Land and water resources /midterm

• Land


  • The basis for agriculture and other rural land uses
  • Encompassing soils
  • Climate
  • Vegetation
  • Topography
  • Other natural resources
• The UN defines land as “a delineable area of the earth’s terrestrial surface, encompassing all attributes of the biosphere immediately above or below this surface
• The term “land resources” encompasses the physical, biotic, environmental, infrastructural and socio-economic components of a natural land unit
• Land resources meet many human needs. ○ they provide the essential needs for life and are the building blocks for development.
• The total land area of the Philippines is about 30 million hectares
• The interaction between the components of land resources is vital for determining the productivity and sustainability of agro-ecosystems.
• The resilience of the system to endure and adapt to natural (e.g. climate change and variability) and human-induced (e.g. land use and management) changes and fluctuations is determined by the status and endurance of the land resource components and their interactions.
• FAO is responding to the need to increase food production from a degraded natural resource base by supporting the restoration of land productivity and ecosystem services.
• FAO supports countries in restoring productivity, combating land degradation and maintaining ecosystem services from land resources by (among other things):

  • assessing the status of, and trends in, land resources;  • developing land resource planning tools and governance and decision-support systems;  • managing and implementing Sustainable Land Management (SLM) • monitoring and assessing impacts; • managing knowledge to better inform decision-makers and stakeholders and to influence policy-making processes.
• The world needs to produce an estimated 60 percent more food by 2050 to ensure global food security, and it must do so while conserving and enhancing the natural resource base.
• Water is a major input in the provision of food – from production in the field through all the steps in the value chain.
• Water is also required to meet personal and household needs, for energy and industrial production, and to maintain important water-dependent ecosystems and ecosystem services.
• With demand and competition for water on the rise, however, the planet’s water resources are under increasing stress due to climate change, poor management and pollution.
• Earth’s Water Resources are Connected through the Global Water Cycle
• Water on Earth comes in many different forms and is found in many different places, from the oceans to deep below the soil surface.
• The global water cycle, or hydrologic cycle, constantly transforms and moves water around the Earth
• Warm air temperatures cause evaporation, the loss of water from the oceans, lakes, rivers, soil, and even plants into the atmosphere.
• Water in the atmosphere exists as vapor and as it rises and is pushed around by wind it encounters cooler temperatures. ● The cooler temperatures cause condensation, the transformation of water vapor into larger droplets – you see large accumulations of droplets as clouds and fog.
• Eventually water accumulations grow and collide forcing droplets to fall as precipitation; rain, ice, and snow. ● This precipitation is crucial to adding water back into the oceans, lakes, rivers, and groundwater reserves.
• The global water cycle is powered by the sun; solar energy (heating)
• Forest is important renewable resources.
• Forest vary in composition and diversity and can contribute substantially to the economic development of any country .
• Plants along with trees cover large areas, produce variety of products and provide food for living organisms, and also important to save the environment.
• ● Forests are among the most valuable natural resources in the Philippines. ● They provide a range of ecosystem services, ranging from the provision of food crops, livestock and fish to providing recreational experiences.
• Forests also serve as significant carbon sink and are vital for biological conservation and environmental protection, locations for education and research, habitat for indigenous flora and fauna, and resettlement areas.
• According to the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), forests serve as home to some 12-15 million indigenous peoples and provide livelihood to many families.
• The Forest Management Bureau (FMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) defines “forest” as land with an area of more than 0.5 hectare and tree crown cover (or equivalent stocking level) of more than 10 percent.
• Closed forest - Formation where trees in various storey and undergrowth cover a high proportion (>40 percent) of the ground and do not have a continuous dense grass layer. Currently, it constitutes 28.9 % (2,028, 015 hectares) of the Philippines forest cover (2015 data)
• Open forest - Formations with discontinuous tree layer with coverage of at least 10% and less than 40%. At present, it constitutes 66.8 % (4, 682, 764 hectares) of the total Philippine forest cover (2015 data
• A forest consists of either closed forest formations where trees of various storeys and undergrowth cover a high proportion of the ground or open forest formations with a continuous vegetation cover in which tree crown cover exceeds 10 percent.
• Significance of Forests • Commercial values • Ecological significance • Aesthetic values • Life and economy of tribal
• Commercial Values • Forests are main source of many commercial products such as wood, timber, pulpwood etc. About 1.5 billion people depend upon fuel wood as an energy source. Timber obtained from the forest can used to make plywood, board, doors and windows, furniture, and agriculture implements and sports goods. Timber is also a raw material for preparation of paper, rayon and film.
• Commercial values

  • Forest can provide food , fiber, edible oils and drugs.

  •Forest lands are also used for agriculture and grazing. • Forest is important source of development of dams, recreation and mining
• Life and Economy of Tribal ● Forest provide food, medicine and other products needed for tribal people and play a vital role in the life and economy of tribes living in the forest.
• Ecological Uses ● Forests are habitat to all wild animals, plants and support millions of species. ● They help in reducing global warming caused by green house gases and produces oxygen upon photosynthesis.
• Ecological Uses

  ● Forest can act as pollution purifier by absorbing toxic gases. ● Forest not only helps in soil conservation but also helps to regulate the hydrological cycle
• Aesthetic Values ● All over the world people appreciate the beauty and tranquility of the forest because forests have a greatest aesthetic value. ● Forest provides opportunity for recreation and ecosystem research.
• Over exploitation of forests

  Forests contribute substantially to the national economy. With increasing population increased demand of fuel wood, expansion of area under urban development and industries has lead to over exploitation of forest .
• deforestation 


  Shifting Cultivation ■ This practice is prevalent in tribal areas where forest lands are cleared to grow subsistence crops. ■ It is estimated that principle cause of deforestation in tropics in Africa, Asia and tropical America is estimated to be 70, 50, and 35% respectively. ■ Shifting cultivation which is a practice of slash and burn agriculture are posses to clear more than 5 lakh hectares of land annually.
• commercial logging 


  It is a important deforestation agent. It may not be the primary cause but definitely it acts as secondary cause, because new logging lots permits shifting cultivation and fuel wood gatherers access to new logged areas.