The Component 1: Environmental Conditions and Quality of the Compendium of Philippine Environment Statistics (CPES) includes statistics about the physical, biological, and chemical characteristics of the environment and their changes over time. The types, extent, conditions, and health of ecosystems are interrelated and determined by fundamental background conditions. Over time, natural processes and human influence can affect and cause changes in natural conditions.

1.1 Physical Conditions

This subcomponent covers the physical aspects of the environment, which change relatively slowly because of human influence. It contains statistics on meteorological, hydrographical, geological, and geographical conditions and soil characteristics.

According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, the country experienced an annual average minimum temperature of 24.2 degrees Celsius and an annual average maximum temperature of 31.3 degrees Celsius in 2023. The highest monthly average maximum temperature was recorded in May at 32.8 degrees Celsius. Notably, the monitoring station in Tuguegarao, Cagayan recorded the warmest temperature in the same month at 36.2 degrees Celsius. (Figure 1 and Table 1.1)

In 2023, the average annual rainfall was 2.77 thousand millimeters. Moreover, the highest average monthly rainfall was recorded in January at 410.2 millimeters. (Table 1.2)

The country recorded its highest average atmospheric pressure in 2023 in March at 1002.40 hectopascal, while the lowest was in July at 998.37 hectopascal. In 2023, the highest average windspeed was recorded in February at 2.89 meters per second, while the lowest average windspeed was recorded in September at 1.98 meters per second. (Tables 1.5 and 1.6)

The Philippines has 200.89 thousand hectares of lakes. Among the regions, CALABARZON has the largest area of lake, covering 119.85 thousand hectares, followed by Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) with 37.25 thousand hectares, and Caraga Region with 14.37 thousand hectares. The National Capital Region (NCR) has the smallest area of lake with 2.64 hectares. (Table 1.7)

The River Basin Control Office reported that the country has 21 major basins. Among these, the Cagayan River Basin has the longest river, extending up to 505.00 kilometers, and the largest artificial reservoir, covering 27,570.71 square kilometers. On the other hand, the Central Cebu River Basin has the shortest river, measuring 4.00 kilometers, and the Iloilo-Batiano River Basin has the smallest artificial reservoir with an area of 98.96 square kilometers.

In addition, among the medium- to large-sized watersheds, the Cagayan River Watershed has the longest total length of rivers and streams measuring 23.19 thousand kilometers, while the Rio Grande de Mindanao River Watershed has the largest lakes and reservoirs with an area of 963.03 square kilometers. (Table 1.8)

The annual average sea level recorded by tide stations was 1.82 meters in 2023, a decrease from 1.85 meters in 2022. Meanwhile, the coastal resources of the country, such as corals, seagrass/seaweeds, and mangrove forest, cover a total area of 2.08 million hectares as of 2023. Among these, 61.3 percent or 1.27 million hectares are corals, 23.6 percent or 491.79 thousand hectares are seagrass/seaweeds, and 15.1 percent or 313.21 thousand hectares are mangrove forest. (Tables 1.11 and 1.13)

1.2 Land cover, Ecosystems, and Biodiversity

This subcomponent compiles environmental statistics related to land cover, ecosystems, and biodiversity, including their recorded changes over time and across various locations.

As reported by the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority, in 2015, closed forests comprised 6.9 percent or 2.03 million hectares of the Philippine land cover. This expanded to 7.5 percent or 2.22 million hectares in 2020. Built-up areas also increased from 0.85 million hectares in 2015 to 1.04 million hectares in 2020. (Table 1.12)        

The total numbers of wild fauna and wild flora species increased from 2022 to 2023. In 2022, there were 22,437+ species of wild fauna, which increased to 22,456+ in 2023. Moreover, in 2022, there were 11,213+ species of wild flora and increased to 11,299+ in 2023. (Table 1.16)

The Philippine eagle (in pairs), Tamaraw, and Philippine cockatoo were considered as threatened species. The population of the Philippine eagle (in pairs) remained constant from 2022 to 2023 at 392. However, the population of tamaraw declined from 403 in 2022 to 325 in 2022. (Table 1.19)

In 2023, a total of 1,106 fauna species were classified as threatened: 60 were critically endangered, 61 were endangered, 440 were vulnerable, and 545 fell under other threatened categories. Moreover, the total number of threatened flora species in 2023 was 984, comprising 179 critically endangered, 254 endangered, 406 vulnerable, and 145 classified under other threatened categories. (Figure 2 and Table 1.21)        
 

The total forest area of the Philippines is 7.23 million hectares. Of this total, open forest made up 65.0 percent, closed forest constituted 30.7 percent, and mangrove forest accounted for 4.3 percent. The regions with the largest forest cover were the Cagayan Valley, Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), and MIMAROPA.  Conversely, NCR had the smallest forest cover at 2.21 thousand hectares. (Figure 3 and Table 1.22)

1.3 Environmental Quality        
 

This subcomponent organizes statistics on pollutant concentrations in air, freshwater, marine water, soil, and noise levels.

The pollutant concentrations represent the average levels of pollutants in the air over the specified years. Particulate Matter (PM₁₀) and PM_2.5 are particulate matter sizes. For PM_2.5, the National Ambient Air Quality Guideline Value (NAAQGV) was 35 micrograms per normal cubic meter (µg/m³) in 2015 but was lowered to 25 µg/m³ in 2016. Meanwhile, the NAAQGV for PM₁₀ was 60 µg/m³.

The report of the Environmental Management Bureau showed an increase in the average concentration level of PM_2.5 from 15.42 µg/m³ in 2022 to 18.47 µg/m³ in 2023. Furthermore, the average concentration level of PM₁₀ increased from 29.21 µg/m³ in 2022 to 30.23 µg/m³ in 2023².   (Tables 1.24 and 1.25).

Moreover, the levels of annual geometric mean of roadside Total Suspended Particulates (TSP) increased to 83.65 µg/m³ in 2023 from 79.32 µg/m³ in 2022³. (Figure 4 and Table 1.31)        
 

The average concentration level of nitrate in Laguna de Bay and its major tributaries went up to 0.64 milligrams per liter in 2023 from 0.49 milligrams per liter in 2022. Similarly, the average concentration level of phosphate increased to 0.65 milligrams per liter in 2023 from 0.54 milligrams per liter in 2022. (Figures 5 and 6, and Tables 1.32 and 1.33)        
 

The average total coliform in Laguna de Bay reached 758.77 most probable number per 100 milliliters in 2023, an increase of 53.2 percent from 495.37 most probable number per 100 milliliters in 2022. In contrast, the average total coliform in the major tributaries of Laguna de Bay decreased from 7.72 million most probable number per 100 milliliters in 2022 to 7.29 million most probable number per 100 milliliters in 2023.  (Table 1.36)

In addition, Central Luzon, particularly in Manila Bay (bathing beaches), recorded a geometric mean of total fecal coliform of 59.80 thousand most probable number per 100 milliliters in 2023, an increase from 640.74 most probable number per 100 milliliters in 2022. (Table 1.41)        
 

+ means no definite number yet – continuously adding to the list

 ² Average of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ include those with less than 75% data captured

 ³ Average of TSP includes those with less than 75% data captured