HASHTAG OUR FOREST, OUR FUTURE

"Forestry meets Technology"

When walking down the street, when making a cup of tea or coffee for your boss, or even when you are stuck in the middle of a traffic jam, have you ever imagined how your future will be? Have you ever imagined how you could make the future so bright and so promising? What if I told you that your future is just right in front of you and staring you right in the face? And that your future is just waiting to be seen and waiting to be heard? Do you realize that your future hungers from your touch?


For me, I call my “future”, “forest”. Yes, you read it just right. Did you know that our forest is our future? That the forest provides us a wide range of benefits like food, clothing and shelter? And those things mentioned are not just what we want but what we really need to survive. Sadly though, our forests are gradually diminishing and being destroyed due to deforestation and forest degradation that cause climate change, soil erosion, security of food and the likes. Sadly, again, most of the causes of forest cover loss are anthropogenic or man-made. Sadly, still, without forests, the risk of global warming and the disasters attributed to it are real as they can get.


But by happy chance however, our forests can be rejuvenated. We, responsible humans, just have to properly utilize and manage them. How? Sustainable forest management or SFM is the key to our forests’ survival and development. We develop Forest Land Use Plan (FLUP), Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP), or a Local Climate Change Action Plan (LCCAP) that support environmental protection, food security, climate change adaptation and etcetera. With all these in the background, it is easy to say that in forestry the term “sustainable development” also applies.

One of the bigger problems of the forestry sector in our country is the lack of usable data and information that could provide meaningful studies on how this sector could move forward. If one is lucky, the data and information that could be found are either incomplete or needs updating. With the use of geoinformatics and information technologies, solutions to bridge the data and information gaps can still be realized.

IDC Environment and Livelihood Development Foundation has opened the door to possible solutions. IDC-ELDF has sponsored the first ever forest hackathon in the Philippines called “ForestHack2016”.

ForestHack2016 is a coding marathon where software developers collaborate to develop mobile applications to demonstrate the role of informatics and disruptive technology for solving the current challenges in the Philippine forestry sector. The event’s theme was “Forest Land Use Planning”. The objective of the hackathon was to create apps prototypes that could be incubated to solve specific forestry problems and concerns. Together with the Society of Filipino Foresters, Inc. and 8Layer Technologies, Inc., IDC-ELDF conducted the pre-hackathon event last August 13, 2016 at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.


On the other hand, the main hackathon activities were conducted at the University of the Philippines, Los Baños, Laguna last 27th and 28th of August 2016. There were police officers outside the building so security was well assured and also, meals were enough for all. Students from different universities and colleges in the Philippines registered and participated on this event and willingly joined the coding/competition.

It was a 24-hour event which enabled the participants to collect access and ideas, brainstorm, and share data. The participants were divided into groups with a maximum of four (4) members which allowed them to gather useful facts as many as possible. Each members of the group were really determined, focused and serious on developing their apps. It was not a joke though. While their teammates were working, others were sleeping and vice versa. Some of them barely got sleep. You really can see the team work and the spirit to help one another.

On the part of presenting their mobile apps, I saw a sign of teamwork and hard work. They are competitive yet they still were friendly and they do know what they were doing. All groups managed to present their apps very well and I was like “wow”. I did not expect that those students will be able to develop such apps. It is not that I do not trust their capabilities, but these students really did reached and even surpassed some of our expectations. (They nailed it!)

But in every competition, surely there would be winners. The rest are not losers, but are challengers. Okay…drum rolls. Everyone’s heart beat faster. It was the moment of truth. They all did tried their best, and sacrificed a good night sleep. But, only three groups would be recognized as winners. Prizes are: 3rd prize- PHP 40, 000.00 plus 5K API Credits; 2nd prize- PHP 60, 000.00 plus 7K API Credits; and 1st prize- PHP 75, 000.00 plus 10K API Credits.

That moment was mind cracking and nerve wracking. Okay, so time to reveal who the real champs are. Third placers are Technological Institute of the Philippines (TIP), second placers are from Cavite State University (CSU) and the winners are from Taguig City University (TCU).

TCU’s winning mobile app is named “SIBULAN”. It is basically all about forest mapping to map every tree, calculating Carbon Footprint to measure the impact on our climate, and how many tons of carbon dioxide are created each year. According to their team, the information we gather will help urban foresters to manage trees better and can help ensure a stable climate for our future generations. Wow, that is a promising one. (Congratulations guys! You all killed it).

Everyone was so grateful that all of us not only enjoyed the event but learned a lot as well. Many had sacrificed sleep and energy but the relieving part was their smiles. Behind weariness and lack of sleep, the groups still managed to smile. I do not wonder why. Why? Because I know that when you work in group, especially with your friends, loads are light, time pressure is nothing, you would not feel exhausted at all. Above all these, the event was intended for a really nice cause. It is a great feeling, isn’t it? They are actually creating solutions to save our forests while enjoying the coding. Not only that, most of the participants were able to establish new friendships which is equally important, right?

The hackathon undeniably played an astonishing role to all of us that will surely make everyone confident, smart, innovative and ultra practical to every single thing. This is not the end. This is the genesis. The start to something better, to something that will transcend our future to a brighter one. With all these in mind, let me enlighten you with lyrics from the “Forest Hymn” by Deep Forest.

“Tell me more about the forest
That you once called home
For the wind cries of late
In the whispering leaves
And the sun will turn to waste
The heavens we build above
Father, teach your children
To treat our mother well
If we give her back her diamonds
She will offer up her pearl”

Thank you for taking time to read guys! Hope to all see you next hackathon! And oh, shout out to Sir Anton Antonio who helped me improved this blog. LOL! God bless you all. xoxo