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Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies

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SDG 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

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SDG 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

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Deprivations in Palawan pertaining to SDG 6 and why it is important to address this issue.

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Heightened risk of waterborne diseases from contaminated drinking water during the rainy season.

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The health department has issued an advisory reminding the public to be aware of potential waterborne diseases associated with the typhoon season.

Department of Health Center for Health Development (DOH CHD) in MIMAROPA OIC regional director Dr. Mario Baquilod, in a statement Friday, said infectious diseases such as influenza, leptospirosis, and dengue tend to be on the rise at these times.

Waterborne diseases may come from contaminated drinking water and may lead to cholera, dysentery, hepatitis A and, typhoid fever while leptospirosis is a bacterial infection through the urine of infected animals including rats.

Dengue is transmitted through a bite of dengue-infected mosquitoes. These mosquitoes can lay eggs in any space or container that holds clear and stagnant water.

"To make sure drinking water is from a safe and reliable source. When in doubt, it is a must to wait for 2 minutes or longer when the water reaches a rolling boil, or chlorinate drinking water to make it safe," Baquilod said.

He said that waterborne diseases are expected to increase in the next days due to the recent typhoon.

Baquilod said that the provision of doxycycline medicines and hygiene kits MIMAROPANS.

While the increase in the number of cases of water-borne diseases is expected, Baquilod also assured the readiness of each designated evacuation center is following the minimum health standards for the prevention of COVID-19.

He also called all parents in MIMAROPA to submit their children to polio and measles vaccination activity.

"Hindi po titigil ang aming ahensya sa aming panawagan na pa-bakunahan ang inyong mga chikiting kontra sa mga sakit na Rubella, Polio, at Tigdas. Sa panahon ng mga kalamidad, higit lalo na mas kailangan ng ating mga chikiting ng dagdag proteksyon laban sa mga mapanganib na sakit na ito." he added.

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DOH warns against water-borne diseases brought about by the rainy season

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The health department has issued an advisory reminding the public to be aware of potential waterborne diseases associated with the typhoon season. Department of Health Center for Health Development (DOH CHD) in MIMAROPA OIC regional director Dr. Mario Baquilod, in a statement Friday, said infectious diseases such as influenza, leptospirosis, and dengue tend to be on the rise at these times.

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"If a person ingests water contaminated with fecal coliform, he may get gastrointestinal distress or irritation" said Girlie Abu of the DENR MIMAROPA regional office.

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Water pollution a rising threat in Coron

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" May mga taong nagtatapon sa dagat ng patay na hayop. Kunwari may patay silang aso o pusa, iba hindi na linilibing, tinatapon na lang sa dagat. Pag high tide, napapadpad dito," she told Rappler. (There are people who throw dead animals into the sea.

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The primary source of drinking water of the barangays come from communal faucets while one from shallow well. Only 1% of the households use electric water pump.

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Large part of the surveyed households do not resort to any water disinfection practices making them highly vulnerable to waterborne diseases.

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From the results, all households using the water sources for drinking were found to have high fecal coliform which are highly vulnerable to waterborne diseases.

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Water-producing hydropanels will be producing more than 40,000 liters of renewable drinking water each year for an indigenous community in Palawan.

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The first hydropanel installation in the Philippines was in 2018 at the ADB Building in Ortigas, Pasig. Other installations can be found in Seda Hotel in BGC, and Cobrador Island in Romblon. - Rappler.com

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Hydropanels to provide water for indigenous community in Palawan

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The first hydropanel installation in the Philippines was in 2018 at the ADB Building in Ortigas, Pasig. Other installations can be found in Seda Hotel in BGC, and Cobrador Island in Romblon. - Rappler.com

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SDG 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.

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SDG 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.

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Deprivations in Palawan pertaining to SDG 15 and why it is important to address this issue.

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"Palawan had the most tree cover loss at 163,000 hectares compared to an average of 15,900 hectares” GFW reported.

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In 2010, the Philippines had 13.2 million hectares of natural forest, extending over 62 percent of the archipelago's land area. Last year, the country lost 46,800 hectares of forest. That is larger than Cebu City and most of the cities in Metro Manila. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

In the last 20 years, mining companies and illegal loggers have destroyed 1.29 million hectares of tree cover in the Philippines, an area equivalent to the size of Palawan -the country's fifth-largest island.

Global Forest Watch or GFW is an online open-access platform that arms biologists, scientists, and conservationists with data to help them protect and monitor forests.

"By harnessing cutting-edge technology, GFW allows anyone to access near real-time information about where and how forests are changing around the world," GFW writes on its website.

GFW was launched in 2014 to help people put a stop to illegal logging and deforestation. It has provided crucial data on the rapid destruction of the forests in the Amazon to the jungles of Borneo, and even the rampant destruction of Palawan-supposedly the Philippines' "last frontier."

Palawan Has Lost the Most Forest Cover

In the graphic below, you can see how much tree cover loss Palawan has sustained from 2001 to 2020.

"In the Philippines, the top 11 regions were responsible for 51 percent of all tree cover loss between 2001 and 2020. Palawan had the most tree cover loss at 163,000 hectares compared to an average of 15,900 hectares," GFW reported.

Other regions that suffered the most deforestation in the same period were Agusan del Sur (116,000 hectares), Zamboanga delNorte (59,000 hectares), Davao Oriental (48,800 hectares), and Quezon Province (44,200 hectares).

Over 31,000 Deforestation Alerts in August 2021

In just the span of one week from August 14 to August 21, there were 31,025 GLAD Alerts reported in the Philippines. It stands for Global Land Analysis and Discovery.

It is a deforestation alert produced by the GLAD lab at the University of Maryland using Landsat images to detect recent forest disturbance weekly at 30-meter resolutions.

