Technological Institute of the Philippines, Quezon City

College of Engineering and Architecture

Department of Architecture

Environmental Planning Systems for Sustainable Development

(Philippines)
Planning 3 – AR42FA3
Report No. 2

Submitted By:
Calibuso, Jopha C.

Submitted To:
Archt. Joeffrey Cardenal

April 26, 2018

 1 RATIONALE: THE ECOLOGICAL IMPERATIVES IN THE PHILIPPINE CONTEXT
One of the more revealing lessons learned during the past two decades of environment awakening in the
Philippines is that the maintenance of the earth's delicate balance by the mere prophylactics of pollution
control and other ecological mitigation measures cannot ensure sustainable development There is now a
compelling need to overhaul the traditional concepts of development, with its exclusive focus on economic
principles and the political economy of natural resources. In 1979, Rafael Salas was already attuned to this
emerging world view when he said
Population Pressure - Indeed, there are strong coincidences between population growth, resource
depletion, environmental quality, and the incidence of poverty.
Economic Costs - It Is possible to get a rough estimate of the economic cost of deforestation. The conversion
of one hectare of old growth forest amounts to a loss of about 100 cubic meters of commercial quality logs,
not to mention its potential for sustained yield at a growth rate of about 2.4 cubic meters per hectare per year.
If these are computed at the current price of about P2,900 per cubic meter, and assuming that profit amounts
to 50% of gross revenue, this will represent a loss in net profit of around P145,000 per hectare.
Costs to the Ecosystem
Concern, however, should not focus mainly on economic costs. An unquantifiabte costof forest destruction
is the loss of species and genetic diversity. Even estmates forthis tragic loss does not exist for the Philippines.
Dr. Seymour Sohmer of the Bishop Museum of Honolulu, who has been studying Philippine flora for many
years now, asserts that we have already lost about 40% of our endemic flora Philippine losses contribute to
the global loss of biological diversity estimated at about 100 species per year. By the.year 2000, it is predicted
that about a mirlion species would have been lost forever. In general, a decrease in the diversity of flora and
fauna makes ecosystems less stable.
THE PHILIPPINE STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (PSSD): THE CONCEPTUAL
FRAMEWORK
The only rational way of planning the country's national progress is through sustainable development:
meeting the needs of citizens of today without limiting the options of future generations to fulfill their needs.
It Is development without destruction; it is the achievement of material progress without compromising the
lfe-support functions of natural systems; it is the pursuit of higher levels of quality of life while preserving or
even enhancing environmental quality. It is the only true development

An Environment and Sustainable Development Agenda

The reform agenda/ issues put forward herein are:
1) The need for a new alternative development paradigm/ or the adoption of Philippine Agenda 21;
2) Structural reforms which include the following:
a) Separation of protection and utilization functions of the DENR,
b) Additional appropriation for environmental protection and its prudent use,
c) Regionalization or devolution of environmental management functions to LGUs;
3) Sustainable ecological management; and
4) Climate change adaptation.

Here are some of the current economic policies that need rethinking, based on PA21:
1) Fiscal and tax regimes of extractive industries
Income tax, custom duties and fees, valueadded tax, tax on interest on foreign loans, tax on foreign
stockholders dividends, documentary stamp tax and capital gains tax are all included in the
five/seven year tax holiday accorded to mining companies by the government. Government share
from the mining industry is a paltry 2% excise tax, from which deductible expenses such as
environmental expenses of the contractor, expenses for the development of host and neighboring
communities and development of geosciences and mining technology, royalty payments to claim
owners or surface owners, general and administrative expenses actually incurred by the contractor,
 continuing mine operating development expenses within the contract area after pre-operating period,
interest expenses charged on loans, or such other financing related expenses incurred by

2) Non-inclusion of resource valuation in economic planning

Negative externalities generated by extraction and other economic activities are not included in the
computing for the financial returns of such industries. Negative externalities such as pollution, habitat
destruction, soil and nutrient erosion, water depletion affect all sectors. Thus, there is a need to
consider the different functions of natural resources or its indirect values, not just the assigned
monetary values to a timber, mineral or fish. Recognizing the different functions of the natural
environment, such as its carrier, production, information and regulation functions will help policy
makers understand that assigning monetary values only to direct uses of natural resources will be
cheating the state and the people of their immense contribution in sustaining lives and livelihood.

3) Promotion of mining industry

EO 270 or the Mineral Action Plan outlined a policy agenda to guide the industry and address the
identified issues and concerns. The current administration's prioritization of the mining industry as a
driver of economic growth is weakly premised on the projection of millions of dollars worth of
investments that will be generated by the industry. Three years into the roadshow, the mining
industry's contribution to the GNP remains at a low 1.0% (PhP 75,557,000xiii ). The government and
industry leaders admit to adjusting investment targets annually, as they fail to realize these targets.
4) Licensing and permitting system for resource utilization
A review and assessment on the present licensing and permitting system for resource utilization is
urgent. Planners, regulators and managers should seriously consider the carrying capacity of
ecosystems, undertake resource stock inventory and monitor impacts of all ongoing resource
extraction activities.

