Environmentalism Holds On in Philippines

The natural environment of the Philippines was once one of the richest on Earth, but has been under assault for some time, with mass deforestation, plantation agriculture and abuse of the coral reefs through quick and easy fishing methods like cyanide and dynamite. Every year, the threats to what remain seem to keep on getting worse. This summer, there was a massive oil spill. In November, chemicals dumped into a Philippine river proved so noxious that nearby residents had to flee their town. Yet, not all hope is lost. There is still a great deal of biodiversity left to explore in the Philippines. Yet, earlier this year, a species of mouse and a species of parrot were newly discovered living on Camiguin Island, just to the north of Mindanao. If you're feeling in the mood to help, that's good, because, as much as the American dollar has been devalued over the last few years, it still has the ability to do a lot of good in the Philippines, when it put into the right hands. Two reliable Filipino environmental organizations that also work to help local human commuities are the Philippine Eagle Foundation and Haribon. Unfortunately, neither organization takes donations online. Still, isn't the cause is worth a little bit of extra effort? If you want a faster process, you might consider donating to the Filipino chapter of World Wildlife Fund. They take credit card donations for membership, but you might want to give them a telephone call or send an email to their membership department just to make sure that you're doing everything needed to process correctly.