MANILA, Philippines -- The Basic Education Division of Southville International School and Colleges (SISC) recently held its annual Parade of Nations to mark its 21st anniversary.
The event themed "Promoting Environmental Sustainability through the 5Cs," was graced by guest Department of Environment and Natural Resources director Ramon Espeleta who represented Secretary Ramon Jesus Paje. He emphasized the important role of the youth in saving the environment and eventually combating climate change.
Showing posts with label DENR. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DENR. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
CMP Asks DENR to Regulate Small-Scale Mines from LGU
MANILA, Philippines — The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (CMP) has pushed for the transfer of regulation of small scale mines to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) from local government units to ensure strict environmental monitoring.
While rigid rules are imposed on environmental and social practices of large-scale mines, small-scale mines do not go through such stringent scrutiny. This has induced destructive environmental practices among some small mines, which impute a bad reputation on the entire industry, the chamber said.
While rigid rules are imposed on environmental and social practices of large-scale mines, small-scale mines do not go through such stringent scrutiny. This has induced destructive environmental practices among some small mines, which impute a bad reputation on the entire industry, the chamber said.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
DENR renews mining programs for 10 companies
Regulators have allowed 10 companies to continue mineral exploration work with drilling and environmental expenditures expected to come up to P426.95 million, Environment Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje said in a phone interview.
However, he was quick to note that these are existing exploration programs and the government has not issued any new mining permits.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Alcantara Group Set to Build Coal Power Plant in Zamboanga
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – The Alcantara Group is poised to secure local approval for its plan to put up a P12-billion 100-megawatt coal-fired power plant in the eastern part of Zamboanga City following positive results of the initial series of public consultation by government agencies.
Company officials said the initial series of consultation of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Zamboanga elicited no opposition to the plan of San Ramon Power Corporation, a subsidiary of the Alcantara Group, to build the 100-megawatt P12-billion coal-fired power plant in San Ramon in the eastern part of Zamboanga City.
Company officials said the initial series of consultation of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Zamboanga elicited no opposition to the plan of San Ramon Power Corporation, a subsidiary of the Alcantara Group, to build the 100-megawatt P12-billion coal-fired power plant in San Ramon in the eastern part of Zamboanga City.
Monday, August 3, 2009
DENR Clears Fish Pens, Cages In Manila Bay
The DENR has decided to spare for now the tahongan and saprahan of small fisherfolk in Cavite while the agency looks for ways to help them, Environment Secretary Lito Atienza said.
Friday, July 31, 2009
DENR to Issue New Tree-Cutting & Earth-Balling Rule
Manila, Philippines -- THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will issue new guidelines on tree-cutting and earth-balling, with experts studying the technical, social and economic aspects, as well as environment-related issues of said activities.
Trees with historical significance and threatened by extinction will get absolute protection and care under such policy reforms, said Environment Secretary Lito Atienza.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Move to Ban Mindanao Aerial Spraying Gains Ground
Source: http://businessmirror.com.ph/
By: Jonathan L. Mayuga
Correspondent, Business Mirror
Manila, Philippines -- THE effort to impose the ban on aerial spraying as an agricultural practice because of the hazards it poses to human health and the environment is gaining ground as environmental groups continue to put pressure on concerned government agencies.
In a meeting of high-level government officials last week, the Department of Health (DOH)-led Interagency Committee on Environmental Health (Iaceh) has included in its draft policy paper on pesticides the banning of aerial spraying, which is widely used in big plantations in Mindanao, where cavendish banana for export is grown.
Environmental groups like the EcoWaste Coalition, Greenpeace, National Task Force Against Aerial Spraying (NTFAAS) and the Davao-based Mamamayan Ayaw sa Aerial Spraying (MAAS) earlier demanded from Iaceh to issue the ban after government public-health experts established in a study the dangerous levels of aerial spraying by banana growers on health and the environment.
Iaceh, which also acted on the recommendation of the National Poison Management and Control Center in the University of the Philippines-Manila (UP-NPMCC) on its 2006 study “Health and Environmental Assessment of Sitio Camocaan, Hagonoy, Davao del Sur,” noted there are no guidelines on techniques and procedures on aerial spraying, environmental and health monitoring, as well as designation of buffer zones.
The ban forms part of the DOH’s short-term action after observing policy gaps in pesticide use, among which is the absence of a regulation on aerial spraying in agricultural activities, particularly precautionary measures and risk assessment, and reduction on the pervasive use of agrochemicals.
The body is also looking into the compliance of agricultural plantation to social responsibility to the community, environmental-impact assessment and their occupational-health program for agricultural workers, notwithstanding the government’s admission of its inability to fully monitor and police the practice with only three personnel for the entire region.
“To be in business is not a matter of right, but a privilege. In the discourse about aerial spraying of pesticides, wherein a clear-cut policy is absent ever since and severe public health and environment hazards are clearly established and verifiable, that privilege is mandatorily prevailed upon by the most supreme right—the right to life of affected citizens,” Rene Pineda Jr., a member of the EcoWaste Coalition and head of NTFAAS, told officials in the meeting.
Pineda added that it becomes mandatory for the government to immediately stop the practice owing to its mandated duty to protect that right or face the consequences of violating their mandates.
“Banning aerial spraying fits well with the DOH’s ‘National Objectives for Health 2005-2010’ and should be formalized with immediate effect to stop the chemical fumigation of people without their consent,” Rei Panaligan, coordinator of the EcoWaste Coalition, said.
The EcoWaste Coalition cited Chapter 4 on “Reducing the Burden of Disease” of the “National Objectives for Health,” which lists the need to “protect individuals, families, workers and communities from exposure to occupational and environmental hazards, disease agents or stressors” as one of the government’s strategic thrusts for 2005-10.
Presiding over the meeting, Health Undersecretary Mario Villaverde, a public health expert himself, commented that the draft policy directives are based on studies they have gathered related to pesticide poisoning in the Philippines. During the meeting, Villaverde told representatives from the plantation and chemical companies: “Pwede kayo mag-spray sa buong mundo, basta walang maapektuhan kahit isang tao [You can spray anywhere in the world, as long as no single human being is adversely affected].”
Company representatives presented their defense before the Iaceh that aerial spraying is the most cost-effective method of application against Black Sigatoka approved by the Fertilizers and Pesticides Authority. They added that the use of technologically advanced tools has increased accuracy and margin of safety vis-à-vis off-target spray. Sigatoka is a disease affecting the cavendish banana that manifests as a yellowish fungus in the leaves.
During the meeting, Cecilia Moran, a farmer and MAAS president representing affected villagers from Davao City, Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley, dismissed the company representatives’ claims, saying: “Hindi kami Sigatoka, kaya dapat hindi kami nauulanan ng spray ninyo. Hindi naman namin sinasabi na itigil na ninyo ang business nyo kasi may alternative pa naman kayo tulad ng ibang mga asensadong plantations na ground spraying lang. Samantalang kami wala ng magagawa kung hindi magdusa at maghintay sa sarili naming lupa ng kamatayan dahil sa aerial spray. [We are not Sigatoka, so you should not rain your spray on us. We are not saying you should stop your business because you have an alternative that more progressive plantations are using, namely ground spraying. We are helpless. We can’t do anything, except suffer in our own land and wait to die because of aerial spraying].”
Villaverde also pointed out that since the DOH is tasked with safeguarding people’s health, the agency needs studies from the plantation group that will prove that their practices are safe on people’s health.
Toxicologist and medical doctor Lynn Crisanta Panganiban of the UP-NPMCC presented the various pesticide-poisoning studies during the meeting. The ban-aerial-spraying issue was later referred to the Iaceh subsector on toxic substances and hazardous waste.
The body is expected to submit its final recommendation for action within five days.
Complete Address
http://businessmirror.com.ph/component/content/article/53-agri-commodities/13839-move-to-ban-aerial-spraying-in-mindanao-gains-ground.html
By: Jonathan L. Mayuga
Correspondent, Business Mirror
Manila, Philippines -- THE effort to impose the ban on aerial spraying as an agricultural practice because of the hazards it poses to human health and the environment is gaining ground as environmental groups continue to put pressure on concerned government agencies.
In a meeting of high-level government officials last week, the Department of Health (DOH)-led Interagency Committee on Environmental Health (Iaceh) has included in its draft policy paper on pesticides the banning of aerial spraying, which is widely used in big plantations in Mindanao, where cavendish banana for export is grown.
Environmental groups like the EcoWaste Coalition, Greenpeace, National Task Force Against Aerial Spraying (NTFAAS) and the Davao-based Mamamayan Ayaw sa Aerial Spraying (MAAS) earlier demanded from Iaceh to issue the ban after government public-health experts established in a study the dangerous levels of aerial spraying by banana growers on health and the environment.
