Riches Natural Resources of the Philippines

Forests constitute one of the richest natural resources of the Philippines.More than half of the country is covered with forest.

Nipa palm and mangrove trees grow in many of our coastal areas. Tropical rain forests grow in both the lowland and the upland. Many of the trees that grow there have a high value in the world market. Our forests yield lots of timber and other forest products such as dye woods, rattan, bamboo, cutch, resin, gutta-percha, and valuable gums and fibers. However, due to the illegal denuding of large areas of our forests, the continued production of these forest items is seriously threatened.

Of the 3,000 species of trees in Philippine forests, the following are in the greatest demand in construction jobs: apitong, guijo, white and red lauan, ipil, tangile,tindalo, yakal, narra, and the world-famous ''Philippine mahogany''--molave.