EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE PERFORMANCE TASK Submitted by: Galagnara, Destiny Garcia, Ailee Marielle Isabela, Rezelyn Lazarte, Destiny Luarez, Gilan Grade 12- Boyle Submitted to: Ms. Emilou Aron February 27, 2020 I. Introduction In the ecosystem, habitat is one of the most important aspect. A lot of things take place in a habitat; it comprises different pieces of life in general. According to National Geographic, habitat is a place where an organism belongs to. It captures all the environmental conditions an organism need to live. Basically, habitat is the place where a plant or an animal usually lives and develops. It contains four components such as shelter, water, food and space (National Geographic, n.d). Thus, it is imperative to always give attention and care to the habitats for it is home. Without it, all living things would not be able to breathe, eat, and grow. Moreover, there is indeed a need to preserve the habitat, because preserving it also means preserving biodiversity (Matthew, n.d). However, even if there are people who love the world so much which make them have the initiative to offer care for the environment, there will always be people who do otherwise. Some habitat destruction is natural caused, but most of the time, it is caused by human (National Geographic, n.d). Habitat destruction is one of the greatest pressures a plant or an animal could ever face throughout their existence. According to National Geographic, habitat destruction is the eradication of the conditions needed for an organism to survive. One of the most common reasons why habitat loss happens is the continuous progress of civilization. As time passes by, the more habitats are being turned as commercialized areas. It even gets worse as some destruction also takes place in the coastal areas which greatly affects the marine life as well. Indeed, it does not only affect such individual species but also the health of the whole ecosystem as well. Similarly, according to Matthew (n.d), habitat destruction is the foremost cause of extinction. Thus, if people do not do anything to prevent such activity, it must be expected for different species to no longer exist. Truly, habitat destruction has taken over many of the places in the world. That somehow includes our very own place, Cagayan de Oro City. The city is known as one of the most progressive cities in Mindanao. Economically-wise, being that progressive is a positive thing to ever hear. However, when you take a look at the environmental side of the story, there is indeed changes in its aspect. In Cagayan de Oro, there is this barangay called Tumpagon. According to PhilAtlas (n.d), barangay Tumpagon, as of 2015, is comprised of 2, 433 people. This is 0.36% of the total population of Cagayan de Oro. The population growth of Tumpagon denotes a growth rate of 4.46% every five years. The barangay is located at app roximately 8.3395, 124.4816, in the island of Mindanao. Barangay Tumpagon possess the richness, abundance, and diversity of birds, reptiles and the plant, pteridophytes, as well as their conservation status (Ascano et al. 2016). Different species of birds, abundance of various reptiles, and the plant pteridophytes, are found in that area, thus, it will be very disheartening if the habitat is greatly destroyed. Furthermore, there has been an occurrence of surface mining activity in the area that negatively affected the richness and abundance of such species in Barangay Tampugon. The habitat destruction through surface mining has become the main factor that contributed to the lessening of the diversity of birds, reptiles and pteridophytes existing in such area. The activity threatened the existence of those beings by destroying their habitat and directly affecting their survival and reproduction ability. With such an activity, it did not only affect those three mentioned species, but also other animals and people living in that area. As per the interview the group conducted at the City Local Environment and Natural Resources Office (CLENRO) regarding the case of the barangay Tumpagon, they told us to check out three studies that were under their watch that could help us further explain its situation. The three studies comprise the information of the abovementioned species such as the birds, reptiles, and pteridophytes; and how they are being affected by such an activity. II. Related Information Since Tumpagon has abundant supply of sand and gravel as well as gold, the gold mining activity in Tumpagon, Cagayan de Oro started during the 1950’s up to the present. The method is surface mining through hydraulic technique which utilizes highly pressurized water to dislodge the surface soils to extract the gold nuggets from the area (Ascaño, Albutra, Ansigbat, Mugot & Demayo, 2016). However, according to the interview from Engr. Rodante B. Felima under the OIC-Mining Environment and Safety Division, CLENRO, Cagayan de Oro City, as per record, the City Local Environment and Natural Resources Office through the City Mining Regulatory Board confirmed no existing mining concessions for gold, copper, or any other minerals. Moreover, any mining activity at the area are all considered illegal, considering that there are no existing permits