Greenpeace in the Philippines

Greenpeace today marched to the Indonesian Embassy to call on its government to fully shut down operations of paper giant Asia Pacific Resources International Holding Limited (APRIL) and other companies destroying the carbon-rich peatlands of Indonesia’s Kampar Peninsula in Sumatra. The group, rallying behind a banner that said “stop forest destroyers, not climate defenders”, delivered a letter addressed to Ambassador Irzan Tandjung. Greenpeace is denouncing the unfounded arrest, interrogation and deportation of journalists and Greenpeace activists trying to bring attention to the forest crimes being committed by APRIL. Click here to read more

A new Greenpeace report released today in Manila effectively puts genetic engineering where it belongs—into the dustbins of history.
The report “Smart Breeding: Marker Assisted Breeding, a non-invasive biotechnology alternative to genetic engineering of plant varieties” focuses on the technical possibilities of Marker Assisted Selection or MAS and its strengths compared to genetic engineering. Particular attention is given to rice crops, drought tolerance, harnessing of biodiversity and breeding for better nutrition. The report shows how MAS renders genetic engineering—which is expensive and unsafe—obsolete and completely unnecessary. Click here to read more

Greenpeace Water Patrol activists today initiated an investigation into toxic chemical effluents and noxious fumes that have downed around 70 community folk in Silang, Cavite, about 55 kilometers south of Manila. Click here to read more

Greenpeace activists protest the illegal erection of a steel structure and back-filling on a proposed site for a coal-fired power plant in Iloilo. Research shows that there are abundant sources of clean, renewable energy in the area that remains untapped. Coal plants are the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change that manifest in extreme weather events like typhoons Frank, Ondoy and Pepeng. Click here to read more

Volunteers from Greenpeace Water Patrol, Ecowaste Coalition and Buklod Tao Kalikasan protest the illegal dumping of garbage and flood debris along the banks of Nangka River by the Marikina government and the Metro Manila Development Authority. The groups installed a banner right on the mound of wastes on the Marikina side saying “Protect our River, Stop Dumping”. Another banner that says “Ang Basurang itinapon niyo, Babalik sa inyo” was also placed above the banks that have started eroding in a matter of days on the San Mateo side because of the impeded waterflow. Click here to read more

As a highlight of Iloilo IT Week 2009, Greenpeace released the latest edition of its Guide to Greener Electronics, which showed encouraging news from HP and Apple in their positive responses to Greenpeace’s campaign for greener electronics. Click here to read more

In light of the extreme weather event that devastated Luzon in the past 24 hours, Greenpeace is reiterating its call for industrialized nations to put money on the table for adaptation, mitigation and forest protection in order to help countries like the Philippines that are most vulnerable and least prepared to deal with impacts of catastrophic climate change. Click here to read more

Von Hernandez, Executive Director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said:
“With the passing of Odette Alcantara, the Philippine environmental movement has lost one of its shining beacons. An indefatigable and passionate environmental crusader until the end, Odette’s work will serve as an inspiration for many of us, especially at this time when the planet is dramatically in danger from the impacts of climate change.” Click here to read more

Greenpeace called on world leaders to “Be smart, not stupid” as climate talks take center stage at the special session of the United Nations General Assembly on climate change in New York today. The environmental group supported the roll-out of the global screenings of “Age of Stupid” with a premiere screening taking place in 50 countries, in every continent – including Antarctica – on September 21-22, hopefully setting a new Guinness World Record for the largest ever simultaneous screening.Click here to read more

Greenpeace today challenged government officials and aspirants to step up and include in their political platforms measures to ensure the protection of the country’s water sources, pointing out that bodies of water like Laguna Lake and Manila Bay are at the end of a pipeline of pollution coming from upstream communities, factories, and other contributors. Click here to read more