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Essay / Causes and Environments of the Philippines in the...
The Philippines, made up of 7,100 islands, is considered one of the most diverse countries in the world. Not only does it have a rich biological component, but it also has exemplary landscapes like mountains, hills, valleys, falls, etc. One of the most important landscapes that the Philippines has is the watershed. A watershed, as defined in the Revised Forest Code (PD 705), is a land area drained by a stream or fixed body of water and tributaries having a common outlet for surface runoff. It can be located in the highlands or in the lowlands; has different types depending on the type of coverage it has. According to Saplaco et al. (2001), a watershed includes three environments: the mountains or uplands, lowlands and the marine environment that make up the watershed continuum. The archipelagic location of the Philippines proves how vital the watershed is. In fact, almost 75% of the total land area of ββthe Philippines is considered watersheds and these watersheds have inherent production, protective and aesthetic values ββ(Saplaco, et al., 2001). Saplaco et al. (2001) add that the country must...