The restoration of the watershed area in one of Mindanao's most important water bodies will begin soon, as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the provincial government of Lanao del Sur signed on Wednesday the implementation agreement for the Integrated Natural Resources and Environmental Management Project (INREMP) covering Lake Lanao.

One of the major projects of the DENR's Forest Management Bureau (FMB), INREMP aims to manage the upper river basins and component watersheds to support poverty reduction, watershed management, biodiversity conservation and climate change policy objectives by developing the capacities of local government units (LGUs), institutions and upland communities as development partners.

The implementation agreement for the INREMP in Lake Lanao, a highly important water body in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), was signed by DENR Region 10 Director Ruth Tawantawan and Lanao del Sur Gov. Soraya Adiong in simple rites held at the Sulo Riviera Hotel in Quezon City.

The signing was witnessed by top DENR officials led by Secretary Gina Lopez and ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman. Also in attendance were Secretary Datu Abul Khayr Alonto, chair of the Mindanao Development Authority, and DENR Undersecretary for International Affairs and Foreign Assisted Program Jonas Leones.

“I have no doubt in my mind that we will make a difference in Mindanao, and we’re gonna start in a big way here in Lanao Del Sur,” said Lopez, stressing that the change in the quality of people’s lives covered by the project is the real measure of its success.

Lopez hopes to see within the next six months changes in the quality of life of people around the lake as a result of the project. Around 30 municipalities, consisting of 800 barangays, can be found within the area.

Lake Lanao is the second largest lake in the country with an approximate area of 32,000 hectares, next only to Laguna de Bay.

For her part, Tawantawan said that the INREMP project in Lanao del Sur “is the most challenging” of the four INREMP sites, owing to its “uniqueness” and “many firsts”.

“We are managing a reservation that is directly under ARMM, but done through a national government agency,” Tawantawan said, adding the project showcases “a first and big project” in terms giving assistance in Lanao del Sur under the Duterte Administration.

“This is purely assisting a group of people that have not been given assistance for so many years,” she said.

Gov. Hataman, on the other hand, expressed optimism that the project will help bring lasting peace in Mindanao as the project addresses crucial developmental issues in terms of providing sustainable economic activities within and around the lake.

Hataman noted that livelihood activities in and around the lake area are “environmenl-based and dependent on rural infrastructures,” which, he said, the project seeks to strengthen, eventually benefitting the entire province.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), 11 of 20 poorest provinces in the country are in Mindanao, with Lanao del Sur topping the list with a 74.3 percent poverty incidence for the first semester of 2015.

INREMP also has a project in Bukidnon (Region 10), which is also one the 11 poorest provinces in Mindanao, benefitting 22 municipalities and covering 535,908 hectares in the Upper Bukidnon River Basin.

Considered the deepest in the country and one of the major tropical lakes in Southeast Asia, Lake Lanao supplies 70 percent of Mindanao’s electricity with hydroelectric power, aside from providing irrigation water and various fishes of commercial potentials.

The other two are the Upper Chico River Basin (442,906 hectares) in the Cordillera Administrative Region and the Upper Wahig-Inabanga River Basin (60,859 hectares) in in Bohol.

The program's main objective is to address sustainable watershed management concerns in upper river basins. It also aims to reduce and reverse the degradation of watersheds caused by forest denudation and unsustainable farming practices.

INREMP also seeks to provide incentives to local communities, the LGUs, and the DENR for improving the natural resource management by generating sustainable and economic benefits.

The project is funded with a loan from the Asian Development Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development and grants from the Global Environmental Facility and the Climate Change Fund of the Philippine government. The total fund for the project is US$154.12 million. ###

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Published: 24 September 2016

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has led the creation of an inter-agency task force that would guarantee social protection and uphold the self-determination and development of all indigenous peoples (IPs) in the country.

The task force is composed of representatives from the DENR, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), and the Natural Resources Development Corp. (NRDC), the DENR's corporate arm.

The three agencies signed on Wednesday a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to form the Indigenous Peoples Inter-Agency Task Force (IPITF).

DENR Undersecretary Demetrio Ignacio represented Secretary Regina Paz Lopez in the MOU signing, with NCIP executive director and chair Atty. Leonor T. Oralde-Quintayo and NRDC president-designate Sylvia Ordonez signing in behalf of their agencies.

The MOU signing came a week after Lopez announced that an IP Desk will be set up at the DENR central office in Quezon City.

She said the IP Desk will attend to the concerns of IPs who often face threats of land grabbing, forced eviction and human- rights violations.

