“In this moment of crisis, people say charity starts at home.  But unless you come from another planet, we have only one home.  So we’d better take good care of it.” — OECD Sec-Gen Angel Gurria, UN Convention on Climate Change Durban, South Africa, December 2011

MANILA, Philippines — Years ago, we recognized the intimate intertwining – nay, the irreversible unity – of the environment with population and sustainable development, and the need to address these three components of God’s bounty as an integrated, converged and synergistic roadmap to a better future.

Balancing environment, people and sustainability

As early as 01 September 1992, we established the multi-sectoral/multi-stakeholder Philippine Council on Sustainable Development by EO 15, under the chairmanship of then NEDA Secretary Cielito Habito. The PCSD included the DENR Secretary as vice chairman, and 14 other department heads as members. As civil society counterparts, seven NGO-representatives from key sectors were chosen as PCSD members.

The judicious management of the environment, population, and development would guarantee the well-being of each Filipino and our place of respect in the family of nations – which we used to occupy.

The broad PCSD mandate is to move the country capably and competitively into the 21st century – in effect, to implement the strategy adopted by the United Nations in its seminal Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED or “The Earth Summit”) in Rio de Janeiro in June, 1992. Our Philippine Agenda for the coming century was thus grounded on universal principles and “best practices.”

By virtue of EO 370 promulgated 26 September 1996, PCSD was strengthened by the inclusion of two additional members each from the labor and private business sectors, and the provision for a review/ evaluation system. As NEDA chairman, FVR presided over PCSD meetings which, occasionally, included Congressional leaders as consultants.

This is how the PCSD stands today in the pursuit of a doable “Philippine Agenda 21.”

PA 21 Reforms; Quality Population

In 1996, FVR convened the National Anti-Poverty Summit which paved the way for the enactment of the “Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act” (RA 8425) on 11 December 1997, which still stands. Also in 1996, we established a National Marine Policy for properly managing coastal zones and optimizing offshore/oceanic resources along the principles of sustainable development. To ensure proper implementation, periodic reviews were institutionalized pursuant to PA 21.

Meanwhile, on 5-13 September 1994, the Cairo UN International Conference on Population Development adopted significant paradigm shifts in family and population management. It was the largest global conference on population and development ever held – with 11,000 participants from 179 countries representing governments, academe, media, and NGOs. NEDA Secretary Ciel Habito headed the Philippine delegation which was among the most sought-after groups because our national policy was seen as a balanced paradigm that respected the same three integral components for humankind’s sustainability: Population, environment, and development.

We focused at the time on the balancing of Earth’s carrying capacity – a principle now universally accepted by way of population quality, environmental protection, and sustainable growth as the key mandates to insure human security.

The ICPD Program of Action seeks to “raise the quality of life for all peoples through appropriate population development policies aimed at achieving poverty eradication, sustainable development, and guarantee of all human rights, including people empowerment.”

Blessed Pope John Paul II at the Holy See in September 1994, in a joyful audience with FVR, expressed his appreciation of the Philippine population policy articulated at the then on-going Cairo ICPD.

UN Benchmarks

ICPD opened a new era of willingness by the international community and governments to integrate population quality and socio-economic progress, with these UN benchmarks:

(1) Reproductive healthcare and unmet needs for contraception. By 2015, 100% of primary healthcare facilities should offer the widest range of safe, effective modern methods to prevent/manage reproductive infections.

(2) Reduction of maternal mortality. By 2015, maternal mortality rate should be reduced to half the 2000 rate.

(3) Reduction of infant mortality. By 2015, countries should have infant mortality rate of 35 per 1,000 live births and under “age 5” mortality of 45 per 1,000 – or less.

(4) Access to reproductive/sexual health services. Countries should strive to access reproductive and health services to all individuals of appropriate age NLT 2015.

(5) HIV/AIDS. At least 95% of both sexes aged 15-24 should, by 2010, have access to information/services necessary to reduce HIV/AIDS vulnerability.

(6) Universal education. Primary school enrollment for both sexes should be at least 90% by 2010, 100% by 2015.

