Musings and Convergence: Experiencing the 1st Philippine Environment Summit

FINALLY, the first Philippine summit on the environment came to fruition.  The rest is history!  This historic summit did not come easy.  I can still vividly remember, after coming back from 2014 General Assembly of the Maryknoll Sisters in October, when Green Convergence (GC), President Dr. Nina Galang, came to see me at Maryknoll Sisters Burgos convent, asking me to facilitate a planning session of the GC Board of Directors, all seasoned environmentalists in the Philippines.  Green Convergence Philippines is a coalition of environmental NGOs and individual affiliates with the vision: One Vision, One Earth.  Albeit hesitant of my capacity as an environmentalist in training and having just come back to Manila, I said YES to the invitation.  The three-day planning in October 2014 marked the birthing of the idea of the Philippine Environment Summit.  Two years passed: a very slow, difficult and challenging planning for the summit ensued. We had one huge challenge: Getting the funding needed for the summit. 

Then a breakthrough came in September 2015, after a meeting with Secretary Ramon Paje, of Department of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines (DENR).  He was quite excited and in full support of the idea of the Philippine Environment Summit.  He supported the idea that the summit’s purpose was to convene stakeholders of the country’s environment, not only to dialogue about deeper environmental issues, but also to showcase solutions and innovations being practiced and implemented in the Philippines.  He hoped and envisioned of the possibility of institutionalizing the summit as an annual event.  This way, he thinks, whoever seats as Environment Secretary, he/she will have to be accountable to the Filipino people, and the environment.  As a result, he committed the environment agency to be the major partner with Green Convergence to organize the 1^st Philippine Environment Summit.  Other major stakeholders in the environmental movement such as Renewal energy sectors, sustainable development institutions, environment NGOs, Television network and Maryknoll Sisters followed suit.

Secretary Paje’s State of the Philippine Environment and Keynotes Speeches

The Secretary of the Department of Environment, Ramon Paje delivered his State of the Philippine Environment, where he highlighted the successes of his six-year term in the office.  The National Greening Program of the country topped the report agenda.  The 5-year reforestation program aimed to plant 1.5B trees in 1.5M hectares of deforested and denuded land.  To the joy of the participants, he reported that Philippines have 400 additional islands in the eastern part that have not been discovered before, the land masses were detected by satellite mapping radar.  He clarified on the issue of prospective power plants, saying, “That the coal power plants were approved prior his term of office.  He promised that under this term, no new power plants will be approved, and no environment clearance certificates will be issued to operate new coal power plants.

The summit brought renowned environmentalists Vandana Shiva and David Suzuki to give keynote address.  Former Manila Archbishop, Cardinal Rosales gave an inspirational talk on the role of the Church, in the southern Philippines where rampant deforestation by powerful illegal loggers.  The Church rose to protect the environment, even to martyrdom of pastors and members of their staff, whose blood marked the injustices done in relation to land and the environment. He further said, the Church have been aware and fighting all these abuses, long before Pope Francis published the encyclical on the environment, Laudato si.  The Secretary of Education, Armin Luistro, highlighted the greening of education and schools, developing a new generation conscious of their role in protecting and respecting their environment.

Environment Breakthroughs and Innovation Exhibit

In the exhibit area, 14 of the local government units who are awarded LGO Eco champions showcased their eco-governance and good environmental practices.  Low-impact water management technology, Solar energy technologies, bioremediation and organic cleaning of pollutants and other ecosystem management and restoration and organic farming were also showcased. Maryknoll Ecological Sanctuary is also among the exhibitors.

Break Out Sessions:  Safe Good, Healthy Environment and Sustainable Development

The three days summit showcased daily parallel sessions featuring breakthroughs and innovations towards sustainable development in three key issues:  safe food, healthy environment, sustainable economy.  Sessions on Safe Food dealt with organic agriculture in the Philippines, legal framework, organic food and GMO –free, accessibility and affordability, health and wellness in relation to food, and urban gardening.  Speakers are practitioners. 

Sessions on Healthy environment dealt with programs on clean air and protection, clean water and its management, livable cities, sustainable transport system, renewable energy and alternative fuels, and programs on Climate change adaptation and mitigation, as well as disaster risk reduction and management.

Sessions on Sustainable Economy highlighted green economy and models of eco-governance.  Its parallel session talked about eco-friendly industries, models of ecotourism, renewable energy and excellent local governance and programs practiced in the grassroots level.

At the end of these parallel sessions, participants raised concerns and questions for further discussion in the local and national levels and surfaced constructive suggestions to address these concerns.  These were resolutions generated by summit participants.   

At the closing ceremony, I gave a summary presentation on the National LGU Eco Champion Project, a national project I was doing with DENR since 2014.  My presentation highlighted the excellent eco-governance in the various local government levels.   All 1,663 local government units in the Philippines were surveyed as to their compliance to 13 Philippine environmental laws and regulations such as Climate Change Act, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Act, the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.  A total of 172 respondents sent in their response from Provinces, Cities, Metro Manila cities, municipality levels.  Of these local governments, 14 outstanding local governments who topped the compliance were awarded the title “LGU Eco Champion”.   

More than a thousand participants sustained to attend the three day summit.  After the summit, many looking forward to join the environmental movement, some began by asking how they can become a member of Green Convergence.