Greenpeace in the Philippines

As Southeast Asia continues to cope with the escalating impacts of
climate change, Greenpeace challenged ASEAN Energy Ministers meeting in
Laos tomorrow to put the issue in the heart of economic and energy
policies in the region. The environmental group also opened its
“Climate Change Knows No Borders” photo exhibit today featuring
powerful images of melting glaciers, severe droughts, floods and other
climate-related impacts in Southeast Asia and around the world.

Climate
change is caused by massive carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions produced by
the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, which has seriously altered
the composition of the planet’s atmosphere, creating increasingly
devastating, chaotic weather patterns.

“Southeast Asia is one of
the most vulnerable regions to the impacts of climate change. The
ministers of the region should put climate change in the heart of
ASEAN’s economic and energy policies,” said Tara Buakamsri, Climate and
Energy Campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia. “Climate change knows
no borders, and it threatens the people and the growing economies of
the region.”

According to distinguished Southeast Asian
scientists, Dr Kansri Boonprakob (Thailand) and Dr Leoncio Amadore
(Philippines), due to an increase in extreme weather events, Thailand
suffered more than Bt70 billion (around US$ 1.75 billion) in economic
losses in the period between 1989 and 2002, while the Philippines lost
an annual average of 4.5 billion pesos or around US$ 83 million from
1975 to 2002.

The scientists added that to mitigate these
impacts, countries in the region must urgently combine
disaster-preparedness programs with greenhouse emission reduction
measures such as displacing fossil energy with renewable energy and
energy efficiency.

“The rampaging impacts of climate change
warrants a serious, strategic reconsideration of the energy pathway so
far chosen by ASEAN which points to an increase in the use of fossil
fuels like coal. Addressing climate change means that all governments
must commit to aggressive national policies to phase out coal and
promote the use of renewable energy. Energy efficiency and new
renewable energy alternatives can be harnessed by the region to protect
the environment, provide jobs and strengthen the region’s energy
independence,” Tara concluded.

Greenpeace Southeast Asia Campaigns Director Von
Hernandez said:

"Greenpeace was conducting
environmental water sampling in the island to validate recent reports
of a fish kill which occurred in the area last week, and which
Lafayette claims to be a case of sabotage. Andrade was collecting water
samples from the said creek when two policemen ‘invited’ him at gun
point for questioning at Pagcolbon’s town hall where he was harassed by
police, military, and several private security personnel who wore no
proper uniform nor identification, and who refused to identify
themselves. Andrade was then illegally searched, his water samples and
sampling sheets confiscated, and was escorted by armed policemen to
their detachment in Rapu Rapu town. Police did not identify under what
charge he was being held. The area where he was collecting samples was
unfenced public land."

"Lafayette and the DENR claim full transparency in the conduct of
Lafayette’s mining operation particularly during the 30 day test run
which the DENR approved last 11 July 2005. But this is obviously not
the case. Rapu Rapu island today, even public areas outside the
boundaries of Lafayette mine, is apparently a high security zone,
tightly guarded not just by the police and military, but also by
private security personnel. Monitoring and inspection by independent
parties concerned about the negative effects of the mining operation is
heavily discouraged and even prevented."

"The heavy police
security deployed to protect Lafayette’s operations, and the prevention
of independent monitoring bodies to conduct sampling bodes ill for Rapu
Rapu and nearby coastal communities. In this connection, the
government’s intention is obvious: this mining operation is being
protected regardless of the consequences it will inflict on the
island’s surrounding marine environment, and the communities who
benefit from these seas."

"Instead of defending a mining
operation which is damaging and detrimental to the island’s fragile
marine ecosystem, the DENR should stay true to its mandate of upholding
our citizens’ rights to live in a safe and healthy environment. The
public has a right to know what real impacts Lafayette’s mining
operations have on the environment, and that right should never be
thwarted by police and military harassment especially in the service of
myopic corporate interests."
__________

"Lafayette and the DENR claim full
transparency in the conduct of Lafayette’s mining operation
particularly during the 30 day test run which the DENR approved last 11
July 2005. But this is obviously not the case. Rapu Rapu island today,
even public areas outside the boundaries of Lafayette mine, is
apparently a high security zone, tightly guarded not just by the police
and military, but also by private security personnel. Monitoring and
inspection by independent parties concerned about the negative effects
of the mining operation is heavily discouraged and even prevented."

