(April 2006) With one of the highest population growth rates in Southeast Asia, the Philippines is experiencing increasing human pressure on its natural resources, including forests, coasts, and safe water supplies. And the decline of this natural resource base is threatening the health and well-being of Filipinos in every region—urban and rural areas alike.
A new Population Reference Bureau datasheet—Making the Link in the Philippines—provides national, regional, and provincial data for 15 indicators that highlight the connections among population trends, natural resource use, and the health and well-being of Filipinos.
"These issues are all intrinsically linked," says Roger-Mark De Souza, technical director of PRB's Population, Health and Environment Program. "You can't alleviate poverty if large disadvantaged populations don't have basic services such as health care and safe drinking water."
Examples of these linkages abound in the Making the Link in the Philippines datasheet, which includes indicators such as population growth rate, infant mortality rate, access to safe water sources, forest cover, and incidence of poor families. Highlights include:
· Almost one-half of the population of the Philippines now lives in urban areas. And addressing urban issues—such as the management of waste, water and air quality, and access to adequate housing—has become a significant challenge. In the National Capital Region (NCR), the most highly urbanized region in the country, 16 percent of families lack access to safe water sources.
· Fertility rates remain above the regional average. The Philippines' total fertility rate (lifetime births per woman) is currently 3.5, higher than most of the country's Southeast Asian neighbors. This high rate is due in part to an unmet need for family planning: Approximately 17 percent of the country's married women either would like to wait before having more children or would prefer to have no more children, but aren't using traditional or modern methods of family planning.
· Human vulnerability to natural disasters is growing. Increasing population density and environmental degradation are accelerating vulnerability to disasters in the Philippines, as settlements encroach into disaster-prone areas. Nearly 90 percent of the country's mangroves have been cleared, eliminating natural barriers to coastal storms and flooding. Likewise, the dramatic reduction in forest cover (only about 7 percent of the Philippines' original lowland forest cover remains, though reforestation efforts have increased forest cover in some provinces) contributes to the severity of flash floods and mudslides.
What you do little today can be big tomorrow. Nowadays, there is that need for social awareness among Filipinos. Yet Filipinos were too dramatic about two things: Politics and Religion. Unknowingly, there are little issues in our country that are continuously growing and becoming threats not only to society, but more to Philippine economy.
In politics, many well-educated people were stirring nationalism among Filipinos. Media led our attention to these political-related issues. Then, by just listening, reading, or watching, we tend to conclude hastily and generalize everything. Haven’t you observed? Even the slightest issues, garbage disposals, epidemic diseases and even the lack of milk for the infants, were blamed to our crap government. Well, I do believe that our government is not superman or wonder woman or any other fantasy super heroes. Can’t you see the bigger picture of this? There is more than just political failure; it is the Filipino mentality, particularly towards population growth. Each of us must be socially responsible and not be dependent to social trends and government promises, there is a call to act. Actually, we can simplify this by saying – “Think about the future of your children.” Unfortunately, we failed to see the future effects of our past actions that’s why this once little issue became a growing threat to us. In the end, there’ll be no room for blames and regrets; we’ll have a bitter taste of our own mistakes. I know we won’t let that happen so stop blaming others and be independent.
We are known to be the only Christian country in Asia and with one of the highest population growth rates in Southeast Asia. When I was in high school, I heard that birth control is a sin because it is stated in the bible, “go and multiply”. So I guess population growth is one popular technique for religion growth. Well, I can’t blame other religions if they have foreseen Christianity as a religion for the poor. In the Philippines alone, among the 90% Christians, 70%-80% belong to the poor. Am I saying that religion is the cause of poverty? No. We are the architects of our own lives, and look around you, God provided, provides, and will provide us with everything that we “need”. We were gifted with intelligence not to defend our mistakes, but to think and be able to help the society. Go and multiply – go preach the good news and save souls, multiply in Jesus’ name.
A wise man knows how to listen and act accordingly. In our society today, many are intelligent, but only a few are gifted with wisdom. It’s never too late if you act “now”, but tomorrow can be the deadline. If we’ll be able to solve population growth, there’s a huge possibility for economic growth in the Philippines. We can never be like China, so don’t ever think of population growth as an advantage. More Filipinos will equal to limited natural resources, higher unemployment, more epidemic diseases, more crimes, and a whole lot more. See? Poverty is caused neither by politics nor religion. It is us; we should control our urges and minimize population growth. Let’s not wait for another flood and Noah’s ark. Let’s not wait for another world war. The only solution to this is for us to act, and think of our future. This world might exist for another billion years, and we wouldn’t want our great, great grandchildren to live in a dying planet.
