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MAPPING INDICATORS OF EXPOSURE AND VULNERABILITY: ECOLOGICAL FACTORS. Dissemination Workshop for Mapping Philippine Vulnerability to Environmental Disasters Klima Climate Change Center 8 July 2005. Center for Environmental Geomatics Climate Studies Division Manila Observatory.
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MAPPING INDICATORS OF EXPOSURE AND VULNERABILITY: ECOLOGICAL FACTORS Dissemination Workshop for Mapping Philippine Vulnerability to Environmental Disasters Klima Climate Change Center 8 July 2005 Center for Environmental Geomatics Climate Studies Division Manila Observatory
OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION • ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PHILIPPINES • THE COUNTRY’S BIODIVERSITY/ ECOSYSTEM AND SPECIES DIVERSITY • BIODIVERSITY AND HAZARDS • BIODIVERSITY AND POPULATION • SYNTHESIS
ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PHILIPPINES • W/in the “Ring of Fire” (Volcanoes and fault lines) • Along typhoon belts • 7,100 islands • Each island with unique biotic assemblage • 30 M (million) land area • 220 M hectares (archipelagic water) • 22,450 km coastline http://images.google.com.ph/images?q=tbn:bOwPufUftQEJ:http://country.philippines-hotels-manila.com/map-of-philippines.gif
ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PHILIPPINES Cont’d • Distinct bioregions Based on the geological history of the country • Each has distinct ecosystem & species diversity • Biodiversity corridors Palawan, Sierra Madre, Eastern Visayas Map of ecoregions (pls follow update Fig. 1 * Include biodiversity corridors)
COUNTRY’S BIODIVERSITY/ ECOSYSTEM AND SPECIES DIVERSITY Biodiversity is the foundation of healthy & functioning ecosystems
COUNTRY’S BIODIVERSITY/ ECOSYSTEM AND SPECIES DIVERSITY Cont’d • Terrestrial resources • Mangrove forest • Beach forest • Dipterocarp forest • Molave forest • Pine forest • Mossy forest • Grassland
Freshwater lakes Volcanic lakes landlocked - endemic species Introduction of invasive alien species Marshland River systems COUNTRY’S BIODIVERSITY/ ECOSYSTEM AND SPECIES DIVERSITY Cont’d
COUNTRY’S BIODIVERSITY/ ECOSYSTEM AND SPECIES DIVERSITY Cont’d • Marine • Corals Coral fauna richest in the world (430 species) • Seaweed beds • Sea grass beds • Epicenter for marine biodiversity
COUNTRY’S BIODIVERSITY/ ECOSYSTEM AND SPECIES DIVERSITY Cont’d • Plant Group • 14,000 species • 9,000 species of vasculars • 45% - 60% endemism • 227 species in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species • Phil. forest is the heart of biodiversity Fig. 1 (p.3)
COUNTRY’S BIODIVERSITY/ ECOSYSTEM AND SPECIES DIVERSITY Cont’d • Animal Group • 78% endemicity level for amphibians • 32 threatened species of amphibians & reptiles • 195 out of 576 endemic species of birds • greatest concentration of mammalian diversity • new species found in high elevations & small oceanic islands
COUNTRY’S BIODIVERSITY/ ECOSYSTEM AND SPECIES DIVERSITY Cont’d • Animal group • 2,500 fish species • Largest living fish (whale shark) • Irrawady dolphin found (in the Philippines) only in Malampaya sound • Seacows (dugong) eat seagrass http://www.wdcs.org/dan/imagelib.nsf/graphics/website2003/$file/botban.jpg
BIODIVERSITY AND HAZARDS • Typhoons • Earthquakes & Tsunamis • Landslides • Volcanic eruptions • Lightning • Natural forest fires
BIODIVERSITY AND POPULATION • 86 M population • 2% growth rate • Concentration of population • Direct pressures on biodiversity • Extractive industries • Infrastructure development • Land conversion • Poverty & migration
BIODIVERSITY AND POPULATION Cont’d • Increasing water demand yet limited/ threatened supply • Water-related hazards
NAMRIA Base Map by Province Philippine Ecoregions Integrated Marine and Terrestrial Priorities Land Use Classification (2 versions) Land Cover Major River Basins, Water Resources Regions and Critical Watersheds Slope map Groundwater Resource Philippine Forest Cover and Cover Types 1997 and Projected 1999 Groundwater Availability Types of Habitat Threatened Resources and Biodiversity SYNTHESIS • GIS help to assess ecological conditions that are both threatened and are threats (an ecological hazard) • Rich Philippine biodiversity and the socio-economic pressures threatening it heightens the urgent need to preserve these resources that the human community relies on. • Pressures of human population expansion and activity must be checked and regulated to prevent irreversible losses in terms of resources. • Resource benefits (economic and otherwise) are not sufficiently quantified, as new species and uses/ value are continuously being discovered.