"The
heavy police security deployed to protect Lafayette’s operations, and
the prevention of independent monitoring bodies to conduct sampling
bodes ill for Rapu Rapu and nearby coastal communities. In this
connection, the government’s intention is obvious: this mining
operation is being protected regardless of the consequences it will
inflict on the island’s surrounding marine environment, and the
communities who benefit from these seas."

"Instead of defending
a mining operation which is damaging and detrimental to the island’s
fragile marine ecosystem, the DENR should stay true to its mandate of
upholding our citizens’ rights to live in a safe and healthy
environment. The public has a right to know what real impacts
Lafayette’s mining operations have on the environment, and that right
should never be thwarted by police and military harassment especially
in the service of myopic corporate interests."

The
group warned that, by failing to do so, these countries face the grim
prospects of sea-level rise, floods, disastrous storms and prolonged
droughts.

The demonstrations, held
on the eve of the ASEAN Energy Ministers Meeting slated in Laos next
week, highlighted the need for urgent action in the region to stop
climate change. Volunteers in the Philippines, wearing swim trunks and
carrying life buoys, protested in front of the Department of Energy
(DoE) in Manila with the words “Act Now!” emblazoned on their chests.
In Bangkok, Thailand, Greenpeace activists deployed a 16-man emergency
life raft in front of the Thailand Energy Ministry with images of
floods and destruction caused by climate change, and unfurled a banner
with the message "Invest in renewable energy now".

"Climate change must be put at the
heart of our countries’ economic and energy policies. We are already
losing billions of dollars from the economic, social and environmental
impacts of climate change. Energy policies of governments in the region
must respond to this crisis with urgency by setting ambitious targets
for renewable energy in the country and by pushing ASEAN towards this
direction," said Greenpeace Southeast Asia Climate and Energy
campaigner in Thailand Tara Buakamsri.

Southeast
Asian scientists revealed this week that due to an increase in extreme
weather events, Thailand suffered more than Bt70 billion (around US$
1.75 billion) in economic losses in the period between 1989 and 2002,
while the Philippines lost an annual average of 4.5 billion pesos
(around US$ 83 million) from 1975 to 2002. To mitigate these impacts,
they said countries in the region must urgently combine
disaster-preparedness programs with greenhouse emission reduction
measures such as displacing fossil energy with renewables and energy
efficiency(1).

The ASEAN Energy
Ministers Meeting next week will be held amid intensifying climate
impacts in the region: floods, storms and droughts, and the ever-rising
costs of fossil fuels. But, while Southeast Asia is one of the regions
most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, the issue is still
not a priority in ASEAN energy discussions. At present, the combined
carbon emissions of ASEAN countries ranks third among the developing
areas of the world, following China and India(2).

"Instead
of advancing renewable energy to thwart climate change and address real
energy security, our energy policies are retrogressing towards
addiction to coal. This type of energy policies are in fact a threat to
our country and region. The Philippines and Thailand should take the
lead in steering the ASEAN toward adopting low carbon economies,” said
Jasper Inventor, Climate and Energy Campaigner in the Philippines.

_______

Notes:
1) Sources: Crisis or Opportunity: Climate Impacts and Thailand, Crisis
or Opportunity: Climate Impacts and the Philippines, both Greenpeace
reports are available for download at www.greenpeace.org.ph

2) Data from the US Energy Information
Administration show that Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam,
Singapore, and Malaysia produced nearly 250 million tons of carbon
emissions in 2003. In comparison, China produced 965.72 million tons,
and India 279.50 million tons in the same period.

http://www.greenpeace.org.ph

You're all cordially invited to an Orientation Meeting on Greenpeace and Nonviolence on 29 July 2006, 1.30 -4.30 PM at the Greenpeace Southeast Asia office at 24 K-J, Brgy. East Kamias, Quezon City. This orientation is designed to provide a general overview of Greenpeace and its work for the environment. Those who are keen on hands-on volunteering for the environment with Greenpeace will find this orientation useful, especially those who are first-time volunteers. Of course, we welcome those who wish to be updated on our activities.

The meeting shall include lecture-discussions on GP history, core values and a briefing on the Defend Our Oceans campaign, the visit of the Greenpeace ship, MV Esperanza in August. We can also discuss the possibilities for volunteers to participate in these upcoming activities . 

