DENR-10 echoes Pope Francis’ call to sustain environment

• Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/1471435827924/denr-10-echoes-pope-francis-call-to-sustain-environment
• Thursday, July 2, 2015

Jessa Ann Mahartin(DENR-RPAO/PIA)

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, July 2 (PIA) -- With the recent news about the encyclical letter of Pope Francis on climate change, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Region 10 backed the Pope in addressing the impacts of climate change.

In his encyclical letter entitled Praise Be: On the Care of Our Common Home, the Pope called out everyone to make urgent action to care for our common home, the earth. He stated that the Mother Earth is harmed because of the human’s irresponsible behavior.

The Pope said that the challenge to protect the earth should include everyone.

“I urgently appeal, then, for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all,” said the Pope.

He cited that climate change is not just a scientific issue but also an issue of moral and ethics. Pope Francis added that each behavior must be changed swiftly in order to sustain the environment.

Regional Director Ruth M. Tawantawan said that the DENR 10 firmly supports the cause of the Pope to take urgent action in the mitigation and adaptation of climate change through making relevant programs and projects that will address the climate change in the national and local level.

The National Greening Program (NGP) which aims to plant 1.5 billion trees in 1.5 million hectares in six yearsis one of the DENR’s efforts to respond to the call of protecting and conserving the environment, Director Tawantawan said.

The NGP is not just simply planting and growing of trees but also addressing the core issues of society with its goals to reduce poverty, promote food security, conserve the Philippine’s biodiversity, environmental stability, and to enhance climate change mitigation and adaptation, she said.

The Mindanao’s accomplishment on “TreeVolution: Greening MindaNow”that reached the peak of Guinness World Record marked a significant result of the collective effort from all sectors of the society. This only shows that all can unite in achieving one common goal of protecting the land from its environmental deterioration and make it verdant again, Tawantawan added.

The TreeVolution activity planted 2,294,629 trees in 29 different areas in Mindanao which was participated by the 122,168 participants on September 26, 2014.

According to Tawantawan, the NGP plantation in region 10 can sequester 6,748,248 tons carbon dioxide (CO2) in one year with the assumption that a one hectare plantation of fast growing species such as Falcata and Brazilian Fire Trees with the density of 500 trees with two meters height has the potential to sequester 104 tons of CO2 in one year.

Carbon sequestration is a way of capturing CO2 from the atmosphere. It is a significant processof minimizing greenhouse gas emissions which is a major contributor to climate change. Through carbon sequestration, air pollution can be reduced.

Tawantawan further said that the geo-hazard assessments of the Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau (MGB) and the effort of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) to support the solid waste management implementation are some of the appropriate actions to make the solution on climate change a reality.

Likewise, she said the intensive Information, Education and Communication (IEC) advocacy campaign of the region with the EMB and MGB in raising the public’s awareness and participation to combat the impacts of climate change in the regional level.

Tawantawan agreed with Pope Francis that there has to be a paradigm shift on climate change. From the scientific and technological approach, climate change has to involve social mobilization through educating the humanity with their role of stewardship to the environment, said Director Tawantawan.