FILIPINOS FOR NATURE

Every year, powerful typhoons churn across the Pacific and bear down on the Philippines. Millions of Filipinos look to one immovable ally for survival: Sierra Madre. Over 540 kilometers, the country’s longest and most formidable spine, from Cagayan to Quezon, it is the nation’s indispensable shield. While this natural shield is powerful enough to give protection, it is tragically becoming one of the country’s most vulnerable landscapes.

The Sierra Madre performs as the first and last line of defense for Luzon, positioned to intercept nearly every major tropical cyclone. Its broad forests act like a massive natural shield, absorbing the initial, catastrophic surge of wind and rain. From the forests alone, it weakens typhoons significantly before they can release their full fury around Metro Manila and Central Luzon.

The necessity of this defense was demonstrated during Typhoon Karding in 2022. Experts credited the help of Sierra Madre for breaking the typhoon’s momentum and slowing its destructive path, substantially mitigating what could have been a far greater disaster for lowland communities, which would have otherwise faced crippling landslides, storm surges and flash floods.

Aside from its protection, Sierra Madre is a biodiversity treasure chest. Such endemic and endangered species including the Philippine eagle and countless orchids and species are yet to be discovered.

This mountain range is also a cultural abode. For generations, indigenous communities like the Dumagat and Agta have lived within its forests, obtaining sustenance, water and identity from its slopes. They are the original custodians of this landscape, their livelihoods intertwined with its health.

The mountain, however, is being systematically weakened by the very people it is trying to protect. The constant damage from unrelenting human activity is turning Sierra Madre frail. Illegal logging, reckless mining operations and poorly regulated infrastructure projects including large-scale dam proposals are steadily carving away its protective layers. Every hectare of forest lost directly diminishes the mountain’s ability to break the momentum of incoming catastrophes.

_{^{Environmental groups warn that this destruction is not merely an ecological tragedy; it is an act of national self-sabotage.}}

_{^{Photo from Toyota Philippines}}

While the government and local organizations have implemented reforestation programs and designated protected areas, conservation remains a relentless continuous battle against powerful economic interests and limited enforcement. Experts emphasize that the path forward requires not just planting trees, but a fundamental shift toward community-based forest management, empowering indigenous groups and the immediate implementation of all existing environmental laws.

Protecting Sierra Madre is not a choice between conservation and development; it is a prerequisite for the safety and survival of the Filipino people. As the climate crisis intensifies and storms inevitably grow stronger, the resilience of the nation will rest on the resilience of this mountain range.

For decades, Sierra Madre has stood firm against every typhoon that has tested its boundaries. The urgent question facing the Philippines is this:

“Will we finally stand firm in protecting it in return?”

_{^{Photos from More Fun with Juan}}

About the Author
Kaira A. Almirol is a college student from the Philippines with an interest in environmental protection and climate resilience.

^{Climate Change Commission. (2024). Sierra Madre: Mountain range for resilience. Government of the Philippines}.

_{Baccay, O. T. (2023). Sierra Madre: The shield of Cagayan Valley. Philippine Information Agency.}

_{Villafuerte II, M. (2022). Sierra Madre weakens typhoons — PAGASA. Philstar.com.}

_{Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Biodiversity Management Bureau. (n.d.). Biodiversity of the Sierra Madre Mountain Range.}

_{Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Sierra Madre (Philippines). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.}