PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY

Infanta, Pangasinan
BACHELOR OF SECONDARY EDUCATION

FSSE 103 - PLACES AND LANDSCAPES IN A CHANGING WORLD

EVANGELISTA, ERICA R.
LIMON, DYESABEL O.
LOPEZ, KAREN AGAPE D.

E. FOREST AND MINERAL RESOURCES

FOREST RESOURCES
- Many animals need forests to live and survive. Forests are very important and grow in many places around the
world. They are an ecosystem which includes many plants and animals. Temperature and rainfall are the most
important things for forests.

USES OF FORESTS
- Forests provide us a large number of commercial goods which include timber, firewood, pulpwood, food
items, gum, resins, non-edible oils, rubber, fibers, lac, bamboo canes, fodder, medicine, drugs and many more
items, the total worth of which is estimated to be more than 300 billion per year.
- Many forest lands are used for mining, agriculture, grazing, and recreation and for development of dams.

ECOLOGICAL USES
- Production of oxygen: The trees produce oxygen by photosynthesis which is so vital for life on this earth.
They are rightly called as earth’s lungs.
- Reducing global warming: The main greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed by the forests as a raw
material for photosynthesis. Thus, forest canopy acts as a sink for CO, thereby reducing the problem of global
warming caused by greenhouse gas CO2.
- Wildlife habitat: Forests are the homes of millions of wild animals and plants. About 7 million species are
found in the tropical forests alone.
- Regulation of hydro-logical cycle: Forested watersheds act like giant sponges, absorbing the rainfall, slowing
down the runoff and slowly releasing the water for recharge of springs. About 50-80 %of the moisture in the
air above tropical forests comes from their transpiration which helps in bringing rains.
- Soil Conservation: Forests bind the soil particles tightly in their roots and prevent soil erosion. They also act
as wind breaks.
- Pollution moderators: Forests can absorb many toxic gases and can help in keeping the air pure. They have
also been reported to absorb noise and thus help in preventing air and noise pollution.

OVER EXPLOITATION OF FORESTS:

- Excessive use of fact wood and charcoal, expansion of urban agricultural and industry areas and overrunning
have together led to over-exploitation of our forests leading to their rapid degradation.

 DEFORESTATION
- Deforestation is the permanent removal of trees to make room for something besides forest. This can include
clearing the land for agriculture or grazing, or using the timber for fuel, construction or manufacturing.
Forests cover more than 30% of the Earth’s land surface, according to the World Wildlife Fund
 MINING
- Oil and mining of coal require a large amount of forest hand. Construction of roads leads to deforestation as
they provide the way remote land. The waste that comes out from mining pollutes the environment and affects
the nearby species.
  LOGGING
- Illegal logging activities are very common that destroy the livelihoods of the people depending on forests.
Wood-based industries like paper, match-sticks, furniture need a substantial amount of wood supply. Wood is
used as fuel most commonly and so large amounts of trees are cut down for fuel supplies. Firewood and
charcoal are used as fuel.
 URBANIZATION
- Massive destruction of forests occurs for various development projects like hydroelectric projects, big dams,
road construction, mining etc.
- As the population grows, the needs of people increase which further leads to deforestation. Forests shrink to a
great extent to meet the requirements like for construction of roads, development of houses, mineral
exploitation and expansion of industries.
 FOREST FIRES
- We lose many trees each year due to fares in the forest in various portions worldwide. This happens due to
extreme summers and winters. The fire caused by man or nature, results in huge loss of forest cover.

MAJOR CONSEQUENCES OF DEFORESTATION

- It threatens the existence of many wildlife species due to destruction of their natural habitat.
- Gases such as methane and carbon dioxide trap heat in Earth’s atmosphere, leading change in climate. Trees
absorb the carbon dioxide and release oxygen and water into the atmosphere, and this contributes to global
warming.
- Biodiversity is lost and along with that genetic diversity is eroded.
- Hydro-logical cycle gets affected thereby influencing rainfall
- Problems of soil erosion and loss of soil fertility increase.
- Deforestation leads to land erosion because the trees maintain the surface of the mountains.

