RP: Asia's first 'green tiger'?<\/p>\n
The Philippines has laid out a national plan that aims to make
\ncountry the Asia's first 'green tiger'. Johanna Son of Inter
\nPress Service writes how environmentalists are keenly watching
\nhow this will be implemented.<\/p>\n
MANILA: Trying not to repeat the mistakes of its East Asian
\nneighbors, the Philippines has put into place a plan that will
\nmake its economy grow without causing irreversible harm to the
\narchipelago's fragile environment.<\/p>\n
Four years after the Earth Summit, the Philippines has put out
\na national plan that aims to make the country the region's first
\n'Green Tiger'.<\/p>\n
Entitled Philippine Agenda 21: A National Agenda for
\nSustainable Development, the thick document was released in
\nSeptember after a year of consultations throughout the country.
\nCalling the plan a \"common covenant\" among non-government
\norganizations, government and business for environment-friendly
\ngrowth, Philippine President Fidel Ramos said: \"We do not intend
\nto grow now and clean up later\".<\/p>\n
He added that the Philippines' aim to be a 'green tiger' that
\ncleans up as it grows is \"somewhat out of the ordinary, given
\nthat most developing countries seem to have abandoned all worries
\nfor the environment\", as they grow.<\/p>\n
The Philippines is among the first Asian countries to carry
\nout pledges made at the 1992 Earth Summit at Rio Janeiro, Brazil
\nto draw up 'Agenda 21' plans at the national level. China has
\nalso issued a national Agenda 21 plan, there are doubts about how
\neffectively its provisions will be implemented.<\/p>\n
Even for the Philippines, environmentalists say the drawing up
\nof the Agenda 21 blueprint for the country is only a start,
\nadding that its real test lies implementation. \"We expect that
\nPhilippine Agenda 21 will guide plans, programs and rules
\nfollowing sustainable development and not as an instrument to
\n`greenwash' actions that go against this,\" said Charles Capricho
\nof a fishermen's involved in the scheme.<\/p>\n
Imelda Perez of the Philippine Institute of Alternative
\nFutures says the challenge now is \"to get it done at the local
\nlevel\" so that the document does not remain a broad but
\nunimplemented grand plan.<\/p>\n
Activists say they will be watching how government carries out
\naction on issues listed as priorities, including a controversial
\nlaw that opens up mining to foreigners but is opposed by
\nactivists and many indigenous groups whose lands are targeted for
\nmining operations.<\/p>\n
Ramos' upbeat mood notwithstanding, the country's economic
\nrecovery means it is likely to find itself having to balance the
\npush of development and economic gain on one hand, and longer-
\nterm concerns like environmental effects and respect for the
\nsentiment of affected communities on the other.<\/p>\n
Capricho says activists have already identified
\n\"contradictions\" between the government's 'Philippines 2000'
\ndevelopment plan and its avowed priority for environment issues.<\/p>\n
In March, a massive spillage of mine tailings damaged a river
\necosystem and wreaked havoc on a village in Marinduque island,
\nrevealing the steep costs that come with lax enforcement of laws,
\nand a flawed environmental impact assessment system.<\/p>\n
In August, environmentalists scored a rare victory when the
\ngovernment rejected plans by a consortium of four large Asian
\ncompanies to put up a large cement complex at a town near a
\nmarine reserve in Bolinao, Pangasinan province north of Manila.<\/p>\n
The need to balance at times conflicting pressures also arises
\nin other situations, such as the conversion of farmlands crucial
\nto food security into industrial zones or plans to build a golf
\ncourse in the internationally-known beach resort of Boracay.<\/p>\n
The Agenda 21 report recognizes these challenges. And in
\nregion where breakneck economic growth has been attained with a
\n\"pollute now, pay later\" principle, government recognition of
\nsustainable growth is already an achievement. \"While there is an
\nacceleration in the growth of our economy, there is evidence that
\nenvironmental quality is fast deteriorating as dramatized by the
\nincreased occurrence of environmental disasters,\" the report
\nsays.<\/p>\n
The Philippine economy has turned the corner, growing by 7.1
\npercent in the first half of 1996. GNP growth figure for the
\nentire year is expected to exceed 6.0 percent as the country
\ncatches up with sprinting neighbors like Thailand and Malaysia.<\/p>\n
But, the Agenda 21 report pointed out, the gains of economic
\ngrowth are \"being diminished and\/or even negated\" by a string of
\nenvironmental ills ranging from deforestation, coral reef
\ndestruction, pollutive coal-fired power plants, to massive golf
\ncourse development.<\/p>\n
The cost of cleaning up water and air is estimated at least
\nUS$1.31 billion and $615 million respectively. Conservation of
\nbiological diversity is another concern. The picture is no
\nbrighter in cities, which the report says has \"deteriorated as
\nhuman habitats\" and face complex problems such as inadequate mass
\ntransportation and road systems, improper waste disposal, water
\nshortages and criminality.<\/p>\n
The report traces many problems to the quest for economic
\ngrowth that benefits certain sectors of society but is not the
\nentire measure of well-being. It echoes the view that GDP \"does
\nnot reflect social decline and inequity, the deterioration of
\nnatural resources and environmental degradation associated with
\nthis economic growth\".<\/p>\n
It also says the Philippines' entry into international
\neconomic arrangements like the World Trade Organization, Asia-
\nPacific Economic Cooperation and the Association of Southeast
\nAsian Nations' Free Trade Area is bound to put more pressure on
\nnatural resources, the environment and social concerns.<\/p>\n
The agenda's ambitious and novel targets include giving
\ngovernment staff `environment intelligence quotient' tests,
\ntaxing activities like mining and real estate, and putting 'green
\nclauses' in collective bargaining agreements.<\/p>\n
How much of the Philippine Agenda 21 report will be carried
\nout is uncertain. But this much is clear: formally at least, it
\nconveys a recognition at this crucial juncture of Philippine
\neconomic recovery that while growth is good -- it is far from
\nenough.<\/p>\n
-- IPS<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rp-asias-first-green-tiger-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }