Saturday, November 11, 2006
Environment woes cross borders
By Rose O. Versoza
CEBU CITY -- The environment ministers from the member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) met in Mactan Friday to discuss trans-boundary haze pollution and other environmental issues affecting the region.
Dr. Soeng Rachtchavy, deputy secretary-general of the Asean secretariat, said Asean faces various challenges, such as the need to enhance economic growth, promote social development and greater use of the natural resources that lead to degradation of the environment.
During Friday's opening of the 10th Asean Ministerial Meeting on the Environment, Rachtchavy stressed the importance of collaborative efforts among Asean member countries in addressing environmental problems because these are trans-boundary in nature.
"More than any other concern, it is in the area of the environment that the boundaries by which we have come to define ourselves-geography, territory, nationality, race, creed and culture-disappear. And we realize that those boundaries are largely arbitrary, maybe even imaginary, and certainly less real than the common air we breathe," said Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, in her welcome address.
Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes said the ministerial agenda covers nature conservation and biodiversity, coastal and marine environment, water resources management, multilateral environmental agreements, environmentally sustainable cities and trans-boundary haze pollution.
"We need to fast-track the ratification of the Asean agreement on trans-boundary haze pollution and the Asean framework agreement on access to, and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of biological and genetic resources," said Reyes.
Half of Southeast Asia is affected by trans-boundary haze pollution, he said.
Haze is an atmospheric phenomenon where a mix of dust, smoke and other pollutant particles obscure the sky.
It is a regular problem in Southeast Asia cause by land and forest fires in Indonesia, specifically Sumatra and Kalimantan.
But aside from environmental issues that directly confront the region, Reyes said Asean also has to touch base with "external developments" that could enhance their perspectives, such as the development of a scientific model for setting dollar values for ecosystems.
This system, which was launched in Washington last Oct. 31 by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Nature Conservancy and scientists from Stanford University in California and the University of British Columbia in Canada, determines the money value of ecosystem services like wetlands and mangroves.
"This will be invaluable in guiding us, decision-makers, in determining tradeoffs between development and environmental costs," Reyes said.
He cited as example the clearing of mangrove forests to make way for shrimp farming, which was equated with the loss of buffer against the tsunami that hit Asia in 2004.
Reyes said the WWF 2006 Living Planet Report had also warned that by 2050, or 44 years from now, the world will need two planets like the earth because natural resources are being consumed faster than it can regenerate.
According to WWF, humanity's consumption footprint exceeded global bio-capacity by 25 percent in 2003, compared with 21 percent in 2001, said Reyes.
Although Asean still lives within the 1.8-hectare bio-capacity limit per person, Reyes said the region should not be complacent.
"Our population is increasing and our natural resources are on the decline," he said. (Sun.Star Cebu)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Zamboanga. (November 11, 2006 issue)
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