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Bedtime Wonders

Writer's pictureDiana Ross Sumalinog

NATURAL RESOURCES: DEGRADATION AND RESTORATION

Updated: Mar 3, 2021


Earth has given us numerous superb blessings that help us to survive as well as to carry on with one life in a prosperous manner. Our planet is composed of four spheres: Lithosphere (land), Atmosphere (air), Hydrosphere (water) and, Biosphere (life). These components create Natural Resources, which are very useful to us.


Natural resources, by definition, are all those things that are readily present in the environment, such as water, air, sunlight, soil, coal, microorganisms, etc. Consists of two components; The Biotic (living organisms) and the Abiotic or non-living organisms. All of these resources are available on our planet. Thus, human existence is impossible without it.


Our survival has entirely relied upon the natural resources of the Earth and because of that, we are responsible for taking care of these to maintain the balance of the planet's spheres.


However, year after year, there’s an increased rate of the depletion of our natural resources due to exploitation or improper utilization and maintenance caused by humans. This causes an imbalance of the Earth’s domain.


DEGRADATION

The Philippines is known to be rich in natural resources that is why it is called the “Pearl of the orient.” It is one of the megadiverse countries in the world. Since the country is made up of 7,671 islands, beaches are also popular here. However, Nowadays, the country is facing a lot of natural resource threats such as climate change, forest depletion, pollution, etc., The main issue of the country is climate change. The country is located in the pacific ring of fire. Thus, the temperature here is already hot. As an island country situated in the Southeast Asia Pacific area, the Philippines is very defenseless against the effects of environmental change.


This effect incorporates increased recurrence and severity of natural disasters, global warming, increased sea-level, resource depletion, global warming, and extreme rainfall which usually causes a flood. All of these together have incredibly affected the country's infrastructure, agriculture, water, human wellbeing, and coastal biological systems and they are projected to keep having destroying harms to the economy and society of the country.



RESTORATION

In 2018, President Rodrigo Duterte declared environmental protection a top priority during his third State of the Nation Address (SONA).


"Do not destroy the environment or compromise our resources. Repair what you have mismanaged." said the President. “It is destroying my country. It is destroying the environment. It will destroy the world of tomorrow or our children,” he added.


Recently, two of the environmental projects of the government have been successful; the Manila Bay Environmental Management Project and the Boracay Project.

Manila bay (Before, After)

Boracay (Then, Now)



“Environmental protection and ensuring the health of our people cannot be overemphasized. Thus, our actions in Boracay marked the beginning of a new national effort,” President Duterte stated. The government is now slowly restoring the depletion of natural resources hoping to bring back the beauty of the country.


Conserving the natural resources will help prevent mother nature from dying. There are many ways that you can make to help save the natural world. You can start by discovering ways to protect the land base and streams in your own local area and neighborhood like planting trees and shrubs, throwing your garbage properly, avoid using pesticides, participate in the beach or river clean-up, and reducing water consumption. I am sharing this to help you understand how vital our natural resources are. Let us all help each other in healing mother nature. Click the link below.


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