PLANTDEMIC HITS FILIPINOS
Demand for greenery fuelled by lockdown, leading to increasing plant prices
GARDENING craze dubbed “plantdemic” has spread across the Philippines after coronavirus restrictions fuelled demand for greenery, sending plant prices soaring and sparking a rise in poaching from public parks and protected forests.
Photos of delicate flowers and broad-leafed foliage cultivated in backyards and on balconies have flooded social media as housebound Filipinos turn to nature to relieve stress and boredom.
“It’s unbelievable. People are super interested in plants these days,” said landscape gardener Alvin Chingcuangco, who has seen prices for some varieties of monsteras reach 55,000 pesos each, compared with 800 pesos before the pandemic.
Plant seller Arlene Gumera-Paz said her daily turnover tripled after she reopened her doors following months of lockdown.
Demand remained robust even as prices for the most popular varieties of indoor plants, such as alocasias, spider plants and peace lilies, doubled or even quadrupled.
“It’s hard to understand people. When plants were cheap, they were ignored.”
But as demand has grown, authorities have warned that many plants on the market might not have been legally obtained.
Rangers patrolling the forests of Zamboanga in the country’s south for illegal loggers and wildlife poachers were ordered to watch out for plant thieves, after officials noticed some species posted on social media could only be found in the region’s protected areas.
“Prior to the pandemic we hadn’t observed many plant poachers,” said Maria Christina Rodriguez, Zamboanga regional director for the Department of Energy and Natural Resources.
“This only became popular during lockdown.”
Removing threatened species from forests is illegal under Philippine law and carries hefty penalties. Collecting other native plants is allowed but only with a permit.
Thieves were targeting plant varieties popular on social media, such as staghorn ferns and pitcher plants, Rodriguez said.
But catching offenders is difficult, she added.
Once the plant had been dug up and sold “it is hard for us to prove that it came from forests or our protected areas”, she said.
A spate of plant thefts from public parks in the northern city of Baguio prompted authorities to tighten security and issue a plea on Facebook for people to leave the greenery alone.
So far only five people had been caught for stealing flowers, said Rhenan Diwas, officer in charge of the Baguio City Environment and Parks Management Office.
“Maybe it’s because of boredom or they want to generate income,” he said.