BUTUAN CITY – Members of the Regional Development Council (RDC) and the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC) warned that Mindanao would dry up by 2050 with the current disturbancs in weather patterns.

If not given “deep and serious concern” by the Aquino administration, the country's present food basket will be severely affected in the coming years, they added.

Experts said that with the effects of global warming and climate change in Mindanao, the region is seen as the most threatened area in the country by 2050, thus severely affecting the agricultural and industrial sectors.

They said the loss of forest covers and the degradation of coastal and marine resources are driving these changes faster in Mindanao.

The experts warned that domestic and industrial waste discharged into the sea further aggravate the vulnerability of the coastal ecosystem.

They said climate-vulnerable hydroelectric power sources and irrigation systems in Mindanao would ‘‘definitely weaken the overall resiliency of food security and self sufficiency'' of Mindanao.

To counter the effects of global warming and climate change, there must be “honest to goodness” massive tree-planting and reforestation program, they said.

There are at least 7.1 million uncultivated, denuded, and idle lands that need to be planted throughout the country today.

RDCC executive officers of Office of Civil Defense (OCD) regional directors Carmelito Lupo and Blanche Gobenciong of Northern and Northeastern Mindanao regions, respectively, said the government and citizens need to help each other and work together due to the damage resulting from the loss of forest covers in the country.

“We must reintroduce tree growing not just tree planting down to the barangay level. It is important that we must recreate our forests to mitigate the effect of climate change,” said Lupo.

Different sources from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Atmospheric Services Administration (PAGASA), said Mindanao is undergoing drastic change in terms of annual mean rainfall which is rapidly dropping.

It said there would likely be a significant warming by the middle of the century.

Pagasa alleged that by 2020, Mindanao would likely be warmer by 1.2 degree Celsius compared to its normal temperature and this may shoot up by three degrees by 2050.

From 2020 to 2050, Mindanao is seen to experience a general reduction in rainfall by as much as 11 percent, the government’s weather forecaster added.

A three-day forum on climate change with experts and concerned government agency officials is set  in Surigao City Wednesday, said Director Gobenciong.

Meanwhile, in Northeastern Mindanao, DENR Regional Executive Director (RED) Edilberto S. Buiser reported on Tuesday that at least 61, 148.21 hectares were already planted of various tree species in line with their reforestation program.