One of the Philippines' natural environments is cutting trees down. According to FLEGT, illegal logging, it is the harvesting, processing, transporting, buying, or selling of timber in contravention of national and international laws. It has a very bad impact on the environment especially on those who rely on resources that the forests provide. It causes the loss of biodiversity because it causes the destruction of habitats of animals as well as the overall surrounding environment. This is mainly because trees help provide a solid hold/foundation to the ground which stops landslides, as well as a habitat for animals like birds, as well as those who take shelter in forests. Illegal logging disregards the legitimacy of the forest sector as well as hinders the implementation of sustainable forest management.

The Philippines belongs to the Third World Country and has huge issues with illegal logging, as they lack the infrastructure, law enforcement, and motivation to prevent it.

These are the fact of illegal logging in the Philippines according to Green Tumble:

• Incredibly, since 2015, the forest area in the Philippines has been rising, mainly thanks to government initiatives and increased law enforcement;
• Over 25% of the country is covered by forest, and over 90% of this forest is owned by the government. However, at the beginning of the 20th century, this forest cover was at around 70%;
• Unfortunately, only a fifth of these forests are protected under environmental law;
• An estimated 9.8 million hectares of forest were destroyed due to illegal logging and deforestation between 1934 and 1988.

Ways on how to prevent deforestation:

• Plant a tree.
• Go paperless
• Recycle and buy recycled products.
• Only purchase wood goods that are made from renewable resources.
• Excessive firewood burning is not recommended.
  
  

This petition was made in order to bring awareness to people especially younger audiences, like teenagers, that cutting down trees isn’t supposed to be a good thing. The advantage of this petition that we made is, it will give an idea or information to younger audiences about what illegal logging is and why it should be stopped.