OVP Environment Situationer

17-21 June 2013

RODOLFO D. ENALPE, JR.

DENR DES RO!S "#$E S O%&P'LE OF 'LLE$AL 'VOR!

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) destroyed on Friday at least five tons of smuggled elephant tusks using a road roller, making the Philippines the first country in sia to conduct physical destruction of massive ivory stockpiles in support of glo!al efforts to stamp out illegal "ildlife trade# ddressing a cro"d of over $%% people that include foreign dignitaries and anti&ivory trade advocates, DENR 'ecretary Ramon (#P# Pa)e said the government*s decision to crush the ivory tusks "as a reaffirmation of the country*s commitment to the +onvention on ,nternational Trade in Endangered 'pecies of -ild Flora and Fauna (+,TE')# .This act is a strong statement to the rest of the "orld that the Philippines is serious and "ill not tolerate illegal "ildlife trade,/ the environment chief said# The 0eneva&!ased +,TE' is an international treaty developed in 1234 to regulate commercial trade in certain "ildlife species, including the critically endangered elephants# During the +onference of Parties of +,TE' held in 5angkok, Thailand last 6arch, the Philippines "as included as one of eight countries of priority of concerns as regard illegal ivory trade, particularly its role as a trade route and transit country for elephant tusks# The other seven are 7enya, Tan8ania and 'outh frica, "hich are considered as ma)or sources of ivory in illicit trade9 +hina and Thailand as destinations of illegal ivory9 and :ong 7ong, 6alaysia and ;ietnam as trade routes and transit countries# Pa)e e<plained that despite the high price of ra" ivory in the !lack market, the government had no choice !ut to destroy them as a strong indignation for the killing of hundreds of elephants !y poachers "ho "ere after their precious tusks#

.The Philippines "ill not !e a party to the massacre and "e refuse to !e a conduit to this cycle of killing,/ Pa)e said# :e said that the so&called ."hite gold/ had to !e destroyed to curtail the risk that it "ill !e stolen and sold on the !lack market# .-e value living elephants "ith tusks intact than ivories from elephants that "ere killed for their tusks,/ Pa)e stressed# 'ince 122=, more than 1$ tons of illegally&traded ivory had !een confiscated in separate occasions !y various la" enforcement agencies like the 5ureau of +ustoms, the National 5ureau of ,nvestigation and the DENR&National +apital Region# >f the total, a!out si< tons had !een turned over to the DENR*s custody, through the Protected reas and -ildlife 5ureau (P -5), "hich is the country*s designated +,TE' 6anagement uthority for terrestrial resources pursuant to Repu!lic ct No# 21?3 or the -ildlife Resources +onservation and Protection ct# side from the five tons that "ere crushed, the DENR has set aside 4% carefully selected pieces of elephant tusks from the stockpile to !e used for educational and research purposes# ccording to P -5 Director Theresa 6undita @im, t"o samples from each of the eight shipments, or a total of 1= pieces, "ill !e used for the training of la" enforcement operatives, si< for the National 6useum, and eight for the Department of Education and the +ommission on :igher Education# t least 44? pieces of tusks originating from 7enya, Aganda and Bam!ia "ere not also included in the destruction as they are !eing used as evidence in legal cases pending in local courts# 'ome 1%= pieces of tusks "ill !e returned to 7enya upon clearance !y the courts# Pa)e assured the international community that the country*s fight against illegal ivory trade "ould not stop "ith the destruction of its illegal ivory stock, saying it "as only the !eginning of an intensified effort to cur! "ildlife poaching# .The Department has organi8ed the Philippine >perations 0roup on ,vory to ensure that ivory smuggling into the country is properly investigated# -e "ill pursue the prosecution of la" violators in order to !reak the illegal ivory trade chain,/ Pa)e said#

:e said criminal complaints had already !een filed against individuals "ho "ere involved in the illegal shipment, and that the courts had issued corresponding arrest "arrants# The destruction of elephant tusks "as "itnessed !y Economic >fficer :eath 5ailey, representing A' m!assador :arry Thomas, (r#, Director 5onaventure E!ayi of the Nairo!i&!ased @usaka greement Task Force, ssistant Director ,!rahim @u!ia and 'enior 'cientist 'olomon 7yalo of 7enya -ildlife 'ervice, tty# +hrisgel Ryan ng +ru8 of the 'E N& -ildlife Enforcement Net"ork, tty# 5ryan +hristy of the National 0eographic 'ociety, 5rian 0on8ales of FREE@ ND Foundation and Danielle Tedesco of A' ,D Regional Environment >ffice# lso present "ere National 6useum Director (eremy 5arns, 5ureau of Domestic Trade Director 6arievic 5onoan, Deputy dministrator Ro!erto ;illanueva of the >ffice for Transportation 'ecurity, la"yer 0ilmorie Fe Pacamara of the Department of (ustice, E<ecutive Director 0odofredo ;illapando, (r# of the Foundation for the Philippine Environment, +onservation&,nternational&Philippines Director Ricky NuCe8, Tanggol 7alikasan e<ecutive director 6a# 0enerosa 6islang and representatives from National 5ureau of ,nvestigation, Philippine National Police, 5ureau of +ustoms, National ,ntelligence +oordinating gency, Department of Foreign ffairs, Department of Education, Philippine +oast 0uard, 5ureau of Fisheries and Duatic Resources, Aniversity of the Philippines, teneo de 6anila Aniversity , +rocodylus Porosus Philippines, ,nc#, :ari!on Foundation and other cause&oriented groups# SOURCE: httpEFF"""#denr#gov#phFne"s&and&featuresFlatest&ne"s#html Friday, 21 June 2013 17:44