Palawan also leads the charts when it comes to deforestation alerts. According to GFW, the island was reported to have had an affected area of 939 hectares where deforestation was detected in the last four weeks.

Silver Lining: Reforestation in Palawan

According to the same report by GFW, Palawan remains the top region in the Philippines with the most tree cover at 1.16 million hectares.

From 2001 to 2012, the province achieved 28,000 hectares of tree cover gain, which represents 10 percent of the recovered tree cover in the Philippines. It goes to show that reforestation efforts work, but need to catch up with the rapid decline of forests in the country.
View Global Forest Watch's report on the Philippines here.
Sources: Global Forest Watch. "Location of deforestation alerts in Philippines". Accessed on 25/08/2021 from www.globalforestwatch.org .

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Palawan Leads Deforestation in the Philippines and No One Knows About It

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In 2010, the Philippines had 13.2 million hectares of natural forest, extending over 62 percent of the archipelago's land area. Last year, the country lost 46,800 hectares of forest. That is larger than Cebu City and most of the cities in Metro Manila. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

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Minimal enforcement measures to curb the illegal logging forced advocates to enforce the law themselves, risking their lives.

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Palawan: PHL's last or lost frontier? | Jonathan L. Mayuga

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A unique place to visit in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, is the headquarters of the Palawan NGO Network Inc. (PNNI), which is conspicuously attracting local and foreign tourists. The small semi-concrete, semi-wooden structure sits at a corner lot with two huge wooden fishing boats in front, and "adorned" with rusty...

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Scientific Findings (Global Forest Watch, 2020)

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Scientific Findings (Global Forest Watch, 2020)

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Scientific Findings (Global Forest Watch, 2020)

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Scientific Findings (Global Forest Watch, 2020)

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Photo by: Global Land Analysis and Discovery | University of Maryland

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How much tree cover loss Palawan has sustained from 2001 to 2020.

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How a simple smartphone system can help protect the last frontier of the Philippines.

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Palawan, an island in the Southwest Philippines, is world-renowned for its exquisite natural beauty and promise of adventure for tourists. Unfortunately, it's also being attacked by opportunists - so how can this simple smartphone system help protect it? The Philippines comprises over 7,000 islands, most of which are teeming with a rich array of flora, fauna, and marine life - and are at risk of destruction.

Palawan, the tropical treasure of the Philippines

The Palawan rainforest has been touted as the last of the ecological frontiers in the Philippine archipelago, accounting for most of the nation's forest cover. Rainforests, found all over the world, play integral and practical roles in achieving ecological balance.

The immense biodiversity of the Palawan rainforest ensures that locals have sufficient clean drinking water, and helps prevent natural disasters such as landslides. Most importantly, rainforests such as Palawan's absorb the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2), a leading cause of highly destructive climate change around the world.

The outlook for rainforests around the world is beyond gloomy. Out of the 15 million square kilometers of tropical rainforests that once existed, only six million remain, says The Nature Conservancy. Palawan in particular is losing approximately 5,500 hectares of rainforest yearly due to increasing encroachment of agricultural and residential land, frequent forest fires, and commercial and illegal logging. Forest rangers are also at risk of extreme danger from armed illegal loggers, who have caused the death of 18 loggers from 2001 to 2019.

Thankfully, the evolution of technology, coupled with its proliferation and innovation, has resulted in possibilities for collaborative efforts to continue protecting the Palawan rainforest.

The Philippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has embarked on a working partnership with PLDT's wireless and mobile operator Smart Communications (PLDT SC), Rainforest Connection (RFCx), and Huawei to bring several smart solutions to address the various issues plaguing Palawan's ecological gem.

Palawan: Protection through technology

To deal with animal poaching and illegal logging, a monitoring system powered by Huawei Cloud has been deployed in five protected areas across Palawan: Cadlao Island, Maranlao and Pasadena in El Nido, and New Guinlo and Pancol in Taytay.

Dubbed the Natural forest sounds are distinguished from them through the use of Rainforest Guardian system, it utilizes old mobile devices to monitor and record sounds of human activity such as chainsaws and vehicles, as well as capture data on animal behavioral patterns. artificial intelligence (AI), which detects and then uploads them to the cloud on the Smart Communications network.

This information is then sent to forest rangers via RFCx's mobile app. DENR forest rangers receive real-time alerts of sounds from chainsaws, trucks, and other indicators of forest destruction, which enables them to take quick action.

Smart Communications, as RFCx's first Filipino telco partner, provides the five pilot sites with wireless connectivity. The system has shown promising results since its rollout in January 2020, identifying illegal logging which is then verified and addressed by forest rangers.

Moving forward

The Forest Guardian system can be considered a successful proof of concept which can be rapidly and easily deployed in other countries with similar issues. Huawei expects the system to be able to double its coverage area by 2021.

Encouragingly, RFCx estimates that the system's coverage may boost carbon dioxide (CO2) absorption by 30 million tons, which has the same impact as removing six million cars off the roads. Moving forward, RFCx and Huawei will continue optimizing the sound monitoring system, adding web and mobile interfaces.

Sound data from multiple sources can then be aggregated through an API, which can help to scale up recording and analyses for the AI learning model.

With better monitoring, the ecological ecosystem of one of the world's few remaining rainforests can be more effectively protected and conserved - and hopefully, the other precious rainforests too.

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Can this smart mobile system save the Philippine's Palawan Rainforest?

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Palawan, an island in the Southwest Philippines, is world-renowned for its exquisite natural beauty and promise of adventure for tourists. Unfortunately, it's also being attacked by opportunists - so how can this simple smartphone system help protect it?