About this Project

Deforestation in the Philippines primarily began in the 1960s and has since destroyed nearly 90% of the forest, displacing rural community members. Logging, slash-and-burn agriculture, land development, and forest fires are major factors contributing to this high deforestation rate. Starting in the 1960s, Philippine mahogany was cut down almost entirely to extinction. The disappearance of these trees led to soil erosion, contaminated waterways, and indigenous communities displaced from their land. As more forest is lost, biodiversity drops, plant, and animal species go extinct, and indigenous communities lose the productivity of their land.