Ecological management

a. Watershed continuum as the basic forestland management unit

Forestlands shall be conserved, developed, and managed utilizing watershed continuum as the
basic management unit and under the concepts of sustainable and multiple-use management,
including the conservation of bio-diversity.
b. Forest and Biodiversity restoration
Haribon proposes under the SFM bill that the law should provide a management scheme for the
remaining open and denuded forests for the purpose of restoration. This is to ensure the expansion
of protection forestlands in order to achieve the ideal forest cover of 54% of the total land area of the
Philippines.
The quality of land resources has deteriorated steadily because of erosion, pollution and land conversion.
Twentyone percent of the country’s agricultural lands and 36 percent of nonagricultural lands are moderately
or severely eroded.
Environmental Education
In 2008, the Philippines enacted RA 9512 or the “National Environmental Awareness and Education Act of
2008”. This legislation concretized the country’s support to the United Nations Decade of Education for
Sustainable Development (2005-2014) and the ASEAN Environmental Education Action Plan for Sustainable
Development (2008-2012). This law has reiterated the policy of the State to protect and advance the right of
the people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature. The law
has further recognized the vital role of the youth in nation building, and the role of education to foster
patriotism and nationalism, accelerate social progress and provide total human liberation and development.
Devolution of ENR Functions
The Local Government Code of 1991 placed LGUs at the forefront of environment and natural resources
management. According to the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP), the following ENR functions
were devolved to LGUs in 2005:
a. Regulation of environmental impacts of SMEs under Kalakalan 20 Law;
b. Regulation of fishing in municipal waters;
c. Regulation of minor mineral extraction like small-scale mining and certain scales of quarrying and sand
and gravel gathering;
d. Regulation of nuisance and pollution under the Clean Air Act; e. Solid waste management under the
Ecological Solid Waste Management Act; and
f. Antismoke belching program.
Likewise, the Code assigns municipalities the task of establishing a solid waste disposal system or
environmental management system and services or facilities related to general hygiene and sanitation.
Meanwhile, provinces are tasked to enforce forestry laws limited to community-based forestry projects,
pollution control law, small-scale mining law, and other laws on the protection of the environment; and
minihydro electric projects for local purposes.
Goal 1. Improved Conservation, Protection and Rehabilitation of Natural Resources
In order to improve the conservation, protection, and rehabilitation of the country’s natural resources, the
sector shall pursue their sustainable use and integrated management. Natural resources management
activities shall be directed at enhancing the state of the different ecosystems and the natural resources within
them to provide resource-dependent communities with sustainable livelihoods. Priority shall be given to the
implementation of national action plans on forest, biodiversity, coastal and marine resources and wetlands.
Mechanisms and policies will be pursued to rationalize the use of the country’s land and mineral resources.
Goal 2. Improved Environmental Quality for a Cleaner and Healthier Environment
In order to provide communities with a healthier environment, the quality of the air, land and water must
improve. Vital to the improvement of environmental quality is the full implementation of laws and other
regulatory measures. Measures to reduce pollution and waste generation will also be pursued. The promotion
of green jobs and the greening of industry are win-win solutions that should be pursued.
Goal 3. Enhanced Resilience of Natural Systems and Improved Adaptive Capacities of Human
Communities to Cope with Environmental Hazards Including Climate Related Risks
Strengthen institutional capacities of national and local governments for CCA and DRRM a. Mainstream and
integrate DRR and CCA in national, sectoral, regional and local development plans, including integration of
hazard and climate change vulnerability maps in the updating of CLUPs by LGUs and enforcement of zoning
regulations; and encourage more provinces to mainstream DRR in their plans, and build capacities of national
and local agencies assigned to lead the effort.
Crosscutting Strategies
In order to achieve the three goals and to realize an environment that is healthy, ecologically-balanced,
sustainably productive, climatechange resilient, the following crosscutting strategies will be pursued: Effective
environmental governance a. Encourage multistakeholder partnership through enabling mechanisms that
encourage greater stakeholders’ participation and commitments, including:
• Community-based natural resources management efforts in forestry, biodiversity conservation, protected
area management, coastal resource management and integrating resilience especially among vulnerable
groups (women, children, elderly, etc);
• Partnership with the business sector in cleaning the environment, natural resource management, DRR and
CCA; • Devolution of relevant ENR mandate to LGUs accompanied by capacity development;
• Mandatory creation of Environment and Natural Resources Offices for LGUs;
• Provision of effective mechanisms that will empower marginalized groups as important partners for the
sustainable development and management of natural resources
Sources:
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/924571468780914119/pdf/multi-page.pdf
http://ateneo.edu/sites/default/files/environment%20and%20susdev_final.pdf