Nanawagan si Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu sa lahat ng eksperto at mananaliksik sa Asia-Pacific region na magkaisa upang makabuo ng solusyon na makapipigil sa negatibong epekto ng Invasive Alien Species (IAS) sa biodiversity at sa kapaligiran.

“I stand firm in promoting convergence of our research and development (R&D) efforts for a sustainable region-wide management of (IAS),” sabi ni Cimatu sa kanyang pagtanggap sa mga delegado ng international conference sa IAS management na ginanap sa Maynila noong Hulyo 9 hanggang 11.

“Let us continue with our pursuit for research-driven strategies and policies to effectively manage and conserve biodiversity for the good of humankind,” dagdag pa nito.

Ang tatlong araw na pagtitipon na tinawag na “IAS Conference 2019” ay nagtipon ng mga eksperto, mananaliksik, dialogue partners, environmental managers at iba pang stakeholders mula sa Asia-Pacific region.

Sa kanyang pangunahing talumpati na binasa ni DENR OIC Assistant Secretary for Staff Bureaus at Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) Director Ricardo Calderon, idiniin ni Cimatu ang pangangailangan ng sama-samang pagsisikap upang mabigyan ng solusyon ang IAS na sumasalakay at sumisira sa “nature’s ecological balance.”

“These IAS pose serious environmental concerns and are among the major threats to biodiversity,” pagdidiin pa ni Cimatu. “They cover a wide gamut of ecosystems from the terrestrial to aquatic environments, irreversibly impacting on biodiversity, agriculture, as well as food and water security.”

Ang IAS ay maaring halaman, hayop, pathogens at organismo na hindi nagmula sa isang ecosystem at maaring magdulot ng pinsala sa ekonomiya, kapaligiran at kalusugan ng mga tao.

Ayon sa International Union for Conservation of Nature, ang IAS ay species na mabilis na dumadami mula sa kanilang pinanggalingang lugar at nagbibigay ng panganib sa biological diversity. Ito rin ang pangalawa sa mga dahilan ng biodiversity loss sa buong mundo kasunod lamang ng habitat destruction.

Maliban sa Antartica at glaciated Greenland, 17 porsiyento ng kalupaan sa buong mundo ang sinasakop na ng IAS.

Ang mga IAS ay matatagpuan sa mga bansa sa Asia at Pacific kabilang na dito ang Pilipinas na naka-apekto sa pangunahing kalupaan, wetland, coastal, marine at estuarine ecosystems ng rehiyon.

Sa agrikultura, ang IAS ay ang mga tinatawag na non-indigenous weeds, pest, insects at iba pa na sumisira sa mga pananim at alagang hayop.

Para naman sa freshwater environment, ang kilalang “invasive species” ay ang carp na nagmula sa Europe na matatagpuan na ngayon sa halos lahat ng sulok ng mundo. Ang “alien invader” na ito ang tinaguriang pinaka“invasive in the world” na nakasisira sa marine life.

Sa Pilipinas, ang kinikilalang IAS naman ay ang American bullfrog at ang golden apple snail o mas kilala sa tawag na golden kuhol. Ang mga ito ay nagiging dahilan ng pagkaubos ng indigenous species sa kanilang natural habitat.

Ang IAS conference ay inorganisa ng DENR Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERDB) at pinondohan ng Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Ayon kay ERDB Director Sofio Quintana, ang naturang conference ang naging paraan ng mga technical experts upang makumpirma ang listahan ng mga IAS kabilang na ang posibleng banta at epekto nito.

Dagdag ni Quintana, ang pagpuksa sa IAS ay naaayon sa “Target 9 ng Aichi Biodiversity Targets sa ilalim ng Convention on Biological Diversity”.

Bukod sa Pilipinas, kabilang din sa mga bansa sa Asia Pacific na nagbahagi ng kanilang research papers sa conference ay ang India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates, United States at Vietnam.

Kabilang sa mga kinatawan ng Pilipinas sa ginanap na IAS conference ang mga eksperto mula sa DENR-BMB, University of the Philippines-Los Baños, ASEAN Center for Biodiversity, at Food and Agriculture Organization-Philippines. ###

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Published: 12 July 2019

Magiging punong-abala ang Pilipinas sa gaganaping 22nd ASEAN Senior Officials on Forestry (ASOF) Meeting na dadaluhan ng mga top forestry officials ng Southeast Asia namay layuning palakasin ang regional cooperation sa larangan ng forestry.

