Environmental issues in the Philippines
However, relevant data shows destructive land use increased significantly in the eighteenth century when Spanish colonialism enhanced its extraction of the archipelago's resources for the early modern global market.
As the Philippines lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, it is prone to natural disasters, like earthquakes, typhoons, and volcanic eruptions.
[6][7] In 2021, the Philippines ranked the fourth most affected country from "weather-related loss events", partly due to the close proximity of major infrastructure and residential areas to the coast and unreliable government support.
[13][2] Climate change is having serious impacts in the Philippines such as increased frequency and severity of natural disasters, sea level rise, extreme rainfall, resource shortages, and environmental degradation.
The United Nations estimated that Typhoon Odette impacted the livelihoods of 13 million people, destroying their homes and leaving them without adequate food or water supplies.
[26] According to IBON Foundation, deforestation is caused by logging, mining, and land conversion for corporate agriculture, cash crops, real estate, and infrastructure.
A horrendous 40 percent of the harvestable lumber never left the forests but, having been damaged in the logging, rotted or was burned in place.
[34] The national government recognized the problem and since 2004 has sought to introduce sustainable water resources development management (see below).
[38] The first Philippine constructed wetland serving about 700 households was completed in 2006 in a peri-urban area of Bayawan which has been used to resettle families that lived along the coast in informal settlements and had no access to safe water supply and sanitation facilities.
[40] Commercial fishing is causing environmental problems, exhausting food supply, and threatening livelihoods in the Philippines and around the world.
This damage is estimated to have cause $99.2 billion in losses a year, according to a study by Rhodora Azanza of the University of the Philippines.
Jimely Flores, a senior marine scientist for Oceana, described the situation saying, "In some dynamited areas, if you dive you don't see any fish at all.
[50] While most local government units establish a Material Recovery Facility (MRF), implement segregation at the source, and collect and process all recyclable and biodegradable materials, most of the municipal solid wastes are either disposed in the dump sites or openly burned, which further worsen the quality of heavy polluted air in the cities.
Burning fossil fuels is one of the causes of global warming because it releases carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gasses into the atmosphere.
These impacts have significant economic, social, and environmental consequences, including the displacement of people and destruction of coastal infrastructure.
The country has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030,[55] which will require significant changes in the energy and transportation sectors.
These measures include the construction of flood control infrastructure, disaster risk reduction policies, and programs to promote sustainable agriculture.
[57] A focal point for protests in the late 1970s and 1980s was the proposed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), which was built by ousted President Ferdinand Marcos but never operated.
The NFPC was formed by Senator Lorenzo M. Tañada, considered the father of the anti-nuclear movement in the Philippines, to stop the opening of the power plant, which it succeeded in pursuing.
The power plant was also less than 180 kilometers away from Metro Manila, thus implicating multiple economic centers and regional sectors.
In 1991, the Philippine Senate voted to reject a new bases agreement treaty with the US, after which Tañada stood up from his wheelchair and was greeted with applause.
[63][65] Youth activists have also protested the building of coal energy plants and their funding by multinational banks such as Standard Chartered.
UNESCO director general Audrey Azoulay stated that the "continued targeting of journalists reporting on environmental issues represents a particularly concerning trend for freedom of expression.
"[72] Environmental groups have asked Congress to pass a Human Rights Defenders Bill to help protect activists and their families.
[70] The Department of Environment and Natural Resources is responsible for creating, supporting, and enforcing policies on environmental protection by the Philippine government.
[76] The Sustainable Development Strategy proposes policies for assimilating environmental considerations in administration, apposite pricing of natural resources, conservation of biodiversity, rehabilitation of ecosystems, control of population growth and human resources development, inducing growth in rural areas, promotion of environmental education, strengthening citizens' participation, and promoting small to medium-sized enterprises and sustainable agricultural and forestry practices.
Upon signing the 1992 Earth Summit,[78] the government of Philippines has been constantly looking into many different initiatives to improve the environmental aspects of the country.
A Writ of Kalikasan is a legal remedy under Philippine law that provides protection of one's constitutional right to a healthy environment, as outlined in Section 16, Article II of the Philippine Constitution, which states that the "state shall protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature.
