Environment Secretary Gina Lopez has issued a special order formally creating an inter-agency task force led by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to help ensure economic, environmental and social justice among indigenous peoples (IPs) in the country.

DENR Special Order No. 2016-761 establishes the Indigenous Peoples Inter-Agency Task Force composed of the DENR, its corporate arm, the Natural Resources Development Corp. (NRDC), and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).

The task force was created pursuant to the government's mandate to protect the rights of IPs to their ancestral domains and the agreement forged by the DENR, NRDC and NCIP last September.

The three agencies committed to providing the IPs "cohesive and quality of life, and environmental and social justice" and upholding their self-determination and development.

Under the special order, the DENR, NRDC and NCIP are expected to "build skills for all parties and for the IPs' communities, as well as assist [IPs] in taking full advantage of their opportunities."

The task force is also in charge of making sure the IPs are "not subjected to undue pressure and influence from unscrupulous businessmen or other industries intending to extract natural resources" from their ancestral lands.

The special order provides a new mechanism to protect the rights of IPs as they exercise their Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC).

FPIC is the principle that an IP community has the right to give or withhold its consent to proposed projects that may affect the lands they customarily own, occupy or otherwise use.

"...the [FPIC] process shall include a determination or the alternatives and options to the business to be introduced that will produce comparable benefits but reduced adverse consequences on their resources and culture and ensure the continuous benefits to future generations of the non-renewable resources therein," the special order stated.

The directive also enumerated the roles and responsibilities of the DENR in the task force, foremost of which was to "ensure the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity within ancestral domains."

The DENR shall employ strict policy of verifying the genuineness of the FPIC by validating with NCIP the authenticity of the Certification Precondition, and closely coordinate with the commission on matters pertaining to titles with ancestral domains.

It shall also support the process of recognizing Indigenous Community Conserved Areas within ancestral domains, and develop incentives for the protection and sustainable management of these areas.

The DENR is also tasked to reactivate an IP Desk that will focus and coordinate with concerned agencies to make sure that resources in ancestral domains will benefit IP communities and will facilitate the issuance or Certificate of Non-Overlap in connection with the registration of Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title with the Register of Deeds and other interventions for the protection of IP rights.

The department shall also provide opportunities for NCIP to access the Enhanced National Greening Program, the government's massive reforestation initiative that doubles as an anti-poverty measure, for the empowerment of the IPs.

For its part, the NRDC shall provide human resources and facilitate capital resources to enable IP communities make optimum use of their land and resources.

The NRDC will likewise assist in consultations, planning, product development and marketing for any social enterprise an IP community may wish to undertake through the recruitment and matching of volunteers, as well as in-house facilitators.

“The bottom line is that the IPs need money to sustain their livelihood. If we can show them a way to make money without cutting the trees that protect us from climate change, that’s better,” Lopez said.

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

The NCIP, on the other hand, was given a free-hand to formulate its counterpart roles and responsibilities pursuant to the agreement it earlier signed with the DENR and NRDC. ###

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Published: 22 December 2016

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the University of the Philippines (UP) are joining hands to create models of integrated area development at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center (NAPWC) and UP Diliman campus, which are both located in Quezon City.

The collaboration was formalized through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) recently signed between DENR Secretary Gina Lopez and UP Chancellor Michael Tan, together with UP Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs Nestor Castro.

"I feel that the DENR can offer UP an exciting arena where they can parlay their educational know-how, their skills, including community development," Lopez said.

"I am looking here at architecture, community development, engineering, housing and economics. The things are exciting," she added.

Lopez expressed optimism the partnership will turn out well and serve as a model for community development that can be replicated in other areas in the country.

"If it's good for DENR and it's good for the university, it's also very good for the country," she said.

Identified as an area for development is the 25-hectare NAPWC, which Lopez plans to transform into an "ecological paradise" and a tourist attraction.

She said that an "innovative environmental technology" will be put up in the park to serve as a learning ground for communities and local government units across the country.

Meanwhile, Lopez said the UP Arboretum will also be an extension of the educational experience.