SOLUTION TO DEFORESTATION
- Trees play a vital role in protecting our environment in several ways so we should protect the forest:
- Ban on cutting of trees and new trees and planting more.
- There should be an implementation of regulations of laws at organizational and governmental levels due to the
extent of deforestation.
- Spread the awareness about sensitization and organize educative campaigns about the effects of deforestation.

MINERAL RESOURCES
- Minerals provide the material used to make most of the things of industrial-based society; roads, cars,
computers, fertilizers, etc. Demand for minerals is increasing worldwide as the population increases and the
consumption demands of individual people increase. The mining of earth’s natural resources is, therefore
accelerating, and it has accompanying environmental consequences.
• A mineral is a pure inorganic substance that occurs naturally in the earth’s crust.
• All the Earth’s crust, except the rather small proportion of the crust that contains organic material, is made up of
minerals.
• Some minerals consist of a single element such as gold, silver, diamond (carbon), and Sulphur.
• More than two-thousand minerals have been identified and most of these contain inorganic compounds formed by
various combinations of the eight elements (O, Si, Al, Fe, Ca, Na, K, and Mg) that make up 98.5% of the Earth’s crust.
• Industry depends on about 80 of the known minerals.
• A mineral deposit is a concentration of naturally occurring solid, liquid, or gaseous material, in or on the Earth’s
crust in such form and amount that its extraction and its conversion into useful materials or items are profitable now or
may be so in the future.
• Mineral resources are non-renewable and include metals (e.g. iron, copper, and aluminum), and non- metals (e.g.
salt, gypsum, clay, sand, phosphates).
• Minerals are valuable natural resources being finite and non-renewable.
• They constitute the vital raw materials for many basic industries and are a major resource for development.
• Management of mineral resources has, therefore, to be closely integrated with the overall strategy of development;
and exploitation of minerals is to be guided by long-term national goals and perspectives.

TYPES OF MINERAL RESOURCES

- Fuel minerals like coal, oil and natural gas have been given prime importance as they account for nearly
87% of the value of mineral production whereas metallic and non- metallic constitutes 6 to 7%.

 FUEL MINERALS
- Coal, oil and natural gas are the basic fossil fuel. We have good reserves for coal but are very poor in
more essential fuel oils – and natural gas.

 COAL
- Proven coal reserves of the country as on January 1994 (estimated by GSI) is about 68 billion tones. We
are mining about 250 tons annually and this rate is expected to go by 400- 450 tons by 2010 A.D. If we
could maintain our mining rate of 400 tons per year, then the coal reserves might last for about 200 years
taking proven reserves as 80 billion tones.

 CRUDE OIL (PETROLEUM)

- It is believed that petroleum has been formed over a period of millions of years, through conversion of
remains of micro-organisms living in sea, into hydrocarbon by heat, pressure and catalytic action.
- The petroleum on fractional distillation and further processing provides us numerous products and by-
products.
- Some of the common products obtained on fractional distillation are given in Table in next slide, along
with the temperature (just below the boiling point) at which they tend to liquefy after crude oil feed at the
base is heated to about 400°C.
- One million tons of crude oil on fractional distillation provides about 0.8 million tons of petroleum
products.
- The percentage composition varies with the quality of crude oil, or it could be varied up to a certain limit
depending upon the requirement or demand. On an average the percentage composition of the common
product with their number of carbon atoms is given in table.

 NATURAL GAS
- The proven reserve for natural gas on April 1993 works out to be approx. 700 billion cubic meter (BCM).
As regard to production vis a vis utilization aspect in earlier years, more than half of gas coming out of the
wells remained unutilized. However, in recent years, we have achieved a utilization rate of 80- 90%.
Keeping in view the future demands and proven gas reserves, it is unlikely that our gas reserves might last
for more than 20 years.
  METALLIC AND NON-METALLIC MINERALS
- India is poorly endowed with mineral wealth. Except for iron ore and bauxite our share of world reserves
of every other mineral is one percent or less. However, there has been a phenomenal growth in production
since independence. As per estimates if the present trend of production continues, we will exhaust our
reserves of all the important minerals and fuels, except coal, iron ore, limestone and bauxite, in 25 to 30
years.
- In a world that has finite mineral resources, exponential growth and expanding consumption is
impossible. Fundamental adjustments must be made to the present growth culture to a steady-state system.
- This will pose problems in that industrialized nations are already feeling a loss in their standard of living
and in non- industrialized nations that feel they have a right to achieve higher standards of living created
by industrialization.
- The population growth continues upward, and the supply of resources continues to diminish. With the
increasing shortages of many minerals, we have been driven to search for new sources.
- As the industrialized nations of the world continue the rapid depletion of energy and mineral resources,
and resource-rich less-developed nations become increasingly aware of the value of their raw materials,
resource driven conflicts will increase.

F. AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIAL MOVEMENTS

- The Philippines is primarily an agricultural country with a large portion of Filipinos living in rural areas
and supporting themselves through agricultural activities. Recent figures suggest that about a quarter of
employed Filipinos work in the agricultural sector which is made up of four sub-sectors: farming,
fisheries, livestock, and forestry. In 2021, the sector generated a gross value added (GVA) of about 1.76
trillion Philippine pesos, equivalent to a 9.6 percent share of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
However, as a result of the prolonged lockdown imposed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,
along with the natural calamities that occurred in the country, the sector’s gross output contracted by 1.7
percent in that year.
• Agriculture plays a significant role in the Philippine economy. Involving about 40 percent of Filipino workers, it
contributes an average of 20 percent to the Gross Domestic Product. This output comes mainly from agribusiness,
which in turn accounts for about 70 percent of the total agricultural output (CIDA-LGSP, 2003).
• The main agricultural enterprise is crop cultivation. Others are chicken broiler production, including operation of
chicken hatcheries (20.4 percent), agricultural services (19.8 percent), and hog farming (18.4 percent) (NSO, 2002).
• The general trends in the last two decades present a dim picture of the agriculture sector. Significant decrease in
productivity, high production costs, and low government support to the sector, among other things, have led to a crisis
in Philippine agriculture (CIDA-LGSP, 2003).
• The neglect of the agriculture sector and the uneven distribution of resources worsened the poverty situation in rural
areas. Only the remittances of migrant workers to their families have enabled the latter to survive crippling poverty
brought about by stagnant agricultural productivity, stiff competition from cheaper food imports, and periodic
droughts and floods that devastated crops and livelihoods.

BUREAU OF COMMUNICATION SERVICES

- Rural women undertake a variety of production and caring activities. Though not counted in official statistics,
women are active economic factors such as landless workers, traders of agricultural and fishery products, and
engaged in micro-manufacturing enterprises. Of the total rural work force, women comprised 27.3 percent of
the 10.4 million workers employed in the agricultural, hunting and forestry sector in 2004 (NSO, 2004).
- Women’s actual contribution to food production and rural economy remains undervalued if not invisible. As a
result, women have less access to productive resources than men do. Access to land, technology, extension
services, capital, and infrastructure support tend to favour rural men (WAGI, 2003).
- Ownership of land remains elusive for many rural women. As per an assessment from January to September
2001, women comprised only 34.8 percent of total agrarian reform beneficiaries (Philippine NGO BPA+10
Report, 2005).

 CROP PRODUCTION
- Major agricultural systems include lowland irrigated farming, rain fed farming and upland farming. Irrigated
farm areas mainly grow rice and sugarcane whereas rain fed areas are planted with coconut, corn and cassava.
The Philippines’ major agricultural products include rice, coconuts, corn, sugarcane, bananas, pineapples, and
mangoes.