Le(ar)a *a++, -or .environmenta+ au)it/

6 7 T, +,TG, PhilippinesH'enator @oren @egarda said she "ill call for an .environmental audit/ !y three oversight committees "hen the ne<t +ongress convenes in (uly as she agreed "ith o!servations that the Philippines has no" turned into a ."ater "orld#/ The three are the oversight committees on clean "ater, clean air and solid "aste management# @egarda, "ho currently heads the committee on climate change, has openly e<pressed her preference to head in the 1=th +ongress the environment committee no" !eing chaired !y 'enator Francis .+hi8/ Escudero#/ .5ecause one of the mandates of the 'enate has an oversight function in the 0 (0eneral ppropriations ct)# -e "ill really ask each and every agency responsi!le for that,/ she said in an intervie" "ith reporters in 6akati +ity on Tuesday# .-e "ill audit the implementation of the seven la"s that "e*ve done# ,& audit natin yung mga !atas, yung ating pag&pondo sa mga !atas, at

tingnan natin saan !a ang road!lock (@et*s audit the la"s, the funding, and let*s find out "here the road!lock is,/ she said# mong the la"s that should !e implemented, @egarda said, is the Ecological 'olid -aste 6anagement, +limate +hange ct, Disaster Risk Reduction and 6anagement ct, and the People*s 'urvival Fund @a"# .The strict enforcement of the 'olid -aste 6anagement @a" is very important, most especially in flood&prone areas,/ she said# The senator also cited several measures that she intends to re&file "hen the 1=th +ongress opens ne<t month such as the Philippine River 5asin 'ystem dministration ct, National @and Ase ct, Preparedness in 5uildings, 'oil and -ater +onservation ct, and 6alungay Development ct# @egarda e<plained that the .environmental audit/ "as not meant to .pin the !lame/ on anyone or to fight !ut .to see "hat "ent "rong and "e can do together#/ The agencies that "ill !e invited in the environmental audit !y +ongress include the Department of Environment and National Resources, Department of Pu!lic -orks and :igh"ays, 6etro 6anila Development uthority, +limate +hange +ommission, Department of Education, Department of 'cience and Technology, concerned local government units, among others# @egarda also agreed "ith some o!servations that the country has !ecome a ."ater "orld/ !ecause of the floods !rought !y do"npour the past days# . ctually tama ka e# -ater "orld na tayo e# -e are intermittently a "ater "orld,/ she said in response to a reporter*s Duestion# .-e "ill !e less attractive to live in kaya dapat i&decongest (so "e have to decongest) :u"ag na punta nang punta dito kaya ang gro"th centers sa mga rehiyon ay tulungan natin (-e should stop migrating here (6etro 6anila) that*s "hy "e need to help the gro"th centers in the regions)#/ (o!s in the countryside, she said, "ill !e one of the solutions to"ards decongesting 6etro 6anila and not increase the risks here# . t saka hu"ag na nating ga"ing !asurahan ang mga ilog (@et*s not turn rivers into dumpsite)# 'o let each @0A !e responsi!le for his or !ackyard,/ she added#

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P0i+i11ine, -inan*ia+ )i,tri*t 2an, 1+a,ti* 2a(,

6 N,@ H The Philippines financial capital !anned disposa!le plastic shopping !ags and styrofoam food containers on Thursday, as part of escalating efforts across the nation*s capital to cur! ru!!ish that e<acer!ates deadly flooding#

fter a "idespread pu!licity campaign leading up to the !an, 6akati city environment protection officers !egan handing out fines of K,%%% pesos (M11K) to shops and supermarkets caught distri!uting the items# .-e have already seen a lot of cases# -e have issued a lot of tickets,/ one of the environment officers, Danny ;illas, told FP# -hile 6akati, one of 13 cities or districts that make up 6etro 6anila, still allo"s food to !e "rapped in plastic, it has !anned the !ags that shops and restaurants traditionally issue for free# 'tyrofoam food containers and plastic cups are also !anned# +onsumers are given the option of paper alternatives or not using any !ags, "ith supermarkets encouraging shoppers to !ring their o"n# Team leader Nenelit +amarce, "ho "as inspecting a pu!lic market, said there had !een strong resistance to the !an, particularly among the poor# . lot of people, especially those side"alk vendors, they are still using it# 5ut the ones really complaining are the customers, those !uying fish and chicken# They get angry "hen they are accosted,/ she said# 6akati is home to many of the country*s foreign em!assies, !iggest corporations and !anks, s"ankiest shopping malls and a!out $,2%% restaurants# lthough its official population is )ust over =%%,%%%, this s"ells to a!out 4#3 million in the daytime "hen thousands of commuters travel to the area to "ork, city officials said# 6akati !ecame the ninth out of the 13 areas to issue the plastics !an, meaning =#3 million of 6etro 6anila*s population of 14 million people are covered !y the restrictions# Pre<y 6acana, pro)ect officer of 6akati*s environmental services department, said cutting do"n on plastic "as vital to stop the clogging of the city*s "ater"ays, "hich is "idely !lamed for contri!uting to floods# .During our !i&monthly "aste"ater clean&ups, "e found most of the gar!age is plastics,/ she said# (une is the start of the rainy season in the Philippines, and 6etro 6anila has already endured heavy flooding, although none deadly# The "orst floods to hit the capital in recent years occurred in $%%2, "hen Tropical 'torm 7etsana su!merged more than I% percent of the city and claimed a!out ?%% lives# nother 1%% people died in ugust last year "hen heavy lashed the city for more than a "eek# '>AR+EE httpEFFne"sinfo#inDuirer#netF?4%%$1Fphilippines&financial& district&!ans&plastic&!ags gence France&Presse 1E4? pm L Thursday, (une $%th, $%14