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Manila,
Luzon
 Themes
Regions
More
Information
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Tropical rainforest
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Forests in the tropics have a rich biodiversity. More
than half of all the plants and animals in the world are to be found in
the rainforests. More than 3500 species of plants and
animals! The constantly high temperatures and the continuously
high humidity in the tropics make this biodiversity
possible. The temperature is in most tropical rainforests between 25 and 35
degrees Celsius.
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Picture:
© Princessa
Holiday Resort
Photographer:
Teddy De Peralta
Picture:
© Hans Brandeis |
Threats Unfortunately, the forests are threatened. Worldwide
only 20 percent of the original tropical forests is left. The main
reasons are the commercial logging and the cutting of trees by local
people, who need plots for agriculture activities. |
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In
2001 less than 8 % of the country was covered by original tropical rainforest!
Less than 100 years ago this was still 70 %! The deforestation has to be stopped to save the
biodiversity and the productivity of the forest as a natural resource.
If not, there will be no rainforest left within 15 years. |
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Effects
of deforestation
Not
only the typical giant trees will disappear more and more, also more than 3500
species of plants and animals, many of them only found in the Philippines,
will disappear, for always.
Some
of the threatened animals are:
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the tarsier, the
smallest monkey in the world |
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the large
Philippine Eagle |
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the Philippine
cockatoo |
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flying lemurs |
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flower peckers |
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the Philippine
crocodile |
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Pictures:
Philippine
Cockatoo:
aviancompanions.com
Philippine
eagle:
© Philippineagle.org
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Exploring
the tropical rainforest in the Philippines
Though
much of the rainforest has already been
lost, there are still good possibilities to explore the rainforest in the
Philippines. The
best possibilities to explore tropical rainforest in the Philippines are on the
islands Bohol,
Mindanao and Palawan. These are the islands where still a big part of the
original jungle is conserved. Several organizations organize day-trips
into the jungle. However, to meet the animals of your choice is not
so easy. Species are often rare and animals are most of the time hiding when
they hear strange noise.
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Picture:©
Harry de Boer
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Which
animals you'll meet on your discovery trip in the jungle?
Big
chance that you will hear and see birds, monkeys and insects. Maybe
snakes too! With a good guide you'll be probably lucky not only to hear the
animal sounds, but to see the animals too.
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safe the
forest |
tropical
giants |
anti-logging |
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