A multi-sectoral group has proposed to the next administration the need for a new environmental agenda and nationwide cooperation to properly manage the country’s dwindling natural resources for the sustainable economic benefit of the people.
Carlos Primo “CP” David, Stratbase ADRi trustee and PBEST convenor, said that there are several issues and legal loopholes that the next government should address such as the scientific evaluation of biodiversity based on accurate base line data to ascertain the scientific basis for no-go zones as in the case of extractive industries such as mining.
Ysan Castillo, secretary general of the Philippine Business for Environmental Stewardship stressed the urgency of an environmental agenda that integrates all sectors of the country and the need for government to upgrade the capacity of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Environment Management Bureau and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau to strictly enforce existing regulations.
“We should have some measure of what is sustainable by practicing environmental economics that integrate statistics to determine the environmental impact for a given economic activity,” said Castillo.
