dry leaf on the rice hull to ignite. And it’s almost smokeless.
This will be a great alternative in using firewood and charcoal in cooking as our area is also rich in rice

plantation where the rice hull is not properly managed. The introduction of this product to the community

could help in reducing cutting of trees in the forest to be used as fuel. Accordingly, it is inexpensive and

easy to fabricate, it generates high heat (yellow to bluish flame), environment-friendly; practically

smokeless, requires less attention, simple-low cost and lightweight design , efficient and is economical.