During the Cordillera Mountain Tourism Summit held in Baguio City on December 9 and 10, one of the speakers stated a very obvious fact. And that fact is the Cordillera region is losing its mossy forests at an alarming rate. He drove the point home with a warning: there will come a time when the forests will be gone. That is if there's zero action among local government units, organizations, and concerned citizens to preserve and conserve them.
Among the provinces that has lost the most forest cover is Benguet. This is not surprising since Benguet is a major supplier of vegetables. To meet the growing demand for highland vegetables, more forests, unfortunately, need to be cleared and transformed into farms. It's a reality and a problem with no clear solution in sight.
