RP: Asia's first 'green tiger'?

RP: Asia's first 'green tiger'?

The Philippines has laid out a national plan that aims to make country the Asia's first 'green tiger'. Johanna Son of Inter Press Service writes how environmentalists are keenly watching how this will be implemented.

MANILA: Trying not to repeat the mistakes of its East Asian neighbors, the Philippines has put into place a plan that will make its economy grow without causing irreversible harm to the archipelago's fragile environment.

Four years after the Earth Summit, the Philippines has put out a national plan that aims to make the country the region's first 'Green Tiger'.

Entitled Philippine Agenda 21: A National Agenda for Sustainable Development, the thick document was released in September after a year of consultations throughout the country. Calling the plan a "common covenant" among non-government organizations, government and business for environment-friendly growth, Philippine President Fidel Ramos said: "We do not intend to grow now and clean up later".

He added that the Philippines' aim to be a 'green tiger' that cleans up as it grows is "somewhat out of the ordinary, given that most developing countries seem to have abandoned all worries for the environment", as they grow.

The Philippines is among the first Asian countries to carry out pledges made at the 1992 Earth Summit at Rio Janeiro, Brazil to draw up 'Agenda 21' plans at the national level. China has also issued a national Agenda 21 plan, there are doubts about how effectively its provisions will be implemented.

Even for the Philippines, environmentalists say the drawing up of the Agenda 21 blueprint for the country is only a start, adding that its real test lies implementation. "We expect that Philippine Agenda 21 will guide plans, programs and rules following sustainable development and not as an instrument to `greenwash' actions that go against this," said Charles Capricho of a fishermen's involved in the scheme.

Imelda Perez of the Philippine Institute of Alternative Futures says the challenge now is "to get it done at the local level" so that the document does not remain a broad but unimplemented grand plan.

Activists say they will be watching how government carries out action on issues listed as priorities, including a controversial law that opens up mining to foreigners but is opposed by activists and many indigenous groups whose lands are targeted for mining operations.

Ramos' upbeat mood notwithstanding, the country's economic recovery means it is likely to find itself having to balance the push of development and economic gain on one hand, and longer- term concerns like environmental effects and respect for the sentiment of affected communities on the other.

Capricho says activists have already identified "contradictions" between the government's 'Philippines 2000' development plan and its avowed priority for environment issues.

In March, a massive spillage of mine tailings damaged a river ecosystem and wreaked havoc on a village in Marinduque island, revealing the steep costs that come with lax enforcement of laws, and a flawed environmental impact assessment system.

In August, environmentalists scored a rare victory when the government rejected plans by a consortium of four large Asian companies to put up a large cement complex at a town near a marine reserve in Bolinao, Pangasinan province north of Manila.

The need to balance at times conflicting pressures also arises in other situations, such as the conversion of farmlands crucial to food security into industrial zones or plans to build a golf course in the internationally-known beach resort of Boracay.

The Agenda 21 report recognizes these challenges. And in region where breakneck economic growth has been attained with a "pollute now, pay later" principle, government recognition of sustainable growth is already an achievement. "While there is an acceleration in the growth of our economy, there is evidence that environmental quality is fast deteriorating as dramatized by the increased occurrence of environmental disasters," the report says.

The Philippine economy has turned the corner, growing by 7.1 percent in the first half of 1996. GNP growth figure for the entire year is expected to exceed 6.0 percent as the country catches up with sprinting neighbors like Thailand and Malaysia.

But, the Agenda 21 report pointed out, the gains of economic growth are "being diminished and/or even negated" by a string of environmental ills ranging from deforestation, coral reef destruction, pollutive coal-fired power plants, to massive golf course development.

The cost of cleaning up water and air is estimated at least US$1.31 billion and $615 million respectively. Conservation of biological diversity is another concern. The picture is no brighter in cities, which the report says has "deteriorated as human habitats" and face complex problems such as inadequate mass transportation and road systems, improper waste disposal, water shortages and criminality.

The report traces many problems to the quest for economic growth that benefits certain sectors of society but is not the entire measure of well-being. It echoes the view that GDP "does not reflect social decline and inequity, the deterioration of natural resources and environmental degradation associated with this economic growth".

It also says the Philippines' entry into international economic arrangements like the World Trade Organization, Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' Free Trade Area is bound to put more pressure on natural resources, the environment and social concerns.

The agenda's ambitious and novel targets include giving government staff `environment intelligence quotient' tests, taxing activities like mining and real estate, and putting 'green clauses' in collective bargaining agreements.

How much of the Philippine Agenda 21 report will be carried out is uncertain. But this much is clear: formally at least, it conveys a recognition at this crucial juncture of Philippine economic recovery that while growth is good -- it is far from enough.

-- IPS