Gaganapin ang pulongsa Hulyo 15 hanggang 20 sa Makati City na inoorganisa ng Forest Management Bureau (FMB) ng Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), kung saan magsasama-sama ang forestry leaders mula sa sampung miyembro ng ASEAN upang talakayin ang sustainable forest management at ang tinatawag na “transboundary” forest threats.

Ito rin ang magiging simula ng isang taong chairmanship ng bansa sa malaking forest conference at iba pang inisyatibo sa buong rehiyon.

Simula Hulyo 15 hanggang 16 ay gaganapin ang 22nd meeting ng ASEAN Working Group on Forest Products at tatalakayin ditto ang pagpapalakas sa kooperasyon ng mga bansa para sa forest product development upang makahanay ito sa pangkalahatang batayan na nangangalaga sa kapaligiran, lipunan at ekonomiya ng regional forest at forest resources.

Susuportahan din ng gaganaping pagpupulong ang pagpapaunlad sa medicinal at aromatic plant industries kabilang din ditto ang konserbasyon habang patuloy itong ginagamit.

Ang anim na araw na ASOF event ay magtatapos sa pagtalakay sa mga kasalukuyang isyu na nakaaapekto sa forestry at forest product na may temang “Forestry Beyond Forest.”

Kabilang din sa mga tatalakayin ang Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES), ecotourism at ang mga benipisyo na nakukuha ng mga komunidad mula sa PES.

Ang PES ay idinesenyo upang mabago ang mga nakasanayan ng tao na nakasisira sa kapaligiran nangsagayon ay makapagbigay ng makabuluhang serbisyo sa iba na makatutulong sa pagpapaunlad ng “environmental conditions.”

Sa usapin ng forestry, ang PES ay tumatalakay sa isang kasunduan sa isang tao o grupo kung saan ay kinakailangan nilang magtanim ng mga puno bago magputol nang sa gayon ay matulungan ang komunidad sa pangalagaan ng kagubatan habang sila ay kumikita.

Ang kagubatan ay nakatutulong sa “Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) na inilabas ng United Nations. Kabilangnaditoang SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation for all People); SDG 13 (Climate Action) at SDG 15 (Life on Land).

Simula noong 2010, tinatayang aabot sa 6.840 million hectares ang forest cover sa Pilipinas.

Sa pamamagitan ng Executive Order 26 na inilabas ng gobyerno para sa implementasyon ng National Greening Program (NGP), ay naragdagan ang forest cover sa bansa na mayroong 1.5 bilyong puno sa 1.5 milyong lupa simula 2011 hanggang 2016.

Noong 2015 nang inilabas naman ang EO 193 na nagpapalawak sa NGP hanggang 2028, layunin nito na maisaayos ang mga nasirang kagubatan na tinatayang aabot sa 7.1 million hectares.

Nitong 2018, dahil narin sa pakikipagtulunga ng ng DENR sa ibang government agencies, private sectors at stakeholders ay nagkaroon na ng rehabilitasyon ang 1.9 milyong ektarya ng mga nasirang kagubatan at nakapagbigay na rin ito ng trabaho sa 600,000 katao sa mga komunidad at umakyat na rin sa 28 percent ang nagkaroon ng forest cover sa bansa sa pamamagitan ng NGP. ###

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Published: 10 July 2019

Southeast Asia’s top forestry officials will gather in the Philippines this month for the 22nd ASEAN Senior Officials on Forestry (ASOF) Meeting that aims to strengthen regional forestry cooperation.

The meeting, slated for July 15 to 20 in Makati City and organized by the Forest Management Bureau (FMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), will bring together forestry leaders from the 10-member ASEAN to discuss measures toward sustainable forest management and addressing transboundary forest threats.

It also marks the start of the country’s year-long chairmanship of the biggest forestry conference and initiative in the region.

From July 15 to 16, the ASEAN Working Group on Forest Products will hold its 22nd meeting with focus on enhancing regional cooperation on forest products development and getting ASEAN countries align with global standards that address the environmental, social and economic integrity of regional forests and forest resources.

The meeting also supports the development of medicinal and aromatic plant industries, including their conservation and sustainable use.

The six-day ASOF event will end with an international seminar on current issues affecting forestry and forest products, which carries the theme: “Forestry Beyond Forests.”

