April 23, 2014
Philex senior vice-president for corporate affairs Michael Toledo, Climate Change Commission Secretary Lucille Sering, House Committee on Ecology chairman Congressman Amado Bagatsing, PBEST secretary general Lysander Castillo, and Department of Environment and Natural Resources Environmental Management Bureau media production specialist Winnie Passe perform a symbolic stopping of the climate change clock to show their commitment to sustainable development.
MANILA – ‘Twas a fitting prelude to Earth Day: Philex Mining Corporation and Philippine Business for Environmental Stewardship (PBEST) forged an alliance Monday at the GT-Toyota Asian Cultural Center of the University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City to collaborate on programs and projects which harness the country’s resources responsibly.
With Climate Change Commission Secretary Lucille Sering, House Committee on Ecology chairman Congressman Amado Bagatsing, and DENR-Environmental Management Bureau media production specialist Winnie Passe, Philex senior vice-president for corporate affairs Michael Toledo and PBEST secretary general Lysander Castillo performed a symbolic stopping of the “climate change clock” to show their commitment to sustainable development.
Toledo and Castillo also signed a manifesto for the healing of the environment as they made their partnership official in light of the natural disasters which have claimed lives and property, highlighting the need to promote biodiversity; reduce carbon footprint; and reduce the demand for, and increase the supply of, green energy.
No more ‘business as usual’
Super typhoon Yolanda, for example, was a “tragic and frightening confirmation that the new normal of extreme and destructive weather” was upon the Filipinos, said Castillo.
This was why PBEST, said Castillo, was “promoting new corporate standards that value investments in the environment” among its peers in the private sector. Big industries, he said, had the “dynamism, velocity, and innovation” to create a “new culture of management” of the Philippines’ natural resources.
“Environmental stewardship is everyone’s responsibility,” he said.
For its part, Philex had been performing “brick and mortar deeds” through the years as part of its advocacy for responsible mining, said Toledo. It is close to planting its ten millionth tree, he said, with over eight million trees planted in its Padcal project in Benguet, and one million more in its Bulawan project in Negros Occidental.
It has forested about 4,000 hectares as compared to the 6,000 hectares it uses for its operations, community housing facilities, schools, and hospitals, he said.
He added that the MVP Group of Companies, which Philex is part of, has also been using its resources to come up with new ways to address climate change.
“It can no longer be business as usual,” he stressed.
Humble grass does wonders
One of the initiatives under the two organization’s partnership is the quarterly Pusong Luntian Eco-Forum where civil society, scientists, academics, investors, religious, and the government, among others, exchange ideas, said Castillo.
The theme for this year is “bracing for the impact of climate change.”
Vetiver specialist Noah Manarang of Vetiver Farms Incorporated was the first to talk, imparting a number of ways the non-invasive grass has been and is being used.
Vetiver has long roots which contain essential oils – some of the most expensive in the world. It can grow in any type of soil, such as lahar, adobe, and even landfills. It repels some pests and attracts others, which makes it ideal to be planted alongside crops. It also tolerates toxic metals, according to Manarang.
As early as 1999, it was already used for a road widening project by the Department of Public Works and Highways in the Kalibo-Caticlan area in Aklan. Vetiver was planted on cut slope to control erosion in a cost-effective way.
Because it is labor-intensive, local workers were employed, with about 30 percent of the project cost going to them, said Manarang. After the grass had fully grown, the workers harvest them and sell them back to her company to be used in the latter’s other projects.
Ten plants are placed in each linear meter, with a cost of P90 to P100 per linear meter, she added.
In Anvaya Cove Beach Resort in Morong, Bataan, vetiver placed in the water’s surface is also used to clarify and rid it of silt from construction work, as well as to aerate the water for koi fish to thrive.
Manarang’s colleague showed her how vetiver can be used for solid waste management. In China, the latter planted the grass on garbage and had the effluent pass through a series of grass beds. The water became clearer afterwards.
The same can also be done to treat waste water in subdivisions, with vetiver planted on idle land, said Manarang.
The devils wears Prada – but also vetiver
Vetiver essential oils are used for different perfumes, such as one by designer brand Prada. 200 kilograms of grass produce one liter of oil. The Philippines has the potential to become a supplier, and Manarang is experimenting with growing vetiver in a lahar area, as volcanic soil has been found to be the best type which produces essential oils.
It is difficult to promote vetiver to farmers because they believe all grass is harmful to crops, which is why Manarang is promoting it to them as material for handicrafts, instead.
Décor, windscreen, pool cleaner, insect repellant
Recently wedding planners began to use vetiver as decorations, with the Arellano-Villania nuptials featuring the grass on the table settings. Aside from making the area fragrant, it repels mosquitoes, too, said Manarang.
She also worked with the Ananyana Beach Resort in Panglao, Bohol. Vetiver acts as a screen against winds which bring sand and salt spray to the accommodation’s open restaurant. It also repels insects. They are experimenting on using vetiver instead of chlorine to clean the water of the pool, too.
For Philex, Manarang trained the forest nursery staff to construct bamboo pontoons, which are rafts onto which vetiver roots are placed to grow. These were assembled in a tailings facility pond, with the roots growing up to 6.2 feet in about six months. They were also able to harvest 800 new plants in a single pontoon. Damsel flies, which can only thrive in clean water, were seen in the pontoons afterwards, said Manarang.
The vetiver technology, said Manarang, will enable more companies to comply with waste management regulations because it is inexpensive.
Land use plans crucial to sustainable development
Climate commission official Sering, meanwhile, discussed the hazards the Philippines faces today, as well as the importance of policies to enable communities to adapt to these hazards.
For example, there was a 0.57-degree Celsius increase in the mean temperature from 1971 to 2000. The dry season will become drier, and the wet season wetter, as well. She said there was also an increase in the number of cyclones passing through central Philippines.
The government must implement policies which are science-based, but many laws are not, according to Sering—accounting for why Filipinos are “maladapting” in the context of a changing climate.
Land use planning is one of the policies she wants every local government unit to take to heart. It involves “allocating, forming, sizing, and harmonizing land for multifunctional uses,” she said.
Land use planning is controversial in that it prohibits future development in certain areas. This will prevent businessmen, for example, from being given permits to construct malls in flood-prone areas. Political will is needed in implementing these plans, said Sering. Will mayors exert this on their constituents who refuse to leave the places they work or live in if it means their constituents get to live in a disaster-free zone?
LGUs must be incentivized for doing the right thing, she added.