Chelsea: BROADCASTING LIVE FROM ABES NEWSROOM, MANILA
Claire: GOOD AFTERNOON PHILIPPINES.
Noah: GOOD AFTERNOON MANILA
Claire: This is your anchor -
Noah: and This is -
Claire & Noah & Chelsea: SERVING YOU THE HOTTEST AND THE MOST LEADING NEWS OF THE
HOUR.
Noah: Here are today’s news:
Claire: The Philippines is identified as one of the world’s 17 most biologically rich countries. Its terrestrial and
marine habitats are characterized by high endemism – nearly half of all its flora and fauna are unique to the
7,641 islands – and new species continue to be.
Chelsea: The Philippines is considered a mega-diversity country rivaled only by a few countries in the world
when it comes to variety of ecosystems, species and genetic resources. Many of the islands comprising the
archipelago are believed to have a very high degree of land and animal species endemism covering at least
25 genera of plants and 50% of terrestrial wildlife.
Noah: However, the Philippines is also a hotspot of biodiversity loss, ranking among the top ten countries in
the world with the largest number of species threatened with extinction. In 2004, the List of Terrestrial
Threatened Species and their Categories was established under the Department Administrative Order (DAO)
2004-2015 issued by the Secretary of the DENR, which listed 145 threatened wildlife species discovered.
Claire: Scientists have identified 228 key biodiversity areas in the Philippines, but only 91 are currently part
of the country’s network of protected areas.
Noah: Philippines has more than 52,177 described species, half of which are endemic or found nowhere else
on earth.
Chelsea: The Philippines derives large benefits from ecosystems. In particular, the country recognizes the
important role played by watersheds, river basins and coastal areas in the environment and in society as a
source of livelihood.
Claire: We have Researcher and economist Jayra Cataylo and Thirdy Nastor to tell us more about the
current state of the ecosystem and biodiversity and its struggle for survival.
Claire: Good afternoon, Ma’am.
Jayra & Thirdy: Good afternoon.
Claire: It has been a huge issue that the Philippines has been a hotspot of biodiversity loss. How does this
continue to happen?
Jayra: Organisms produce more offspring than given the limited amounts of resources can ever survive, and
organisms therefore compete for survival. Once an organism reproduces and grows geometrically, the
demand of its necessities will go high up until its diminished, and there then it cannot provide the needs of
these organisms which leads to malnutrition and even extinction.
Claire: What are the other causes of Biodiversity loss? What are the reasons why species struggle to survive
in their environment?
Thirdy: There are a variety of factors. One, the amount of resources available in the ecosystem. If the food,
shelter and water supply are limited, therefore the needs of the organisms are not met. Overpopulation and
extreme temperature also have great effects because some species cannot survive with the increasing
temperature and inadequate living space that can lead to loss of different varieties of species. If available
resources are in limited supply, the population may decrease in size because they compete for these
resources.
Claire: Can we still recover to this loss?
Jayra: Yes. But once the damage exceeds the rate of recovery, the ecosystem can no longer recover and
loses its function.