Under the MOU, the DENR and UP "shall share, coordinate and combine technical, management, financial and physical resources to pursue research and development, and engage in continuing top-level and technical consultations and multi-disciplinary expert technical assistance."

Both parties also "agree to collaborate to create models of integrated area development (IAD) in the pursuit of social justice and human development."

Chancellor Tan said the undertaking will show that environmental conservation and sustainability can be very compatible with the other needs of the university.

Aside from the budget to be infused by the DENR, Tan said that UP will also provide a financial counterpart.

Lopez is determined to prove that through IAD, the projects that will be developed and implemented will benefit the people who live in the areas. In the process, these areas will serve as models of entrepreneurship.

"It's about creating models. Pwede pala, kaya pala natin," Lopez said.

The MOU also provides that the parties will "undertake projects with consideration on solid waste management, clean air, clean water, biodiversity and the Expanded National Greening Program (ENGP) through the planting of trees and bamboo."

Lopez described the partnership as a great collaboration between the government and the academic community.

Confident on the success of the partnership, Lopez said the DENR will also embark on similar undertakings with other state universities throughout the country. ###

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Published: 20 December 2016

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) could tap workers of suspended mining firms for the government's planned expansion of bamboo and mangrove plantations to fight climate change and poverty.

This was disclosed by Environment Secretary Gina Lopez during a recent dialogue with small-scale miners from Paracale town in Camarines Norte held at the DENR central office in Quezon City. The miners were accompanied by acting Camarines Norte Gov. Jonah Pimentel and some members of the provincial board.

The miners had sought an audience with the DENR chief to ask assistance for mine workers who lost their jobs as a result of the environmental audit conducted on all metallic mining operations in the country.

Lopez urged the miners to get involved in more sustainable livelihood that does not only help the environment but also protect their families from the negative impacts of climate change.

She told miners and local government officials that she could not allow small-scale mining for the moment because it uses mercury that threatens the environment and public health.

"Small-scale mining is illegal, and you don’t want to be caught or have the Ombudsman bar you from public service forever. I cannot help you if it is illegal," Lopez said.

"Help us by growing bamboo and mangrove seedlings. We will fund it, but your earnings will be your own,” she added.

During a recent climate change conference in Morocco where she joined the Philippine delegation, Lopez said the country will embark on a massive expansion of mangrove and bamboo plantations to strengthen the ecological and economic resilience of local communities in the face of climate change and its devastating impacts.

In 2010, an executive order was issued requiring the use of bamboo in at least 25 percent of desk and furniture requirements of public schools, as well as the prioritization in furniture and other construction requirements of government facilities.

Considered as one of the fastest growing members of the grass family, bamboo is also known to sequester as much as 400 percent of carbon per unit area, while giving off 35 percent more oxygen than other trees.

While its resilience and flexibility have made it an important construction material for furniture and houses, its different parts are also a source of pulp and paper products, as well as fiber and food.

Mangroves, on the other hand, have been seen as natural barriers against storm surges while acting as habitats for various marine animals.

Both mangroves and bamboo can also stabilize embankments and prevent erosion brought about by sea level rise, which is one of the identified impacts of climate change.

Although Paracale is not one of the 29 areas identified by the DENR as priorities for area development, Lopez assured the miners that the agency will provide them livelihood assistance.

She also called on Gov. Pimentel to help in the preparation of a work and financial plan that the DENR could use as basis for budgetary allocations and monitoring purposes.

"Plant bamboo. Plant mangroves. Identify marine sanctuaries. I want you to be the first to benefit from the resources that you can find in your area before others do. I will help you,” Lopez said. ###

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Published: 09 December 2016

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has started looking for ways to boost the local production of seaweed, which is an alternative source of income for coastal communities and could help counter the effects of climate change.

In a recent roundtable discussion on seaweed potential for biodiversity-friendly enterprises held at the training center of the Biodiversity Management Bureau in Quezon City, Secretary Gina Lopez disclosed that the DENR has already started the process of identifying suitable sites for seaweed farming in the country, with the help of other government agencies and concerned stakeholders.