Iaceh, which also acted on the recommendation of the National Poison Management and Control Center in the University of the Philippines-Manila (UP-NPMCC) on its 2006 study “Health and Environmental Assessment of Sitio Camocaan, Hagonoy, Davao del Sur,” noted there are no guidelines on techniques and procedures on aerial spraying, environmental and health monitoring, as well as designation of buffer zones.
The ban forms part of the DOH’s short-term action after observing policy gaps in pesticide use, among which is the absence of a regulation on aerial spraying in agricultural activities, particularly precautionary measures and risk assessment, and reduction on the pervasive use of agrochemicals.
The body is also looking into the compliance of agricultural plantation to social responsibility to the community, environmental-impact assessment and their occupational-health program for agricultural workers, notwithstanding the government’s admission of its inability to fully monitor and police the practice with only three personnel for the entire region.
“To be in business is not a matter of right, but a privilege. In the discourse about aerial spraying of pesticides, wherein a clear-cut policy is absent ever since and severe public health and environment hazards are clearly established and verifiable, that privilege is mandatorily prevailed upon by the most supreme right—the right to life of affected citizens,” Rene Pineda Jr., a member of the EcoWaste Coalition and head of NTFAAS, told officials in the meeting.
Pineda added that it becomes mandatory for the government to immediately stop the practice owing to its mandated duty to protect that right or face the consequences of violating their mandates.
“Banning aerial spraying fits well with the DOH’s ‘National Objectives for Health 2005-2010’ and should be formalized with immediate effect to stop the chemical fumigation of people without their consent,” Rei Panaligan, coordinator of the EcoWaste Coalition, said.
The EcoWaste Coalition cited Chapter 4 on “Reducing the Burden of Disease” of the “National Objectives for Health,” which lists the need to “protect individuals, families, workers and communities from exposure to occupational and environmental hazards, disease agents or stressors” as one of the government’s strategic thrusts for 2005-10.
Presiding over the meeting, Health Undersecretary Mario Villaverde, a public health expert himself, commented that the draft policy directives are based on studies they have gathered related to pesticide poisoning in the Philippines. During the meeting, Villaverde told representatives from the plantation and chemical companies: “Pwede kayo mag-spray sa buong mundo, basta walang maapektuhan kahit isang tao [You can spray anywhere in the world, as long as no single human being is adversely affected].”
Company representatives presented their defense before the Iaceh that aerial spraying is the most cost-effective method of application against Black Sigatoka approved by the Fertilizers and Pesticides Authority. They added that the use of technologically advanced tools has increased accuracy and margin of safety vis-à-vis off-target spray. Sigatoka is a disease affecting the cavendish banana that manifests as a yellowish fungus in the leaves.
During the meeting, Cecilia Moran, a farmer and MAAS president representing affected villagers from Davao City, Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley, dismissed the company representatives’ claims, saying: “Hindi kami Sigatoka, kaya dapat hindi kami nauulanan ng spray ninyo. Hindi naman namin sinasabi na itigil na ninyo ang business nyo kasi may alternative pa naman kayo tulad ng ibang mga asensadong plantations na ground spraying lang. Samantalang kami wala ng magagawa kung hindi magdusa at maghintay sa sarili naming lupa ng kamatayan dahil sa aerial spray. [We are not Sigatoka, so you should not rain your spray on us. We are not saying you should stop your business because you have an alternative that more progressive plantations are using, namely ground spraying. We are helpless. We can’t do anything, except suffer in our own land and wait to die because of aerial spraying].”
Villaverde also pointed out that since the DOH is tasked with safeguarding people’s health, the agency needs studies from the plantation group that will prove that their practices are safe on people’s health.
Toxicologist and medical doctor Lynn Crisanta Panganiban of the UP-NPMCC presented the various pesticide-poisoning studies during the meeting. The ban-aerial-spraying issue was later referred to the Iaceh subsector on toxic substances and hazardous waste.
The body is expected to submit its final recommendation for action within five days.
Complete Address
http://businessmirror.com.ph/component/content/article/53-agri-commodities/13839-move-to-ban-aerial-spraying-in-mindanao-gains-ground.html
Monday, July 13, 2009
DENR Seeks Strict Measures vs. Smoke Belchers
DENR Seeks Strict Measures vs. Smoke BelchersSource: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/
By: Agence France-Presse
INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines -- The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has called on local government officials of Metro Manila to get tough on smoke-belching vehicles to bring air pollution to safer levels.
