Our Seas, Our Life Exhibit opens at Alabang Town Center
Philippine
journalist wins environmental award
Congress to push bill against non-biodegradable detergents
September is Ozone Month
Philippines leads world in coastal cleanup
Local governments hold environmental conference
New issue of Tambuli
available
Our Seas, Our Life Exhibit opens at Alabang Town
Center
"Our Seas, Our Life", a traveling exhibit featuring Philippine
coastal and marine resources and the threats they face, opened last
October 6 at the Alabang Town Center, Ayala-Alabang, Muntinlupa. This
is the seventh stop for the exhibit, which was first mounted in February
1998 by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources through
its Coastal Environmental Program (CEP) and Coastal Resource Management
Project (CRMP) in observance of the 1998 International Year of the Ocean.
<link to old iyo page>
The exhibit's current run is sponsored by Alabang Town Center, Philippine
Daily Inquirer <link to http://www.inquirer.net>, The Events Planners,
Inc., WG&A, and National Bookstore, among others. It includes displays
of marine specimens, such as a crocodile, sea turtles, and a juvenile
dugong, along with "info walls" featuring colorful and informative
presentations on the Philippine coastal environment. Video documentaries
about the marine environment are also shown daily in the exhibit area.
The exhibit will end on October 30.
Philippine journalist wins environmental award
A Philippine journalist, Alex Rey V. Pal, won the 1998 Asia-Pacific
Award for Excellence in Environmental Journalism.
Pal was among 40 journalists from 21 countries who entered a contest
sponsored by the Asia-Pacific Forum of Environmental Journalists (AFEJ)
and supported by the Asian Development Bank.
Each contestant was required to submit at least five environmental news
stories which were published in local newspapers in 1998. Pal's entries
were adjudged as "the most well-rounded, covering many aspects
of the environment in a thoughtful and concise fashion." (Click
here for full text of Pal's entries.)
The contest was held to coincide with the 11th Asia Pacific and 2nd
Commonwealth Congress of Environmental Journalists in Comilla, Bangladesh
from September 13 to September 17. It aims to recognize the efforts
of journalists to highlight environmental issues and to encourage environmental
journalism in the Asia Pacific region.
Pal was a participant at the First Annual Workshop for Journalists held
in May this year at the Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental
Reporting of the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography
in Rhode Island, USA. His participation in the workshop was sponsored
by the Coastal Resource Management Project, a USAID-funded technical
assistance project implemented by the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources.
Congress to push bill against non-biodegradable
detergents
Describing the current Congress as "fiercely pro-environment,"
Speaker Manuel B. Villar said the House of Representatives will push
for a bill prohibiting the manufacture, importation, sale, distribution
and use of laundry detergents containing non-biodegradable chemicals.
The bill, which was drafted by the Board of Investments (BOI) to meet
the Philippines' commitment to the World Trade Organization, will require
all manufacturers and importers to use only surface active agents (surfactants)
that are biodegradable.
Two non-biodegradable surfactants now being used in laundry detergents
have been identified as highly detrimental to the environment. These
are the petroleum-based hard alkyl benzene sulfonate (HABS) and linear
alkyl benzene sulfonate (LABS). In their place, the biodegradable coconut
fatty alcohol sulfate (CFAS) is recommended.
Villar said the public can be assured of the approval of more environmental
legislation following the recent passage of the Clean Air Act of 1999.
At least six environmental measures are up for floor deliberations,
Villar said. These include bills on solid waste management, clean water,
strengthening sustainable forest management, mangrove forests, coastal
environmental program, and regulating chainsaws.
Congress, Villar added, has a pro-environment agenda aimed at protecting
the environment from further degradation and preserving the country's
natural wealth. Manila Bulletin, 09.17.99
September is Ozone Month
The Philippines joins the international community in celebrating
September as "International Ozone Month." This year's celebration
uses the slogan "Save the Sky: Be Ozone Friendly." It focuses
on individual action to change consumer behavior in favor of products
that do not contain or use substances that cause ozone layer depletion.
The choice of September dramatizes the emergence of the so-called "ozone
hole" during the Antarctic Spring. The "hole" is caused
by the thinning of the atmosphere's ozone layer, which results in increased
penetration of the sun's UV rays, which in turn can lead to environmental
damage.
International Ozone Day is on September 16. Manila
Bulletin, 09.16.99
Philippines leads world in coastal cleanup
Filipinos of all ages and from all walks of life trooped to the coasts
last September 18 for the 13th International Coastal Cleanup (ICC).
Organizers expect participation to exceed 1998's level of more 300,000
people, a record high for any one country last year.
The ICC, organized since 1987 by the Washington-based Center for Marine
Conservation (CMC), covers more than 100 countries. The International
Marinelife Alliance (IMA) coordinates the cleanup in the Philippines.
Last year's cleanup covered some 1,600 kms of the country's coastline,
where volunteers collected nearly 664 tons of assorted trash. Figures
for this year's cleanup are now being validated and will be made available
in about six months.
Besides making a statement against marine debris and pollution, volunteers
also contribute to an environmental study aimed at developing solutions
to problems spawned by marine debris, including coral reef degradation,
high wildlife casualties and threats to navigation. Using a standard
data card, volunteers record the type of trash they collect. The information
is then sent to CMC, where it is fed into a databank that scientists
can analyze.
Local governments hold environmental conference
Local governments, through their various leagues, meet this month
to discuss solid waste management, now acknowledged to be one of the
most pressing environmental issues in the Philippines.
The two-day conference is set for September 30-October 1 at the Megatrade
Hall 3 of SM Megamall. It is one of the highlights of Environtech, an
annual activity organized by the Philippine Business for the Environment
(PBE) with the support of the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR) to showcase the latest developments in environmental
technology.
The conference will feature technologies for solid waste management
as well as showcases of local government initiatives in air and water
quality management and sustainable development.
New issue of Tambuli available
for coastal management practitioners, is now
available. The issue features the experiences in integrated coastal
management of Negros Oriental, a province in Central Visayas that has
consistently implemented coastal resource management in the last two
decades, and describes progress and issues in coastal resource management
in recent years.
Other stories in this issue tackle fishing and biodiversity issues at
Indonesia's Komodo National Park, delineation of municipal waters in
the Philippines for management by local governments, and ecotour product
development.
Copies of Tambuli may be obtained from the Coastal Resource Management
Project, 5/F CIFC Towers, J. Luna cor. Humabon Sts., North Reclamation
Area, 6000 Cebu City, Philippines; fax (63 32) 232 1825; email prccebu@usc.edu.ph.
An electronic copy (2.1MB Acrobat file) of the issue may also be downloaded
from this site.