She said that some of the potential seaweed farming sites include Calatagan in Batangas, Tambuyong in Quezon, Badian in Cebu, and Caluya Island in Antique, which is near Semirara Island where the controversial coal mining site and power plant is located.

Lopez said the government will not only help in seaweed propagation, but also in marketing its by-products

"The seaweed revenues should affect more than one person while developing an area," Lopez said. "We can get the country out of poverty through this project."

The DENR chief noted the strong market potential of seaweed due to its fast-growing characteristics and high market price, making it an important economic activity to alleviate poverty in the rural areas.

Apart from its economic potential, seaweed is one of the natural and effective carbon sequesters that can be found in the coastal area, and some of its species can grow alongside mangroves.

As such, one of the proposals is to get the fund for the seaweed projects from the Expanded National Greening Program and the People’s Survival Fund.

Using seaweeds for human production and consumption also helps the marine ecosystem as it reduces the organisms that are infesting other lives in the sea.

Among those who attended the meeting were representatives from the Seaweed Industry Association of the Philippines, the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute, seaweed farmers from Tambuyog, Quezon, Badian, Cebu, and Negros Oriental, Mabunao Agricultural Forest Livelihood Improvement Program, National Fisheries Research and Development Institute, Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia, and the Department of Agriculture. ###

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Published: 03 December 2016

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) wants to sit down with fishpen and fishcage operators in Laguna de Bay before the planned imposition of moratorium on the issuance and renewal of their permits beginning January next year.

This was revealed by DENR Undersecretary Arturo Valdez, who also heads the National Anti-Environmental Crime Task Force (NAECTF) that recently conducted demolition operations on a 13-hectare illegal fishpen in Laguna Lake falling within the jurisdiction of Muntinlupa City.

Valdez said the dialogue between Lopez and the fishpen and fishcage operators aims to reassure the government's commitment to providing small-time fisherfolk priority access to the 90,000-hectare lake.

"The thrust there is to send the message that the DENR, under Secretary Lopez, will rationalize the lake and the bias will be for the fisherfolk to have access to their traditional fishing ground," Valdez said.

Valdez said that at the heart of the effort is Lopez's agenda to make Laguna Lake "a showcase for social justice."

"Secretary Lopez has made it very clear that the fisherfolk should enjoy the lake," he said.

The coming dialogue was in line with President Rodrigo Duterte's directive to dismantle vast tracts of corporate and private fishpens and fishcages in order for small-time fisherfolk to have access to their traditional fishing ground.

The lake’s current carrying capacity allows up to only 9,000 hectares for aquaculture, but fish pens and cages are occupying 12,375.18 hectares of the surface water, showing a total of 3,375 hectares of excess area for demolition.

But Valdez believes the actual area could be bigger. "I would say it is more than that," Valdez said.

He said that the demolition “was to send a strong message” to the operators of illegal structures to self-dismantle before they enforce the President's order to dismantle illegal aqua facilities by the second week of December.

"We will give them all the chance to harvest their stock," he added.

Data from the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) show that there are a total of 1,018 registered or legitimate fish pen and cage operators in Laguna Lake, covering a total of 9,519 hectares. Of this number, 713 are fishcage operators, while 305 are fishpen operators.

According to the LLDA, unregistered operators number to 2,261, occupying 2,856 hectares.

In all, a total of 3,246 structures (both registered and unregistered) can be found in the lake area, consisting of 358 fishpens and 2,890 fishcages which show a mix of corporations and individual owners.

The LLDA has developed a map identifying areas for fishpens, fishcages, fish sanctuaries and open fishing, and identified navigational and barangay access lanes to facilitate the movement of people, goods and services within the lake.

To ensure the maintenance of open fishing ground, the LLDA has designated fish sanctuaries covering around 30,000 hectares in Muntinlupa City, 5,000 hectares in Jala-Jala and Talim Island in Rizal and Laguna Bay, and 127 hectares in Brgy. Tabon, Binangonan, Rizal.###

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Published: 01 December 2016