The topics include Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES), ecotourism as a viable mechanism in sustaining biodiversity, and the benefits gained by forest communities from PES.

PES is an instrument designed to change practices of people that damage the environment so that they can provide valuable services to others and help improve environmental conditions. 

In forestry, PES may involve entering into an arrangement with people or groups where they will be paid a certain amount to plant trees instead of cutting them down.  This gives them a source of income while they help increase forest cover. 

Forests contribute to the achievement of multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) set by the United Nations. These include SGD 6, Clean Water and Sanitation for all People; SGD 13, Climate Action; and SGD 15, Life on Land.

As of 2010, the Philippines’ total forest cover was estimated at 6.840 million hectares. 

To increase the country’s forest cover, the government—by virtue of Executive Order 26—implemented the National Greening Program (NGP) which aimed to cover 1.5 million hectares of land with 1.5 billion trees from 2011 to 2016. 

In 2015, EO 193 was issued extending the NGP until 2028 in a bid to rehabilitate the remaining unproductive, denuded and degraded forestlands estimated at 7.1 million hectares.

As of 2018, the DENR—together with other government agencies, private sector and other stakeholders—has rehabilitated 1.9 million hectares of denuded forestlands, employed over 600,00 people in upland communities and increased the country’s forest cover by as much as 28 percent through the NGP.

The government’s flagship reforestation program also serves as a measure for poverty reduction, resource conservation and protection, productivity enhancement and climate change mitigation and adaptation. ###

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Published: 10 July 2019

Around 200 delegates are expected to convene at the “Research and Development Congress on Invasive Alien Species (IAS)” in the Asia-Pacific. From July 8 to 12, local and foreign researchers, scientists, academics, policymakers, and guestswill discuss recent IAS status, control, and management in the region. The five-day congress will be held at Diamond Hotel in Manila, Philippines.

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Published: 09 July 2019

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has called on the government, business sector and other stakeholders to work together to find the best solutions to plastic pollution, which has become one of the most serious threats to the health of oceans and a major hazard to marine biodiversity.

DENR Assistant Secretary and concurrent Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) Director Ricardo Calderon said that a stronger public-private partnership would help translate political and corporate commitment to address plastic pollution into tangible strategies and investible action plans.

“We urge everyone to join the pledge for our environment; a pledge that will institutionalize our collective and collaborative action towards addressing the issue of marine debris,” Calderon said at the culmination of the Month of the Ocean celebration held recentlyat The Peninsula Manila, with the theme “Free the Seas from Marine Debris.”

Calderon’s statement was in line with Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu’sprior call to the Filipinos to “cut down on the use of plastics that end up in the ocean and pose a threat to marine life.”

“The task of reversing this issue is as big and wide as the ocean, but small actions can make a huge difference,” Cimatu said.

A study conducted by the Ocean Conservancy, a US-based environmental advocacy group, revealed that eight million tons of plastic enter the ocean each year on top of the 150 million tons of plastic that already circulate in the ocean, contributing to loss of species and the contamination of the food chain.

Relatedly, Calderon said that marine plastic pollution is one of the latest and most alarming issues the world is facing with the Philippines as one of the major contributors to global problem, primarily due to its so-called “sachet economy” where companies are selling products in single-used plastic sachets.

While it was easy to resort to banning plastic sachets, Calderon noted that there are “economic implications” to such move that the stakeholders, particularly the government and businesses, should prepare for.

“As one of the fastest developing countries in the world, with more than 6.6 percent in terms of world trade, one of the drivers of economic growth is basically the sachet economy, the 3-in-1 packages, including the plastic straw, which is basically part of development,” he pointed out.

According to Calderon, committing to act on the issue of marine debris will also help prevent other sea animals from ingesting plastic. Recently, a baby rough-toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis) rescued in Palawan died after it had difficulty digesting when fed by rescuers in an attempt to save it. A tightly-packed garbage bag was later found stuck in its stomach which prevented the food to pass through.

Billions of plastic sachets are sold each year to get small quantities of personal care and food products, such as shampoo and soy sauce, to people mostly in emerging markets. These sachets are not recycled and many end up polluting the ocean.

This crisis urgently demands innovators, industry and governments to develop systemic solutions that prevent plastic from becoming waste in the first place.

Calderon expressed hope stakeholders would eventually “come up with a direction, a way forward on how we can address this problem without sacrificing development.” ###

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Published: 03 July 2019