Our floods have gotten worse, as Typhoon Ondoy showed in 2009. Rivers swell faster because there are less trees on our mountains and hills to keep the great mass of rainwater falling from the sky from cascading down to the valleys and plains. For years, loggers have been cutting down millions of hectares of our forests, which took centuries to grow. In some mountain communities, villages have been swallowed up by sinkholes caused by loosened soil or the hollowed earth caused by mining operations. Mines have also polluted and poisoned lakes, rivers and seas because of their waste material and the chemicals they use. No corner of the land is safe from developers: huge areas of mountains, foothills, seacoasts, and even rice fields are being converted into subdivisions, resorts and leisure spots. In many cases, indigenous people are driven out of their ancestral lands because of these activities.
