The Philippines has some of the most extensive water resources in the world, although water quality has been severely degraded. Over-exploitation of forest resources and inappropriate land-use practices have disrupted the hydrological condition of watersheds, resulting in accelerated soil erosion, the silting of rivers and valuable reservoirs, increased incidence and severity of flooding, destruction of coastal mangroves, and decreasing water supply. Additional threats come from mining operations, clearing of forests for agriculture and settlements, collection of fuelwood, and poor management by the government and tenured stakeholders. Widespread logging is responsible for much of the forest loss and degradation. The current annual deforestation rate is about 2.1 percent. Forests cover just under a quarter of the land area, less than half of the forest cover in 1917. The country is one of the world’s 17 mega-diverse countries, although a large number of species are threatened or endangered. The Philippines is rich in natural resources. Lack of access to land and natural resources by most of the population is a key cause of poverty, a driver of conflict and an obstacle to national development. While a larger percentage of lands have been redistributed (88 percent), some of the most productive and fertile agricultural lands remain in the hands of wealthy private landowners. Despite various land reforms, significant numbers of rural people remain landless, and there is a swelling urban population living in informal settlements. Land distribution is highly skewed, and much of the land is moderately or severely eroded. The Philippines consists of 7,107 islands covering 300,000 square kilometers (30 million hectares), including 298,170 square kilometers of land and 1,830 square kilometers of water.
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