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:
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Environmentalists Urge Gov't On 2014 PCB Phase-out

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/
By: Alcuin Papa
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines--Environmentalists called on the government to fast track the phaseout of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in large transformers and voltage regulators in the power sector.

Manny Calonzo of the Ecowaste Coalition said on Tuesday the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) required governments “to prohibit the production, import, export and use of all PCBs,” and implement an action plan to address PCBs.

“The government already has a program laid out to phase out PCBs. But the real problem is fast tracking the program to accomplish the phase out by 2014,” Calonzo said.

In simple ceremonies on Tuesday, the coalition reiterated its support for a program of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to ensure that PCBs and other persistent organic pollutants (POPs) would no longer be used in the country.

“The pioneering project will demonstrate the efficacy of environmentally sound and safe non-burn approach for managing PCBs and will surely contribute to both the local and global push to eliminate PCBs and advance chemical safety,” Calonzo said.

The group also launched the “PCB Eliminator,” a “masked hero” whose mission is to protect “our people and the ecosystem from harm caused by exposure to these harmful substances.”

The new green crusader joins the other mascot heroes of the waste and pollution watchdog, namely “Boy Bayong,” an advocate against single use plastic bags, and “Super WA” (for “Walang Aksaya”) a champion for Zero Waste.

Angie Brabante, chief of the chemical management section of the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) said that if introduced directly into the environment, PCB could affect the skin, immune and reproductive system. It is also dangerous to wildlife and resides in the environment for 30 years.

She added that electric cooperatives around the country continued to use transformers and regulators with PCB. According to him, 32,000 transformers in use still contain PCB.

“There are new alternatives now to PCB oils including transformers that use mineral and silicon oil,” she said.

Calonzo said that at present, the biggest concern now would be how to dispose of PCBs. There is only one facility being constructed in the country to dispose of PCBs without burning, according to him. That facility is being constructed in Bataan and will be finished this year.

According to the coalition, PCBs belong to the so-called “dirty dozen” of POPs that include pesticides, industrial chemicals and unintentional byproducts of industrial and combustion processes.

Worldwide, there is an estimated five million tons of PCB oils and contaminated equipment.

In the country, initial inventories by the EMB estimated 6,879 tons of PCB-containing equipment and waste products with about 2400 tons of PCB oil.

PCBS are also found in industrial establishments, manufacturing plants, military camps and hospitals.

Exposure to PCBs may lead to cancer, particularly cancer of the liver. There have been well-documented cases of water pollution with PCBs in industrialized countries, which led to the poisoning of marine life.
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Manila Mayor's Exec Order Bans Registration of Pollutive Companies

Manila, Philippines -- Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, through an executive order dated June 4, 2009, has prohibitted the registration and renewal of permits of businesses deemed violating environmental laws and ordinances.

“No new business which will pollute the environment, pose danger to lives and properties such as, but not limited to, those classified as extremely pollutive and/or extremely hazardous or pollutive and/or hazardous under Ordinance 8187, shall be registered or allowed to do business in the city,” according to Mayor Lim’s Executive Order 19.

Mayor Lim has previously signed City Ordinance No. 8187, which he approved on May 28, and allowed the continued operation of the depot of three oil companies in the city’s Pandacan district.

The three oil companies that maintain the depot in the Pandacan district are Chevron Philippines, Inc., Petron Corp., and Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp.

Ordinance 8187 has been opposed by some sectors, including a religious sector led by Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, stating that the industries staying in the city pose danger to the lives of the residents and the environment.

The Social Justice Society has also sought to stop Mayor Lim from enforcing Ordinance 8187 contending that the ordinance is illegal since the Revised Manila Charter mandates the city government to pass laws that would promote the general welfare and not to enact measures that “expose inhabitants to serious physical danger.” It also said that the ordinance violated the Constitution and the Local Government Code.