SUSTAINABILITY
OF ENVIRONMENTALISM
by
Antonio C. Antonio
September
10, 2014
More than 20 years since the Philippines
adopted Agenda 21, what have we accomplished as a country in terms of our
environmental commitments? How can environmentalism be really sustainable?
“Dr. Cielito
F. Habito outlined the track that should be taken towards Philippine economic
development and mitigating the ill effects on the environment. He mentioned the various plans and programs
to address our problems in the areas of forestry, fishery, waste management,
mining and air pollution. Most of these
are embodied in Philippine Agenda 21 and the Enhanced PA 21. With Dr. Habito’s assertions, at least there
is light at the end of the tunnel.
The primary
concern of President Fidel V. Ramos during his term as leader of this nation
was “people empowerment.” He firmly
believed that when the course of development (economic and social) is placed in
the hands of “the people” themselves, they would always pro-actively react
since it is their lives and future that is at stake. Getting people aware of their duties and
responsibilities in nation-building and in charting their own future is the
ideal way in creating a ground-swell of involvement from the populace.
There is no
easy way to get things done. Development
can only be sustained on a long-term basis.
We just can’t do things today and expect positive results tomorrow. Economic and social development, like
environment-focused plans and programs, have long gestation periods and there
will be many challenges to hurdle. Dr.
Habito was generous enough to share a “to do” list for success:
1.
Political Will – Getting the national and local officials to understand
and internalize the need for sustainable development as the only way to progress. Political will also entails the cubing of
corruption in government.
2.
People Empowerment – Getting people involved through the different LGUs
(local government units), NGOs (non-government organizations) and POs (people’s
organizations). Example of which would
be the various People’s Economic Development Councils.
3.
Law Enforcement – A no-nonsense enforcement of the laws on forestry,
waste management, mining, fishery, etc.
We actually have an abundance of laws to cover a broad spectrum of
economic activities. They just need to
be implemented.
4.
Philippine Agenda 21 – There should be a roadmap to sustainable
development of the economy and the environment.
PA 21 should be seriously re-visited and integrated in present-day
implementation of economic and environmental undertakings. Where PA 21 works, it should be promoted
and/or calibrated to fit present challenges.
5.
Harmonize Laws – We do have an abundance of laws but some of them are
duplications and contradictions.
Duplicate and contradictory laws should be repealed or integrated to
prevent waste and confusion in implementation.
6.
Harmonize Systems and Procedures – Government agencies often crisscross
functions making it oftentimes tedious to get things done because of too much
intervention from the different functional departments of government. The circuitous systems and procedures in
government only breed corruption. This
should be streamlined to allow for speedy processing, resolution and
implementation of tasks.
If the
above-listed “to do” list is diligently followed, I have no doubt that
sustainable development is possible in the Philippines.” (Antonio, 2013, “Is
Sustainable Development Possible in the Philippines?”, http://antonantonio.blogspot.com/search?q=is+sustainable+development+possible+in+the+philippines)
Philippine
Agenda 21 (PA 21) is a country-focused version of UNDP’s Agenda 21. This was the vision of Pres. Fidel V. Ramos
then… but after 20 years little progress has been made in pursuing PA 21. After three presidencies (Joseph E. Estrada,
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Benigno S. Aquino III) who were and is focused on
their own socio-political and economic agenda and not necessarily sharing Pres.
Ramos’ vision, PA 21 got lost in oblivion.
Continuity remains to be the biggest set-back in programs that take long
gestation periods such as the environment.
In a
problem-solving equation, the root cause of the problem is of central
significance before we can come up with a matching solution. We live in a democracy… therefore, we are
governed by laws, rules and regulations.
In our system of government, the law dictates what is right or wrong for
us. Our laws should match what we think
are for the good of our environment and people as well. Therefore, to sustain environmentalism, we
should focus where it matters most… reviewing, revising, harmonizing and
crafting new laws that are pro-environment and pro-people.
Environmentalism
is a just cause. It echoes concerns
through the borders of time; both present and future. In all of us lives the sustainability of
environmentalism.
Just my
little thoughts…
(Please
visit, like and share Pro EARTH Crusaders and Landscape Ecology UPOU on
Facebook or follow me at http://antonantonio.blogspot.com/)
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