Philippines is known for its beautiful and incomparable beaches. But our country holds beauty not just from bodies of water. Philippines also has its wonderfully made valleys, hills and mountains. In fact, we have Sierra Madre Mountain which is the longest mountain range in the Philippines.Stretching from Cagayan to Quezon, Sierra Madre Mountain covers 10 provinces and stands proudly at 6,069 feet. It contains the largest remaining tract of old-growth tropical rainforest in the Philippines which is about 1.4 million hectares of forest, representing 40% of the country’s forest cover.

The Sierra Madre forests are home to hundreds of wildlife species, many of which are unique to the Philippines, including the Philippine eagle and golden crowned flying fox. It is not only rich in species diversity and endemism, but also home, pharmacy and more importantly a sacred ground and cathedral to many indigenous people.

The Sierra Madre mountain range forest habitat is threatened by human activities. Human activities like illegal logging, mining, conversion of forest for agriculture, and migration threatened the Sierra Madre mountain range.

It continues to experience forest degradation despite the national and international campaign to preserve the environment. Logging remains the primary reason for this sad state of Sierra Madre.Enormous amounts of carbon are released when trees are harvested illegally. Forest trees and other plants soak up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it away as they grow and thrive. And we will not going to let it to come worst.I believe that we can still overcome this problem. Let us start from making small changes like:

RECYCLE YOUR PAPER.
Instead of throwing away your used paper, recycle it! Companies can turn old, donated paper into new products, producing many of the pulp-based items you need while protecting forests around the world.

RAISE AWARENESS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITES.
Social media is a great way to spread simple messages about the dangers of illegal logging. Using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and similar websites, make occasional posts revolving around the importance of forest preservation.

EDUCATE YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY. The best way to spread awareness is right from the ground floor. Let you friends and family know about the dangers of illegal logging and the things they can do to make a difference, like replacing a product they use with a better alternative.

Soon enough, this threat caused by the continuous illegal logging to the beautiful mountains of Sierra Madre will definitely vanished if all the people will be united to achieve this advocacy which is the #StopIllegalLogging.



Reference:

https://www.worldwildlife.org/initiatives/stopping-illegal-logging

https://www.change.org/p/people-of-the-philippines-save-sierra-madre

https://www.wikihow.com/Take-Action-to-Stop-Illegal-Logging