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The Mt. Masungi Team calling to end Deforestation:

"STOP KILLING OUR TREES!"

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Traffic along Marcos Highway

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Maria Joanna Lou S. Ferrer is college student currently taking up nursing at the University of Santo Tomas. She has been living together with her family in Antipolo City, Rizal ever since 2001, her birth year. This now makes it 20 years and counting of her stay in the province. She is known for her silence around people; however, she also expresses a warm attitude towards her family and peers. She enjoys the usual activities that a Rizaleña would do: visiting well known churches and cathedrals, hiking in the mountains of Rizal, and appreciating art galleries and museums.

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Biyahe ni Drew: Exploring the best of Rizal province (full episode)

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A few to no studies on the traffic congestion in Rizal alone has been done; however, according to a traffic management plan created by the governors of Region IV-A or CALABARZON last 2018, it is, as expected, rapidly being urbanized considering that it is just near Metro Manila attracting people in developing houses and having leisure. Last 2016, the number of vehicles registered at the Land Transportation Office was about 1.1 million (Regional Development Council (Region IV-A), 2017). By the end of 2021, about 536 thousand vehicles were registered (Number of Registered Private Cars in the Philippines from 2012 to 2021, 2022). In terms of the traffic situation, considering a large number of cars being registered, last 2015, the annual average daily traffic per day has already reached its peak at more than 37,000 in CALABARZON. The volume capacity ratio (VCR) of cars on certain roads of CALABARZON has reached greater than 1.50 which is already beyond the capacity (Regional Development Council (Region IV-A), 2017).

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CALABARZON Traffic Management Plan 2017–2022

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Last 2020, Rizal Governor Rebecca Ynares issued an order in the province to stop the mining and quarrying operations following the Typhoon Ulysses that occurred nearing the end of the year and even called the DENR to do the same for large-sale operations in the province. After the typhoon, not only were some parts of Rizal affected, but also Metro Manila, and some parts of Luzon (Mayuga, 2020). It is even worse since there were no trees to be irrigated by the rain causing massive floods. Mining and quarrying are also destructive to the environment considering that their extraction processes contain chemicals that may pollute the air. According to the Global Forest watch, it was found that Rizal had 74.4kHa of natural forest last 2010 however, just last 2020, it lost 1.74kHa of the natural forest. If we also compare data from 2002 to 2020, in relation to the humid primary forest of Rizal, it has lost 3.74kHa of it, decreasing 16% of the total area of the humid primary forest (Philippine Deforestation Rates & Statistics, 2022).

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Rizal governor stops small-scale mining, quarrying, land projects | Jonathan L. Mayuga

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More than two weeks after the massive flood in Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon, Rizal Governor Rebecca Ynares has issued an order stopping mining and quarrying operations and urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to do the same for large-scale operations in the province.

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The deprivation that I have personally observed in my area is the GRADUAL DECREASE OF THE NUMBER OF TREES in certain parts of the Rizal province caused by quarrying, mining, and the construction of certain land projects in the area. I think that it is important to address this issue because considering that the Rizal province is known for its green environment—a place where people may escape the hustle and bustle of Metro Manila, and enjoy a bond with nature—sadly, it is slowly disappearing. Certain land projects such as new malls and other infrastructure are being built in order to accommodate the growing number of tourists entering the province. New buildings and new subdivisions mean more trees to be removed. With the increasing number of facilities, more materials are needed; thus, more quarrying and mining are needed to create the necessary construction materials.

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The technological advancement that could be useful for the deforestation problem of the province would be the use of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone systems as a planting system learning software. This will be done by firing pods, containing a pre-germinated seed, into the ground (William, 2019).

The main positive impact that we can see is that by the use of these drones, we will be able to grow trees which are possible for the creation of new forests in the area (William, 2019). With the use of drones, they would help in the development of new forests in Rizal. The drone’s mapping technology feature would help in planting a large number of trees in time.

However, the negative impact that these drones may provide is a change that they will bring to employment. Since there is a use of drones to reforest the places that need these the most, these may replace the traditional jobs of planting affecting the employment of the communities. Another negative impact that I may cite here would be that people may be motivated to save these new forests rather than the existing forests because of the efficient use of drone reforestation (Stone, 2017).

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SDG 11: SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES

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SDG 11: SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES

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Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

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Source: Rizal Province Government Official Website

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Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

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The deprivation that I observed in my area is TRAFFIC CONGESTION caused by the increasing number of private cars in the province. Rizal is starting to become more urbanized due to the boosts of tourism in the area. Because of these boosts of tourism, more people are inhabiting the province increasing the population. More vehicles are then being used with each household probably having at least 1 vehicle. Traffic in Rizal is becoming worse each year despite the efforts of adding new transportation. It may even affect the environment because of the carbon emissions being released by vehicles, and we know that our country is still far from developing more electric transport.

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Based from an article written by Giarratana (2019), the technology advancement that I think would be most appropriate for the province of Rizal would be the Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) Communication or Smart Corridor System. This technology works as a communication system between vehicles and road infrastructure through the use of wireless and bi-directional means (What Is Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) Communication and Why Do We Need It?, n.d.).

This will provide timely information to the vehicles about the lane markings, the road signs, and the traffic lights ensuring the vehicles and their riders will have no worries of traffic and other accidents. At the same time, it may also benefit the environment because of the less CO2 emissions.

According to Joshi (2016), the main negative impact, however, of having this type of technology is that due to its communication process, it is susceptible to being hacked by malicious users. These users may manipulate its technology intentionally or unintentionally, which may give increased risks to drivers while on the road. They may also have access to the driver’s personal and vehicle information, which may be used for their benefit. Cyber threats are evident upon using this type of technology.

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RIZAL is a province located in Region 4A (CALABARZON), and is currently governed by Hon. Rebecca “Nini” A. Ynares.

It is surrounded by the neighboring places of the province of Bulacan at its north, the Laguna de Bay at its south, the province of Laguna at its southwest, the mountain ranges of Sierra Madre and the Quezon Province at its east, and lastly, Metro Manila at its west. Rizal is known for its valleys, hills, and mountains especially at its eastern portion; however, it also has a flat, low-lying area that is urbanized at its west side.

As the 3rd most populous province of CALABARZON, according to a 2020 census, Rizal is inhabited by 3,330,143 individuals, which is a 15.46% increase since the population of 2015, giving it a population growth rate of 3.07%.

Rizal’s revenue for the year 2021 is 10,944,168,940.08 with the capital city of the province, Antipolo City, having the highest revenue of 4,104,331,857.00.

Click here for more information: The Official Website of the Rizal Provincial Government

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Copy of Ferrer, Maria Joanna Lou S 8r (3)