OUR trees are bleeding yet again as metal chains and barbed wires have pierced through the bark and branches of the forests in the southern region of the Sierra Madre. Photographs and videos have spread online about a quarrying firm that unjustly tied these barbed wires and chains around the strict nature reserve and wildlife sanctuary of the Masungi Georeserve, a locally established and globally distinguished nature park in the heart of the longest mountain range in the Philippines.

Despite its teeming biodiversity, life and resources, the Masungi Georeserve has already been forced to the brink of its natural capacity to recover after being extensively mined and logged over the past decades. But conservation efforts have allowed the reforestation of the area within the last 20 years. The once gray barren landscapes are now transformed into lush verdant ridges, where calls of hornbills can be heard again, and sights of colorful kingfishers and playful Philippine macaques surround the dense canopy of trees. Standing within only an hour’s drive from the bustling congested center of Metro Manila, this natural georeserve serves as an immersive nature experience for the youth and city dwellers to explore and be wild again. But it is not just the great trees that grow from the soil or the birds that take shelter within the shade of this georeserve, but the looming threats hidden beneath the shadows of the canopies where greater conflicts rise.