Time to focus on the environment

Every now and then, amidst all the bad news and the negative stories we see in the media, we’ll come across a little bit of good news. It sometimes seems like a rare thing these days, but whenever it does happen, we can’t help but pause for a moment and think that things might not be so bad.

These days, especially when we are hearing nothing but the many different promises that politicians who are running for public office are making, it becomes difficult to separate the good, the bad, and the ugly. Its nice to know that there are some of those in office that are still looking out for the welfare of the people.

I am referring to the present Environment Secretary Ramon Paje who, like a breath of fresh air, has signed a memorandum circular that will provide scholarships to dependents of Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) workers who have died in the line of duty, “while protecting the environment”.

This piece of news, in my opinion, deserves more prominence, instead of being lumped in with the smaller news items in the depths of broadsheets while all the controversial and bad news remain splashed on the front pages. While, of course, news about Sabah and other national concerns need to be addressed and shared with the public through the media, it might help every once in a while to share some good news too. This helps people remember that it’s not always bad after all.

And it’s about time importance is given to the environment too. It’s gone on far too long that we’ve been complacent and taken our natural resources for granted. There are serious environmental issues and concerns in the Philippines that really need to be addressed. Solutions need to be found and plans need to be implemented.

In the past years overfishing and destructive fishing, coastal development, deforestation, and pollution have become serious issues in the Philippines. This has not become just a matter of destroying natural resources and decline in natural biodiversity, but also social impacts and economic losses as well. With our fisheries declining, there may be over $4 billion annually lost in revenues. In addition, sustained soil erosion and mismanagement of sewage and garbage disposal are big problems that are not going away any time soon.

Studies have claimed that currently there is only less than 5 percent of the original forest cover due to deforestation. And this is still under threat from agriculture and urbanization as well as from natural calamities and illegal logging which is the biggest threat to our forest natural resources. With their natural habitats disappearing, many of our country’s biodiversity is disappearing as well. This is sad because a lot of the species here are endemic to the Philippines and should they cease to exist, can’t be found anywhere else. Forest protection though is such a challenging task due to inconsistent laws, implementation and funding.

A growing population is also not helping in terms of putting a strain on our natural environmental resources. At present, we just don’t have the space for the waste generated by our large population. A very small percentage of it is treated in an environmentally correct manner and the rest is just discarded back into the earth, or more specifically the sea — causing another cycle of pollution and destruction to marine life. With the poor waste management and ever growing population producing more and more waste we can’t handle, water pollution is another issue that is getting more and more serious. This includes pollution to the Philippines’ groundwater, rivers, and coastal areas.

The only thing that can truly help turn this around is long term solutions and focusing on the problems at hand. This means stricter laws and regulations as well as proper implementation and supervision. This also means raising the funding necessary to put these plans into action. It will also help if every citizen makes an effort to do his or her part. There have been lots of little steps — like eco-friendly bags and the movement to promote recyclable paper products over their plastic counterparts. These may seem like small steps but all the small steps add up and need to be done in order to get moving. We can’t afford to think we aren’t making a difference. It took a long time to get into our current predicament, I know it will take longer still to get out of it.

It’s a long road ahead, but it’s still possible to save what’s left of our environment as well as our endemic Philippine species that are quickly disappearing due to deforestation and pollution. It’s not an easy task, which is why it’s nice Secretary Paje has found a way to acknowledge the dedication and hard work of those in the DENR.

According to him, Memorandum Circular No. 2013-02 is a way of “recognizing the service and contribution of our fellow workers who die while protecting the environment.” The DENR has come up with a scholarship program not only as a way of recognizing the efforts of hardworking environmental workers, but also because they believe in the importance of education. As he mentioned, it’s every parent’s dream to see their children finish school so this scholarship program is way of realizing that dream for environmental workers who have gone ahead.

According to them, data has shown that more than 60 DENR workers have died while performing their duties. This even includes one forestry specialist who was shot and killed in her office last year. One of her children may avail of the scholarship program. The program will cover the recipient’s tuition to any state university. It is also inclusive of book and Internet allowances and some other incidental expenses.

I think this program is a great thing. Not only for the recipients themselves but also for their parents who are working hard at the DENR to help rehabilitate our very worn out environment and bring it back to life. Not that any of these hard working men and women would want to fall in the line of duty. However, should that unfortunately happen, at least they know there will be something left for their children.

Keep up the good work, Mr. Secretary and here’s hoping for more support, not only in this great program and many more like it, but also in addressing the needs of Philippine environment.