Environment Secretary Gina Lopez has vowed not to let up her efforts to help residents living near a coal-fired power plant operating inside the refinery of oil giant Petron Corp. in Limay town in Bataan province.

Lopez made the assurance after Limay residents trooped to the DENR central office in Quezon City to complain anew of the ash residue of SMC Consolidated Power Corp. (SMCCPC) which made some of them ill.

"Trust me, I'm not gonna let you down," Lopez told the residents during a dialogue held inside her office.

Officials of the DENR's Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), Petron and SMCCPC were also present during the dialogue. Both Petron and SMCCPC are subsidiaries of San Miguel Corp., one of the country's most diversified and biggest conglomerates.

The residents complained of water pollution, dust, foul odor and noise coming from the refinery complex. They also traced the frequent respiratory illnesses suffered by many of them to the coal plant within the complex.

According to the residents, their health conditions have deteriorated since coal plant started operation in 2013. They averred that their cough, colds and asthma have become persistent despite regular checkups and medications.

The residents also cited a study by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources on the presence of hazardous substances like cadium and mercury in the fish caught in the coast of Limay.

During the dialogue, Lopez told plant officials to address the concerns of the residents and "fix the way they operate."

She also emphasized to them that the residents themselves are not opposed to their operation and all they were asking was for issues about their health and livelihood be resolved as soon as possible.

"You have to find a way to operate which doesn't cause suffering," Lopez said, addressing the plant officials.

She added: "The coal plant has really done bad to the people's health. We will not allow suffering to go on."

Lopez, meanwhile, instructed EMB officials to review the emission standards provided under the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999.

"We have to raise the standard, improve the emission standard. That's all," Lopez said.

It will be recalled that a series of ambient air sampling for total suspended particulates and sulfur dioxide has been conducted by the EMB within and near the refinery complex. The results were all within the National Ambient Air Quality Guideline Values. ###

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Published: 11 April 2017

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The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is urging the public to make this summer worthwhile by engaging in activities that promote nature and environmental conservation.

While considering summer as the perfect time to commune with nature and appreciate the country’s natural beauty, Filipinos should take summer outings a step further and look for opportunities to help the agency jumpstart its aim for a “green economy” by adding value to locally sourced environmental products and services.

This includes patronizing products from cottage industries to help local communities and encourage them to be more creative and sustainable in production.

The DENR, however, is appealing for everyone to be mindful of their surroundings by managing their wastes, conserving water resources, and being respectful of local cultures and community practices.

Nature trippers are particularly reminded to be careful of activities such as smoking and cooking within vegetated areas during the dry season to prevent forest fires.

Aside from possibly setting back the government’s reforestation and revegetation efforts, forest fires also pose dangers to humans and wildlife living within and around the area.

The agency also advises trekkers to abide by orders or ordinances banning activities in certain protected areas, such as in Mt. Banahaw and Mt. Apo, to allow restoration and regeneration of local flora and fauna.

Portions of Mts. Banahaw-San Cristobal Protected Landscape, a favorite site for pilgrims and trekkers, have been closed since 2004 to allow areas damaged by park visitors to recuperate.

As for Mt. Apo National Park, five of six trails in Davao have been re-opened after being damaged by fire in March last year. ###

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Published: 11 April 2017

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Following the concurrence of the Senate of the Philippines to the ratification of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change on March 14, the Forest Management Bureau (FMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), in cooperation with the German Government’s Environment Ministry, is pushing for the nationwide implementation of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) strategy to help reduce impacts of climate change by protecting and sustainably managing the country’s forests.

The DENR-FMB and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the German government’s international development cooperation agency, have been working together for the sustainable management of forests through the joint project “Preparation of a National REDD+ Mechanism for Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Conservation of Biodiversity in the Philippines” (National REDD+ System Philippines). The project helped create a national framework for REDD+, considering ecological, social and governance safeguards.

The REDD+ strategy contributes to the conservation of forests to meet 40% of the 70% carbon emission reductions that the Philippines committed to during/ shortly after the Paris UN climate conference in 2015. Forest conservation also ensures the sustainable provisions of other ecosystem services such as food and water.

Trees sequester carbon from the atmosphere, which greatly contributes to reducing the global temperature. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) identified the global forestry sector in 2007 as the second leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, after the energy sector, and as responsible for approximately 17% of emissions, largely due to deforestation.

Through their joint work, GIZ and FMB generated a reduction and removal of approximately 467,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission in the three project sites in Albay, Eastern Samar and Davao Oriental through co-management and tenure arrangements with local communities and indigenous people groups for long-term forest conservation which are integrated in forest land use plan (FLUP) covering 366,407 hectares of forest areas.

24.3 million PHP were awarded through 18 contracts with local partners such as local government units, academe and the Philippine Eagle Foundation to support forest conservation activities. FMB and GIZ are organizing the REDD+ project closing event on April 7 in Pasig City to stimulate support for sustaining the project’s achievements and for the issuance of appropriate laws and policies for the country’s full REDD+ implementation.

The National REDD+ System Philippines Project is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB). The project started in November 2012 and runs until April 2017. ###

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Published: 10 April 2017

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Secretary Gina Lopez has allayed fears of massive transfers within the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) following the replacement of top officials in the agency's human resources department.

Some members of the DENR Employees' Union (DENREU), mostly from the personnel division, staged a rally on Friday in front of the DENR main building to protest against the move to transfer Miriam Marcelo, personnel division chief, and Rolando Castro, director for human resources, to another department.

Lopez met with the protesting employees and assured them that none of them will be removed from their current posts.

"This is not only my organization. It is also yours," Lopez told the protesters.

She then explained that the reported transfer was part of an "organizational change" aimed at making the DENR's human resources department "a visionary in building an organization."

Lopez underscored the need for a "visionary person" to head such important unit in the agency.

"If the human resources [department] is just following rules and regulations, we won't be able to fly," Lopez pointed out.

She also explained that Castro is on "status quo" and that she already talked to him about the current situation.

"We will work together to bring on a better country, and we will work together to bring on a better DENR," Lopez said. #

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Published: 08 April 2017

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The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) recently launched a five-year project designed to deal with the growing problem of electronic waste or e-waste, which contains hazardous substances like mercury and lead.

Last March 2, the DENR -- through its Environmental Management Bureau (EMB)-- conducted an inception workshop for the new project aimed at protecting human health and the environment through sound management of Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) for electric cooperatives and Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in e-wastes.

PCBs and PBDEs are highly toxic chemicals of global concern that are targeted for elimination under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), an international treaty to which the Philippines is a party.

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is funding the project with a grant of US$6.2 million with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) as the GEF implementing agency. Public and private stakeholders, including the Development Bank of the Philippines, are also co-financing the project worth over US$35 million.

"We welcome the support of GEF and UNIDO in this project to address the management and disposal of PCBs and PBDEs," said DENR Assistant Secretary Rommel Abesamis.

He added: "This is a long standing global issue. However, for a developing country like ours, so much have to be learned about POPs, especially by the workers who are vulnerable to exposure and by women whose exposure can be passed on to their children."

Dr. Carmela Centeno, UNIDO project manager and industrial development officer, said in a project brief that among the targeted outcomes are strengthened legislation and institutional capacity in implementing the PBDE Action Plan, as well as the reduction and eventual elimination of POP-PBDE releases from e-wastes to mitigate adverse potential health and environmental impacts.

Another key outcome is the effective implementation of the management plans of selected electric cooperatives for PCB oil and PCB-contaminated transformers, capacitors, circuit breakers and other electrical equipment.

The project will support the safe disposal of 600 tons of PCB oil and PCB-contaminated equipment from 26 of the country's 121 electric cooperatives, as well as 1,150 kg of PBDEs from 50,000 cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors.

It will further ensure the safe disposal of around 225 tons of lead-containing glass.

Executing government partners include the EMB (the lead executing agency), the National Electrification Administration, and the Natural Resources Development Corporation, the DENR's corporate arm.

Also involved in the project are EcoWaste Coalition and the Medecins du Monde from the civil society; and the Cebu Common Treatment Facility Inc. and the Integrated Recycling Industries Philippines Inc. from the private sector. ###

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Published: 06 April 2017

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