Environment is in ICU, says DENR

THE Philippine environment is “still under intensive care” and without people’s support, and government’s efforts are not enough to preserve it, Environment Undersecretary Demetrio Ignacio Jr. said yesterday.

Ignacio delivered the “State of the Philippine Environment Address” during the Earth Day celebration at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City.

Ignacio has been appointed officer in charge of the DENR by Environment Secretary Ramon Paje who has been on leave since the Holy Week. Paje is in the United States to attend the World Bank’s ministerial meeting on Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services (WAVES) and the WorldEnvironment is in ICU, says DENR
Ocean Summit.

Ignacio said the Philippines’ forest cover has dwindled to only 7.2 million hectares or 24 percent of its land area, the second lowest in Southeast Asia.

He said 40 percent of the country’s coral reef – considered as the most extensive in the world – is in poor condition while only 2 percent is in excellent condition.

“Despite all these degradations, our biodiversity is considered to be one of the richest in the world,” he said.

“However, our biodiversity is also among the most threatened in the world,” he added.

Ignacio said major urban centers, especially Metro Manila, suffer from air pollution while water bodies in these areas are unfit for human activities.

He said government is doing its best to improve the country’s environmental situation “but we cannot reverse overnight what took us more than 100 years to abuse.”

Ignacio said the total log ban imposed in all natural forests since 2011 has substantially reduced the number illegal logging hotspots in the country from 197 to 31 municipalities. He said 452 illegal logging cases have been filed in courts, which have so far resulted in the conviction of 72 persons.

He said the National Greening Program, which seeks to plant 1.5 billion trees in 1.5 million hectares by 2016, has resulted in the planting of at least 166 million trees in more than 333,000 hectares of land. He added that the campaign also generated 660,000 jobs.

He said the two presidential directives improved the Philippines’ ranking in the Environmental Performance Index from 50th in 2010 to 42th last year out of 132 countries.

The Philippines outranked South Korea (43rd), Australia (48th), the United States (49th), Singapore (52nd) and Israel (61st).

The Quezon City government also celebrated Earth Day yesterday with the inauguration of its Refuse-derived Fuel (RDF) facility project, a solid waste processing facility that can lessen the waste inputs in the city’s regulated dumpsite by 300 to 400 tons per day or a 20 percent cut from the total daily collection of 1,979 tons.

The facility was placed at the city’s engineered landfill in Barangay Payatas. –ANGELA LOPEZ DE LEON, Businessmirror