When my four-year-old daughter saw this photo she asked me, “Mum, what happened to all the trees?” What could I tell her? Travelling the length of northern Palawan yesterday, from San Fernando to Puerto Princesa City, we saw huge swathes of land where people were cutting and burning trees – the first step in the process for the annual planting of upland rice. It’s been illegal for years but most turn a blind eye as growing “kaingin” rice is a traditional practice that sustains many people throughout Palawan. The land is especially dry at the moment, we are feeling the effects of the strongest El Niño on record, and thousands of households are suffering from severe water shortage. The huge black scars left by these fires across Palawan’s hillsides, are now imprinted on my mind.