Under the MOU, a technical working group will be formed to draft the rules of procedures to ensure the observance, effectiveness and smooth functioning of the task force.

The IPITF is tasked to make sure that the IPs are "not subjected to undue pressure and influence from unscrupulous businessmen or other industries intending to extract natural resources."

It is likewise expected to "act towards the fulfillment of the objectives of environmental laws and [IP] rights."

The DENR has promised to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of resoures within ancestral domains and preserve biodiversity, as well as to employ a strict policy of verifying the authenticity of documents pertaining to the use of lands within IP communities.

It also agreed to refrain from issuing titles within ancestral domains and provide opportunities for NCIP to access the Enhanced National Greening Program, the government's massive reforestation and poverty alleviation initiative, for the empowerment of IPs.

For her part, Quintayo said that she was “touched” by the new role given by Lopez to the commission.

“This is the first time that the NCIP and the DENR are working at the national level for really working with the indigenous peoples,” Quintayo said.

She said the preservation and development of ancestral lands for the benefit of IPs require convergence and the intervention of experts, which the collaboration among the three agencies will provide.

The NRDC, for its part, vowed to provide human resources and capital so that the IP communities will be able to make optimum use of their land resources.

The corporation also promised to assist in consultations, planning, product development and marketing for any social enterprise an IP community might wish to undertake.

Whenever available, the NRDC will provide the capital funding or mobilize resources to support biodiversity-friendly social enterprises.

The NCIP, on the other hand, will ensure sustainable use and development of ancestral domains of IPs, free from exploitation and abuse.

The commission also agreed to provide the DENR and the NRDC with community-initiated plans and roadmaps of IP concerns. ###

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Published: 22 September 2016

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said the Philippines has made significant strides in complying with the Montreal Protocol, a 29-year-old global agreement to protect the ozone layer.

Finalized in 1987, the international treaty legally enforces the phase-out of the production and use of ozone-depleting substances (ODS) or chemicals often used in refrigeration, air-conditioning, foam manufacturing, aerosol production, and fire extinguishing.

"The Philippines has so far been successful in complying with the agreement having phased out all ODS, except for hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), in 2010," DENR Undersecretary for Legal Services and Attached Agencies Analiza Rebuelta Teh said in a report read on her behalf during a forum held in Quezon City to mark the local celebration of the Ozone Day on Sept. 16.

Teh, who is the national coordinator for ODS program, said the country also began reducing the production and use of HFCs by 10 percent last year until the total ban of the last remaining ODS by 2040.

The Philippines signed the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer on Sept. 14, 1988 and ratified it on March 21, 1991.

As a party to one of the most successful and effective environmental treaties ever, the country agreed to the gradual phase-out of ODS, particularly chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs).

The Philippines imposed a ban on the importation of CFCs and HCFCs in 2010 and 2013, respectively.

In 1994, the Philippine Ozone Desk (POD) was created to facilitate and coordinate ODS phase-out projects and policies for the overall implementation of the country's obligations under the Montreal Protocol. The POD is under the Environmental Management Bureau, an attached agency of the DENR.

Since ODS are not produced in the Philippines, the focus of its regulation was on the import, processing, sale and disposal of such chemicals.

Over the years, the government has developed, implemented, and updated policies and regulations to regulate, restrict or prohibit the importation, manufacture, processing, sale, distribution, use and disposal of ODS.

A total of 93 ODS projects worth over US$38.8 million have also been approved by the protocol's Multilateral Fund, which contributed to the phase-out of 3,330 tons of ODS in the country.

As a result of the concerted efforts among nations, the ozone layer is healing itself and is expected to recover by the middle of the century.

The Montreal Protocol has significantly contributed to the mitigation of climate change as it prevented the emission of more than 135 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by simply phasing out ODS. ###

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Published: 20 September 2016

Environment Secretary Gina Lopez has directed all protected area (PA) managers in the country to ensure that local communities are involved in the all aspects of management of conservation areas known for their natural, ecological and cultural values.

Lopez gave her marching orders during a conference of members of Protected Area Management Boards (PAMBs) in Region 4-A or Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) held in Quezon City recently.

"We will involve the people. We cannot help save the environment if we don't partner with the people who live there," Lopez said during the 5th Regional PAMB Summit of Region 4-A attended by around 200 PAMB heads and members.

The environment chief also reminded the PA managers about the commitment of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to social justice by making sure that "the resources of an area are enjoyed by its people."

"Your performance indicator is the quality of life of the people there. I want them to live well. I want them to earn," Lopez told summit participants.

