DENR Steps up Campaign for Responsible Use of Resources

(DENR/PIA) — Using the battle cry “doing more with less,” the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is intensifying its awareness campaign for responsible use of resources in time for the celebration of the Environment Month this June.

DENR Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje said it is important for the consuming public to develop responsible consumption habits at home and in the community to prevent further and potentially irreversible damage to the environment.

“We need to be more responsible with how we consume our resources, so that we can realize our dreams of having a healthy future for ourselves and for future generations,” Paje pointed out.

The environment chief said it is about time people must evaluate the impacts of their consumption by taking the environment and society into consideration during consumption decisions.

He said that practicing conscientious consumption through wastage avoidance and consuming only what is necessary can go a long way to having a healthy environment.

“We only have one planet Earth that provides all the natural resources we need to survive. The problem is that we are consuming these resources at a rate faster than the planet can provide, and too many of our ecosystems are being degraded, sometimes irreversibly,” Paje said.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recently warned that at its current rate of consumption and production, the world would need three-planets-worth of natural resources to sustain the ways of living of an estimated 9.6 billion people by 2050.

Meanwhile, the DENR has lined up a series of activities to celebrate the Environment Month, adopting the World Environment Day theme: “Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care.”

The month-long celebration kicks off on June 5, which coincides with the World Environment Day, with a two-part activity at the SM North EDSA in Quezon City centering on the theme, “I Consume with Care.”

The first part will be the recognition rites for Philippine Ozone Desk-Foam Sector’s 17 partners in the phasing out of the greenhouse gas hydrochlorofluorocarbon or HCFC 141B.

Arts and crafts demo-workshop to be participated in by public high schools in Quezon City, eco-friendly discussions and presentations promoting environmental awareness, and exhibition of school supplies made of recycled and recyclable materials, comprise the second part.

From June 21 to 26, the DENR’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau will host the regional meeting of the ASEAN Coordinating Committee for Geoscience Programmes to discuss mining safety and public engagement on mineral development and environmental impact issues.

The meeting, to be held in Manila and Palawan, will also serve as venue to discuss the production of a coffee table book on the best practices in mine rehabilitation and decommissioning.

Some 150 exhibitors from government, civil society, research and academic institutions, and the manufacturing, recycling and energy industries are expected to join the first-ever National Integrated Waste Management Exhibition from June 22 to 26 at the Sky Dome in SM North EDSA.

Organized by the National Solid Waste Management Commission, the event will showcase initiatives, best practices and emerging technologies to address challenges that environmental pollution and degradation pose to the economy, livelihoods, public health and survival. It will focus on the theme, “Nagbabago na ang panahon, panahon na para magbago.”

In partnership with Earth Day Network Philippines, the Zero Basura Olympics 2nd Resource Book will also be launched during the event, which features the best business practices of participants.

The exhibit ends on June 26 with an awarding ceremony for the Digital Art Contest participated in by college students in Metro Manila. The entries focus on how every Filipino can live sustainably to ensure that resources are used efficiently and with least environmental impact.

From June 22-26, a training-workshop called “Climate Proofing for Development: Practical Application for Comprehensive Land Use Plan” will be held in selected cities and municipalities of the province of Laguna. It aims to train local government units in climate proofing land use plans for local development.

On June 25, which coincides with the celebration of the Arbor Day, a tree-planting activity organized by the youth will take place in Angat, Bulacan.

The Environmental Management Bureau will spearhead a nationwide simultaneous cleanup of adopted water bodies under the DENR’s Adopt-An-Estero program on June 27.

Then on Sunday, June 28, 2015, the Bayanihan sa Daan (share the Road) campaign will take place, which will highlight the 10 million signature campaign being sought by the Bike Philippines Campaign set to culminate by April 2016.

The event, which will show proof of concept, with the theme “EDSA Revolution,” will start from the SM Mall of Asia Complex to Monumento in Caloocan, passing through EDSA. The event is being spearheaded by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Environmental Protection and the Share the Roads Movement, in partnership with National Bike Organization, Department of Public Works and Highways, Metro Manila Development Authority and DENR.

The Laguna Lake Development Authority, also an attached agency of the DENR, will hold once-a-week tour of its new “green building” facilities at the National Ecology Center along East Avenue in Quezon City. The newly-built energy-efficient establishment has a rainwater catchment system that can provide water to the building’s water closets and urinals.

The Environment Month celebrations conclude on June 30 during the 7th Annual Clean Air Forum organized by the DENR and the Partnership for Clean Air. Some 200 stakeholders from the government, academe, private sector and the civil society are expected to participate in the forum to be held at the Land Transportation Office in Quezon City.

In 1972, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 5 of every year as World Environment Day, coinciding with the founding of United Nations Conference on the Human Environment.

In the Philippines, the month of June was declared as Environment Month by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 237 signed in 1988.

Meanwhile, the DENR will celebrate during the month its 28th anniversary on June 10, while that of the Forest Management Bureau on June 26. (DENR)