Our ICPD commitments were approved by FVR because they placed people at the center of development, and put family planning within a broader framework based on the principles of human rights, health/longevity, socio-economic justice, and environmental sustainability.

The bountiful seas

We know sea-based activities make sizeable contributions to Asia-Pacific economies. But access to littoral areas/coasts can be uneven.

A multi-disciplinary UN study shows that coastal economies fare better in “ease of doing business” than landlocked ones. Recognition of this handicap was the underlying reason for the UN Conference on the Law of the Sea to provide special provisions so that landlocked states could benefit from UNCLOS.

It is of high significance, therefore, that landlocked Laos is now a partner in the “Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia.” This was after ASEAN, with the assistance of development partners, accelerated its Mekong River Programs to provide Laos’ access to the South China Sea thru riverways across Vietnam.

The responsible stewardship of our oceans/coasts can cushion us from the impact of human-induced crises like economic recession and those caused by natural hazards.

Climate change affects all

In mid-July, 2009, the Philippines created the Commission on Climate Change, now chaired by former Senator/DENR Secretary Heherson Alvarez. Before its implementation with preventive/safety measures for vulnerable communities, typhoons Ketsana (Ondoy) and Parma (Pepeng) ravaged our population centers with great damage to life and property.

The main lessons learned from those two disasters and also from equally destructive Washi (Sendong) is that current measures for people’s safety are not appreciated enough by planners. While communities did their best to cope with nature’s wrath, and while we saw outstanding acts of life-saving, these are never enough to overcome the suffering generated by the neglect or abuse of the environment.

We need vision, innovation, fresh perspectives, and practical approaches. Most of all, leaders need to be steadfast in exercising their political will.

Legislation is essential, but even where laws and budgets are in place, they are not enough without political will. The enactment of international covenants, national laws, and local ordinances is not the end point.

Marine survey of Kalayaan Islands Group

In 1996, FVR gave official authority to the initiatives of then DOST Secretary William Padolina supported by DENR Secretary Angel Alcala and Edgardo Gomez, UP Marine Science Director (both eminent marine biologists and my scuba-diving buddies) to undertake a three-year program to explore the Kalayaan Islands Group in the Spratlys, together with a select group of other Asia-Pacific scientists.

This Philippine research project is recorded in a landmark book, “The Kalayaan Islands – Our Natural Heritage” (U.P. 2003). Its findings were most encouraging in terms of confidence-building, benefit-sharing, and resource development of the KIG.

In the light of the race for energy resources led by the US and China (dubbed “the oiloholics”), our earlier efforts to promote the peaceful, cooperative development of the Spratlys promise to bear fruit from our greater appreciation of their criticality.

However, there is bad news, according to Dr. Ed Gomez in Tropical Coasts (July, 2011): “More than just the variety of animal, plant, bacterial, and viral species, biodiversity includes the relationships connecting us all to one another. This richness and variety of life and ecosystems plays an essential role in keeping our world functioning.

“Only in the past two decades have we begun to better appreciate our ‘global commons’ – or the entirety of the environment. The preoccupations of daily living make us oblivious to the dangers threatening fragile ecosystems worldwide. We’re equally negligent in disregarding our responsibility to care for Mother Earth.

“The astounding variety of life on Earth is rapidly disappearing before our eyes. Thousands of species face extinction. Approximately 13 million hectares of the world’s forests (the size of Greece) are lost annually due to human activities.”

Above concerns have been thoroughly discussed in various events hosted by the Philippines, the latest being the Global Conference on Land-Ocean Connections under UN auspices last January.

Better act now

That Philippine officials (at all levels) and private sector leaders must act now, instead of tomorrow, is an imperative.

Let us recall that the fundamental assessment by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change headed by Nobel Peace Laureate (2007) Rajendra Pachauri, is that:

“HUMANS ARE THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE TO THE ENVIRONMENT BECAUSE OF THEIR WILL TO VIOLATE, ABUSE, AND NEGLECT.”

Please send any comments to fvr@rpdev.org. Copies of articles are available at www.rpdev.org.