 FORESTRY
- The Philippines’ total land area is 300 179 sq km, 49 percent of which is classified as forest (although only 21
percent is under forest cover) (EIU, 2001/2002). It directly supports approximately 30 percent of the
population, including indigenous peoples. Three percent of the total land area is still unclassified (DENR,
2004).
- With a per capita forest cover of about 0.085 ha, the forest cover of the Philippines ranks as one of the 11
poorest among 89 countries in the tropics. It declined from 70 percent of the total land area in 1900 to about
18.3 percent in 1999, or just over 5 million ha of residual and old-growth forests (ESSC, 1999a as cited in
FAO, 2001).
- Among forest-based industries, more women are employed in saw milling than in logging, veneer and
plywood manufacturing, and other wood-based products manufacturing. On the whole however, there are
more men than women employed in forest-based industries (DENR, 2004).
- Women in the environment and natural resources (ENR) sector are constantly seen in the limited context of
implementing forestry-related programmes, focusing on special activities such as nursery establishment in
reforestation. There is a need to expand women’s participation in ENR programmes and projects, particularly
as these affect their roles as: a) heads of households who might benefit from forestry-related programmes; b)
entrepreneurs in forestry-related occupations needing assistance and extension services; c) technical workers
and researchers especially in the private sector, and as supervisors and managers in both private and public
sectors in ENR development and management (PPGD, 1995-2025).
- The continuous destruction of the environment threatens everyone, but has graver consequences for
marginalized women and indigenous communities. The immediate effects of environmental problems on them
include not only the loss of traditional sources of livelihood and food, but also serious damage to health and
life (FPW, 2001-2004).

 FISHERIES
- Fisheries is an important sector in the Philippine economy. The fisheries industry accounted for 15 percent
($1.22B) and 18.6 percent ($618.2M) of the Gross Value Added (GVA) in the agriculture, fishery and
forestry sectors at current and constant prices, respectively, with the second largest share next only to
agricultural crops (BFAR, 2004). The sector provides substantial employment and income for some
segments of the population, contributes to export earnings, and supplies a major part of the dietary protein
requirement of the population as a whole (DA, 2004).
- With regard to employment, the fisheries sector provides direct and indirect employment to over one
million people, or about 5 percent of the national labour force, of whom 65 percent (675 677) are in
municipal fisheries, 26 percent (258 480) in aquaculture and 6 percent (56 715) in commercial fisheries
(BFAR, 2004).
- Of the total employed workers, women consisted of only 8.2 percent, dropping to 6.3 percent in 2002.
Whereas men fishers are primarily involved in catching fish, women are engaged in pre- and post-fishing
activities. Women undertake 50 percent to 70 percent of local fish processing and marketing activities.
They are also involved in mending the nets and tending the fishing equipment, among others (Philippine
NGO BPA+10 Report, 2005).

 LIVESTOCK
 - Livestock production contributed 12.7 percent to total agricultural output. The most common livestock
raised in the Philippines include broiler chickens, carabao, cattle, ducks, goats, and swine.
- The livestock subsector, which contributed 13.53 percent to total agricultural production, posted a
negative growth of 0.41 percent in 2004. This was largely attributed to the decline in hog and cattle
production (DA, 2004).
- In lowland irrigated and rainfed farming systems, households generally raise a brood of chickens, ducks
and or geese, and one or two pigs. On the other hand, cow and/or carabao (water buffalo) are among the
other animals’ households keep (Illo, 1994).
- Women in the rice and corn industry allot three hours to do farm-related work during ordinary days. This
does not yet include 1-2 hours spent in backyard gardening and livestock raising, which provide most of
their daily provisions and even for special occasions as in the case of hogs they raise (PPI, 2002).
- In the dairy sector, women are involved mainly in: sanitizing milk equipment and facilities; cleaning cattle
barns, grazing areas and surroundings; and conversion of raw milk into milk products. Men participate
more in: production, cultivation and harvesting of fodder and other crops; water collection; collection of
feeds of animals; watering and grazing cattle; calving animals; tending to sick animals; and milking and
bathing of cattle. Both women and men share responsibilities in feeding the cattle, and the proper
management and handling of cattle prior to milking (NDA, 2005).
- Women who are involved in dairying, especially those who actively participate in dairy production, are
prone to physical strain compared with men. The lack of machine-assisted facilities or equipment (e.g.
milk machine) that would aid women in milking the cows can be an additional burden to women in terms
of time and physical ability or strength. The additional time that is required of manual labour may also eat
up time from their caregiving functions at home and to their children, thus creating multiple burdens on
women (NDA, 2005).