She also bared a plan for a joint venture between the communities and the DENR, through its corporate arm, the Natural Resources Development Corp. or NRDC, to provide livelihood opportunities to people in PA communities.

"We have the money. We can fan out resources there but they (the people) must make money from the economic activities. And then we roll back the earnings. We make some money and we make sure they benefit. We roll it, roll it until we get rid of poverty there," she explained.

Lopez said she wants the DENR to act as a "benevolent entrepreneur" that will help people within and around PAs utilize their resources and improve their lives.

According to DENR-Region 4-A Director Reynulfo Juan, Lopez's directive is a recognition of the critical role played by the community in ensuring the long-term stability and success of a PA.

He also underscored the need for the PAMBs in Calabarzon to revisit their respective management plans in the light of Lopez's plan to refocus the National Greening Program from being a reforestation project to a form of livelihood.

"We have to look at the projects currently implemented in the areas. We will also generate wealth in the host communities," Juan said.

He added: "Whatever development will be undertaken in a PA should benefit the local communities."

There are more than 200 PAs across the country, ranging from large natural parks, landscapes and seascapes, to wildlife and marine life sanctuaries. Seventeen of these conservation areas are located in the Calabarzon.

PAMBs are created pursuant to Republic Act No. 7586 or the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act of 1992.

Each board is composed of the DENR regional director; the provincial development officer; one representative each from the municipal government, barangay, tribal community; at least three representatives from non-government organizations or local community organizations; and one representative from another department or national government agency involved in PA management. ###

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Published: 20 September 2016

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is leading the nation in observing the Ozone Protection Month this September, which also marks the 31st year since the world agreed for the first time to slash the production and consumption of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other ozone-depleting substances (ODS).

The agency has lined up several activities to highlight the importance of protecting the ozone layer, a fragile shield of gas that protects the Earth from the harmful portion of the rays of the sun, thus helping preserve life on the planet.

This year marks the 31st anniversary of the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, an important milestone in the protection of the ozone layer that happened in 1985. Two years later, representatives from 24 nations met in the Canadian city of Montreal and announced to the world that it was time to stop destroying the ozone layer.

In doing so, these countries themselves, via the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, to rid the world of substances that threaten the ozone layer.

In December 1994, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed Sept. 16 of every year to be the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, commemorating the date when the Montreal Protocol was signed in 1987. The day was first celebrated on Sept. 16, 1995.

The theme for this year’s celebration is “Ozone and Climate: Restored by a World United.” It is in recognition of the collective efforts of the parties to the Vienna Convention and Montreal Protocol for the restoration of the ozone layer and the global commitment to combat climate change.

The Philippines signed the Montreal Protocol on September 14, 1988 and ratified it on March 21, 1991.

As one of the parties to the agreement, the country agreed to the gradual phase out of ODS, particularly CFCs and Hydrochloroflourocarbons (HCFCs).

CFCs and HCFCs are chemical coolants used in refrigerators, air conditioning units, fire extinguishers, thermowares, ice box, water jugs, among others. The country imposed a ban on the importation of CFCs and HCFCs in 2010 and 2013, respectively.

According to a study by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the control, use and phase out of ODS significantly contributed to the protection of the ozone layer.

The UNEP hailed the Montreal Protocol a success, noting that the presence of controlled ODS emissions in the atmosphere is decreasing which signifies recovery of the ozone layer from ODS-induced depletion.

The DENR, through the Philippine Ozone Desk (POD) under the Environmental Management Bureau, is in charge of all activities lined up for the Ozone Protection Month.

The month-long celebration kicked off with a discussion on the eventual phase out of hydroflourocarbons or HFC held in Iloilo City on Sept. 2. It was attended by representatives from civic groups, the youth sector and dealers of ODS. A similar discussion will be held at the Ateneo de Davao University on the last week of September.

For Luzon, the EMB-POD, together with Aksyon Klima Pilipinas, will hold a technology forum on alternatives to ODS and climate protection on Sept. 16 at the Sequoia Hotel in Quezon City.

The forum is intended for industries, importers, end users, and manufacturers of ODS. The discussion will center on the Philippine’s commitment to the Montreal Protocol, HFC phase down, and the imperative linking of ozone layer and climate protection.

On Sept. 6-7, POD staff made surprised visits to shops, service centers and warehouses of ODS importers, dealers, resellers, retailers around Metro Manila to check on their permits and ensure their compliance with DENR standards.

The DENR also scheduled a series of lectures and workshops on ODS use and management, as well as its relation to climate change, from Sept. 9 to 29. ###

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Published: 15 September 2016