Man Made Forest By Dianne Lynn A. Dulgach

Environmental issues are very common today, because of calamities and environmental disasters that the world is experiencing right now. Because of these reports about water pollution, deforestation, illegal logging and other ways of ruining nature, who would believe that there is still a place where you can imagine paradise? I’ve seen it myself when I went to the one of the hottest tourist spots in the Philippines also known as the Island of Paradise, Bohol. Along our way to chocolate hills, we passed by in a town of Loboc and what the Boholanos call the “tina-i sa manok” (chicken’s intestines) which refers to the winding road up the mountain of Loboc going towards Bilar where a forest with thousands of Mahogany trees planted in it was located.
The forest was called “The Man-Made” forest because the Mahogany trees were planted by Boholanos after ten years of deforestation. Lino Chatto, a former Filipino governor, implemented a reforestation program. Under the plan, mahogany trees were cultivated in the surrounding areas of Billar and Loboc. The reforestation program stretched 857.4 hectares. This reforestation program in 1960’s showed the Boholanos’ labor of love for our nature. The Man Made Forest is notable for its very orderly structure. The trees are uniformed in height and in many other ways including the leaves’ design.
The man Made forest is basically a two-kilometer rainforest where you can only see mahogany trees. When you enter the forest, you will feel the sudden change in temperature, especially during summer or hot season. It is hot outside the forested area, but once you are inside the forest, you will be refreshed by the cool breeze. This mountain area seldom sees the sun shine and most often, it rains here. The man-made forest stands out because of its uniformity in height of the big trees, the spread of its branches, thickness and design of leaves. Seedlings thrive around the older trees. Trunks, some thick and others just a few months old, grow straight up towards the sky which is covered by the branches and the thick leaves.
Man Made Forest is one of the famous tourist spot in Bohol because of its cool and very unique history. It is highly recommendable for nature-lovers who love to commune with a secluded environment.
It was very delighting to see that in spite of the carelessness of other Filipinos for our nature, there are others who are concerned. Man Made forest was very well preserved that only proves Boholanos’ love of nature. If only everyone would know and has the initiative on how to protect and save our environment then maybe calamities and disasters can be prevented.