UNDERSTANDING THE FOUR INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTIONS

As we have seen, the Philippine economy is simultaneously undergoing the four industrial revolutions.

- The first one (IR1), also known as the Machine Age, improved human productivity with machines. There is
still much to be done in the Philippines to improve the productivity of agricultural workers and farmers by the
introduction of more mechanized systems of farming, not to mention improving by increased mechanization
the productivity of workers in post-harvest, storage, transport, food processing and all the other phases of the
supply chain in agribusiness up to the ultimate consumers.

- The second revolution (IR2) had to do with the discovery of electricity and assembly line production. There is
still much to do to bring electricity to the remote areas of the Philippine archipelago where some of the
poorest Filipinos live. It was also during IR2 when Henry Ford (1863-1947) took the idea of mass production
from a slaughterhouse in Chicago in which the pigs hung from conveyor belts and each butcher performed
only a part of the task of butchering the animal. Ford carried over these principles into automobile production
and drastically altered it in the process. While before one station assembled an entire automobile, now the
vehicles were produced in partial steps on the conveyor belt, significantly faster and at lower cost. The
Philippines has advanced significantly in this stage of IR2 by being part of the global supply chains through
manufacturing for exports auto parts and semiconductor devices, among others.

- The third industrial revolution (IR3) began in the 1970s through partial automation using memory-
programmable controls and computers. Since these technologies were introduced, we have been able to
automate an entire production process without human assistance. Examples of this are robots that perform
programmed sequences without human intervention. Leading Philippine corporations are beneficiaries of the
advances in electronics and the invention and manufacturing of electronic devices such as transistors, memory
programmable controls, and computers. In addition, software systems and processes were developed, like
Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP), product flow scheduling, and shipping logistics. Supply chain
management concept was formalized during this period. These practices are very much in use in the
Philippine corporate sector. In fact, one of the sectors that took a quantum leap during the pandemic is
logistics or supply chain management.

- Another development that is enabled by IR4 is leading to the convergence of the telecom, IT, and media
sectors. This trend can do much to help achieve inclusive growth. As Fitch Solutions Country Risk and
 Industry Research reported recently, government subsidies to about 6 million Filipinos as well as the relatively
high mobile penetration rate of 58% in the Philippines will help boost digital transactions and open up
opportunities for fintech players. Because broadband is still very limited across the archipelago, players that
are part of telecommunication companies like Globe and PLDT have a competitive advantage. For example,
Globe Telecom, Inc.’s mobile wallet GCash already has 31 million users, many of them being OFWs
(overseas Filipino workers) and their relatives, with transactions surpassing the P1 trillion mark. Predictably,
the other strong player in the market is PayMaya, owned by PLDT, Inc., which has 28 million users, with the
value of transactions coursed through the platform growing 3.5 times at the end of 2020 from the prior year.
Voyager Innovations, also owned by PLDT, has recently moved into adjacent verticals such as providing
business loans and health insurance. What Voyager has done is just one step away from digital banking which
can do much to address the needs of the unbanked, especially in the rural areas where 75% of the poorest of
the poor live and work. As an aside, an example of the convergence of telecom, IT, and mass media — as
reported by L.W.T. Noble in this paper (July 9-10) — is the majority ownership by PLDT of Business World
through the Philippine Star group, which it controls.

- Agricultural resources are natural resources that are used in the production of food, fiber, and other
agricultural products. These resources include land, water, seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides. Agricultural
resources are critical to the development of the agricultural sector, which is a vital part of many countries’
economies. Industrial development, on the other hand, refers to the process of creating new industries or
expanding existing ones. This involves the use of technology, capital, and other resources to produce goods
and services that are in demand. Industrial development is important for economic growth and job
creation. The relationship between agricultural resources and industrial development is complex. On the
one hand, industrial development can create demand for agricultural products and lead to increased
investment in the agricultural sector. On the other hand, agricultural resources are often used in the
production of industrial goods, such as biofuels and bioplastics.