18/08/2018
Yes it's hot but not in here..this is Bilar's man-made forest. Located between Loboc and Bilar is a 2-km stretch of planted mahogany trees which are lined up like soldiers guarding the highway, their towering branches and leaves block sunlight almost completely.
This area was part of a large reforestation project in response to an alarming deforestation in Loboc watershed due to kaingin. It started in 1947 and was later on launched as the Loboc Watershed Reforestation Project (LWRP) on December 1953 consisting of over 19 hectares of land in Lila, Loboc, Sevilla, Batuan, Carmen, Sagbayan, Catigbian, Balilihan, Sierra Bullones, Valencia, Garcia Hernandes, Jagna and Bilar. Later, the LWRP was divided and the other half became the Rajah Sikatuna Protected Landscape. The Bilar man-made forest was a successful part of LWRP and was a joint effort of students, laborers, employees, volunteers and scouts who planted seedlings from 1968 to 1970.
However, as one can notice, there aren't any birds thriving in the area. It's cool, quiet and pretty but a silent and dead forest. The reason is because mahogany trees are not native species to the Philippine soil, it is indigenous to the Americas. Thus native organisms do not recognize these and does not thrive in such forests. This is a bio-diversity dead zone. As what one of the bloggers said, let's do our homework prior to being eco-friendly. The intention is good but it would be much better if the end result is satisfactorily achieved.
-credits to iamtravelinglight, thepoortraveler and visit-bohol blogs.