issued by the government. The small scale mining activity in Brgy. Tumpagon was considered to be the main factor that contributes to the reduced richness and abundance of reptiles, bird species and pteridophytes (Ascaño et.al, 2016). Habitat loss and degradation brought by surface mining activities in the area is the main factor considered to be responsible for the reduced diversity of reptiles inside the mining area (Ascaño et.al, 2016). Also, many of the endemic bird species are endangered as the result of high levels of habitat destruction in the Philippine forest, particularly at Brgy. Tumpagon (Ascaño et.al, 2016). Moreover, reduction of the number of species of pteridophytes are brought about by surface mining in Brgy. Tumpagon (Ascaño et.al, 2016). Accordingly, mining is an inherently destructive industry, and the effects of even a single operation can have a severe impact on the environment and the wildlife and the people that lives nearby. Although there are some regulations in place that are intended to minimize the damage, the capabilities of the regulations are not enough to allow mining and wildlife to exist in harmony (Effects of Mining on the Environment and Wildlife, 2017). An example of these damages are pollution which leads to possible diseases which are asbestosis, mesothelioma, silicosis, cancers, lung diseases due to gold mining, coke oven, nasal due to inhalation of nickel dust, gastro-intestinal otherwise known as bowel syndrome or digestive disorders, chronic obstructive lung disease due to sulfur dioxide, skin diseases due to exposure to certain chemicals and many more (Occupational Disease in Mines, 2016). Also, one of its major effects are loss of water source, including habitats of wildlife animals and accumulation of greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere which then leads to global warming and climate change (Effects of Mining, 2018). III. Mitigation Habitats are physical, chemical and biological systems that support living things, in short, it is where organisms live. Because of the activities dine by humans or even the natural activities, these habitats are destructed which also damaged the healthy living of living things. With the help of the Foundation for the Philippine Environment, habitats will be conserved, preserved and developed. With the organization’s vision of building constituencies and capacities for the environment, promote responsive policies and actions for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development, and effectively manage the endowment fund, we can reach our goal which is the betterment of our environment. But without the help of the people, this organization will not work. So, the cooperation and participation of every individual is needed to mitigate this habitat destruction. In order to mitigate this habitat destruction, the following should be followed: 1. Educating the public about the importance of natural habitats and biodiversity. 2. Technologies such as satellite imagery, global positioning system (GPS), and geographical information system, these allow people to navigate and locate species and habitats. These can be used by local residents, government and developers to take into account and consider the habitats first before pursuing their projects. They should put in mind the effect of their projects not only to people but also to other living things that can be affected. 3. Preserving natural resources and learn how to use them in a way that it does not require frequent destruction of habitats 4. Before building on tour property, learn about natural habitat that may be impacted. There may be options to modify your project in order to protect the ecosystems on your land. 5. As quickly as humans destroy natural habitats, we should be just as willing to put forth the effort to rebuild and attempt to replace what is lost. 6. Finding ecological ways to increase agricultural output without increase to total land production. CONCEPT MAP: MITIGATION OF HABITAT DESTRUCTION MITIGATION OF HABITAT DESTRUCTION FOUNDATION OF THE PHILIPPINE ENVIRONMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM OF HABITATS KNOWLEDGE ABOUT HABITATS & BIODIVERSITY Learn about the habitats that may be affected before building on a property Educating the Public about the Habitats and Biodiversity PRESERVING NATURAL RESOURCES Willingness to rebuild and replace what is lost INCREASE AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT No to frequent destruction of natural habitats References: National Geographic. (2019). The global impacts of habitat destruction. Retrieved from https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2019/09/25/the-global-impacts-of-habitatdestruction/ PhilAtlas. (n.d). Demographic information about the Philippines. Retrieved from https://www.philatlas.com/island-groups.html CRD. (n.d). Habitat loss & degradation. Retrieved from https://www.crd.bc.ca/education/our-environment/concerns/habitat-lossdegradation National Geographic. (n.d). Habitat. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/habitat/ Matthew, T. (2014). What is the importance of preserving habitat?. Retrieved from https://socratic.org/biology/human-impact-on-ecosystems/the-importance-ofpreserving-habitat
