Reyes made the call to encourage foreign businesses to partner with the government in alleviating poverty in the countryside.
In a speech before members of the Philippine Business Leaders Forum (PBLF) over the weekend at the Manila Polo Club in Makati City, Reyes pointed out that local and foreign investors can find business opportunities in the domain of natural resources while fully discharging their responsibilities in environmental protection and social equity.
He said businessmen could find it profitable to invest or place grants "in environmentally meaningful ways, specifically in the areas of responsible mining, eco-tourism, aqua-silviculture, reforestation, industrial tree plantations, establishment of sanitary landfills, sewerage infrastructure, rehabilitation of rivers and others."
The DENR chief urged businessmen to "extend more preferential attention to the poor, particularly in the communities where they operate their businesses."
"Remember that social equity is a necessary component of sustainable development. If you increase investments in the health, well-being and morale of your workers, I am confident you will reap gains in productivity, loyalty and competitiveness," Reyes said.
PBLF, an international forum for local and foreign businessmen, is composed of top officers and officials of Philippine businesses, and is also a member of the Corporate Network of Economists.
"It is imperative that we first halt and reverse our environmental losses and make our environment more conducive to optimum productivity," Reyes said. "Eventually we should be able to address all the valid concerns of our people and plow back part of the proceeds of sustainable development into environmental uplift, not just preservation."
During the forum Reyes also bared a 12-point priority program of the DENR to protect the environment and conserve he country’s natural resources.
One of the priority programs, he said, to is revitalize "responsible mining" through the development of 24 medium- and large-scale mining projects, along with the clean-up and rehabilitation of abandoned and idle mines, especially the Bagacay Mines in Samar and the Marcopper Mines in Marinduque. Another is the distribution of at least 100,000 hectares of alienable and disposable lands to poor households over the next five years. The DENR will also restore the integrity of land titles through the computerization of land records.
Other priority programs include raising air quality to acceptable standards; generating contamination-free water resources and control flooding; improving solid waste management; vigorously pursuing forest development; and the promotion of responsible industrial tree plantations in degraded and idle areas.
Other goals include completion and publication of topographic maps nationwide; mobilization of the communities; completion of geo-hazard maps of 1,300 municipalities prone to natural disasters; and "transparency, efficiency and accountability in the conduct of our work" at the DENR.
Reyes also enumerated the various environmental problems faced by the country, including deforestation, air and river pollution, deficient drainage and sewerage systems and a burgeoning garbage problem.
"But there are bright rays of hope within this picture of waste and pollution. The smog reaches only so far, and behind it, our ability for environmental recuperation remains strong. Among our people, including most of the business community, there is an upwelling of environmental consciousness," Reyes said. – Perseus Echeminada