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