In a statement, Environment Secretary Lito Atienza said air pollution in Metro Manila has stayed above the recommended limits of world health authorities largely because of the increase in the number of motor vehicles.
Based on studies by the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), the average Total Suspended Particulates (TSP) in the National Capital Region (NCR) dropped from 160 micrograms of pollutants per normal cubic meters (ug/Ncm) to 132 ug/Ncm in 2007. But the national ambient air quality standard is 90 ug/Ncm.
Last year’s TSP number for the NCR was at 138 ug/Ncm.
Atienza said air quality in Metro Manila was improving but it was not yet within the recommended health standard.
“These numbers are still beyond the guideline set by the World Health Organization (WHO),” Atienza said.
TSP is a collective term used for very small solid particles coming from emissions of diesel-fed engines, power plants, wood stoves including open burning, and dust from unpaved roads and construction areas.
Atienza stressed that local governments are tasked under the Local Government Code and the Philippine Clean Air Act to improve air quality within their respective jurisdictions.
“The management of our air quality is not the exclusive mandate of the DENR. It is a shared responsibility among concerned national agencies, local government units, as well as the people,” Atienza said.
He said the role of the local governments is “most critical” since it can pass and enforce ordinances against open burning and smoke-belching vehicles.
According to Land Transportation Office statistics, the number of motor vehicles in the country doubled from 2.5 million in 2003 to 5.53 million in 2007. Alcuin Papa
Complete URL Address:
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view/20090712-215068/Go-after-smoke-belchers-Metro-execs-ordered
.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
DENR Halts Issuance of Tree Cutting Permits
Source: http://www.gmanews.tv/By: Kimberly Jane T. Tan
GMANews.TV
MANILA, Philippines -- The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will no longer issue tree-cutting permits to preserve the remaining vegetative cover of the country.
Instead, proponents will be issued tree balling permits instead so they can transplant the trees in other areas, DENR Secretary Jose Atienza Jr. said.
“We are making it clear that we will not allow any cutting down of trees to give way to any development project anywhere in the country, even those covered by environmental compliance certificates (ECCs), mining permits or any other construction and development permits for that matter," Atienza said in a statement.
From now on, he said project developers and proponents must design their projects in accordance with the position of the trees in the area.
If clearing the area could not be avoided, Atienza said the affected trees shall be transferred to other areas through tree-balling.
During a recent consultation meeting, Atienza proposed a reduction in the number of days allotted for the processing of ECC and certificate of non-coverage (CNC) by removing the unnecessary requirements blocking investments into the country.
He also announced the strengthening of the DENR’s capability in monitoring environmental compliance of projects by securing the active participation of NGOs, people'" organizations and other stakeholders in multipartite monitoring teams that will be established for each project.
The Philippines has a land area of 30 million hectares.
But the DENR’s Forest Management Bureau said that while close to 16 million hectares of the land is categorized as forest land, only 7.2 million hectares remain actual forested areas as of 2003.
The DENR defines forests as areas measuring at least one-half hectare, where canopies of trees cover a minimum 10 percent of the territory concerned and where trees are least five meters high.
The DENR and Environmental Science for Social Change, Inc. have also previously said that the remaining hectares of primary forests have already been “heavily degraded."
It said that land use conversion, illegal logging, the slash-and-burn farming practice or kaingin, pests and diseases as well as forest fire as among causes of forest depletion.
Complete URL:
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/167145/DENR-no-longer-issuing-tree-cutting-permits
Friday, June 12, 2009
DENR Spearheads Environment Month Celebration in June
http://www.pia.gov.ph/by Rachelle M. Nessia
Philippine Information Agency, press release
Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental -- The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) here is spearheading the celebration of Environment Month in June with the theme "Your Planet Needs You! Unite to Combat Climate Change."
The activities slated for this month's celebration aim to raise the level of awareness on the gravity of environmental degradation and destruction of the natural wealth that threatens all life forms on earth and the quality of life of any Filipino.
The celebration kicked off on June 5 which is World Environment Day with a coastal cleanup and mangrove planting in Actin and Bongalonan in Basay and a roadside tree planting in Brgy. Maaslum, Ayungon.
DENR will likewise participate in the Independence Day celebration on June 12 during which they will distribute malunggay seeds/seedlings and award check to reforestation livelihood project beneficiaries in the province.
On the 24th there will be a Kapihan forum with the Philippine Information Agency while on the 25th is Arbor Day with tree planting activities in Bindoy and Dauin.
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