The MV Esperanza is currently campaigning to Defend Our Oceans (http://oceans.greenpeace.org/en/the-expedition), taking action to protect the oceans against destruction of the world's marine ecosytems due unsustainable fisheries and pollution.

Confirmation of your participation will be appreciated and queries are most welcome. Thanks. 

Asian scientists today revealed studies which detail the region’s
economic losses as well as severe threats to human life and the
environment due to climate change. Scientific publications authored by
Dr Kansri Boonprakob (Thailand) and Dr Leoncio Amadore (Philippines)
each confirm earlier predictions that developing countries in Asia,
like Thailand and the Philippines, stand to suffer most from the
catastrophic impacts of a warming planet unless mitigation and
adaptation measures are taken with urgency.

In the new report
"Crisis or Opportunity: Climate Change and Thailand", Dr Kansri said
Thailand suffered more than Bt70 billion (around US$ 1.75 billion) in
economic losses related to floods, storms and droughts in the period
between 1989 and 2002. Majority of these losses came from the
agricultural sector where crop yield losses amounted to more than Bt50
billion (around US$ 1.25 billion) during 1991 to 2000.

"Climate-related
catastrophes will increase and intensify under climate change. This
will cause reductions in agricultural production, and consequently
retarded economic development and increasing social problems," wrote Dr
Kansri, vice-chair of Working Group 1 of the UN Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change.

Among the most serious environmental threats
cited in her study is "irreversible changes among ecosystems along with
the extinction of many species." Preliminary Thai studies on forest
ecosystems under climate change show that about 32 national parks and
wildlife sanctuaries, including the World Heritage Site of Thung Yai
Naresuan, are now climate change hot spots.

In addition she
warned that sea level rise "may cause the extinction of coastal
species." Thailand’s coasts are economically important for fisheries,
commerce, recreation and tourism but further to sea-level rise, "more
intense storm surges may damage commercial and recreational areas," she
said in the report.

The worsening trends of climate impacts are
also felt across the region. Research by Dr Amadore, one of the
Philippines foremost meteorologists, shows that the Philippine
archipelago suffered far worse from extreme weather events. His report
"Crisis or Opportunity: Climate Change Impacts and the Philippines",
indicates that from 1975 to 2002 intensifying tropical cyclones caused
an annual average of 593 deaths and damage to property of 4.5 billion
pesos (around US$ 83 million), including damage to agriculture of 3
billion pesos (around US$ 55 million).

"Sadly, vulnerable
countries in the region are not well-poised to respond to such
disasters," said Dr Amadore. "Countries must combine both adaptive
strategies such as disaster-preparedness programs and continuous
vulnerability assessments along with greenhouse emission reduction
measures such as displacing fossil power with renewables and energy
efficiency."

"It is imperative that Southeast Asian countries
like Thailand and the Philippines prioritize combating climate change
and put it at the heart of economic, environmental and energy policies.
Otherwise, the region stands to lose its economic development to
climate change," concludes Tara Buakamsri, Climate and Energy
campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.
_____
http://www.greenpeace.org.ph

July 14, 2006
Representatives from 12 Provincial Agriculture Offices in Luzon,
Visayas and Mindanao, NGOs, and people’s organisations unanimously
endorsed sustainable agriculture—not genetic engineering—as the only
way toward real food security in the Philippines. This consensus was
reached yesterday by participants to the National Conference on
Sustainable Agriculture and GMO (genetically-modified organism) Free
Zones organized by Greenpeace and held 13 and 14 July 2006 at the
Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City.

Conference
participants also declared that the government should re-examine the
current regulations on GMO crops which favor multinational biotech
companies at the expense of local sustainable and organic farming
initiatives.

"The Philippines has a wealth of experience in
sustainable and organic agriculture farming, most of which are local
community initiatives,” said Benedicto Sanchez, one of the conference
speakers and Program Coordinator of Broad Initiatives for Negros
Development, Inc. “The entry of commercial GMO crops will only serve to
undermine their significant efforts toward genuine sustainability.”

The
government first approved the commercialization of
genetically-engineered crops in 2002 with the introduction of Bt corn,
amid pressure from US GMO lobby groups and large biotech companies like
Monsanto. To this day, the government’s agricultural policies reflect
an alarming predilection toward biotech commercialization. Just last
week, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo proclaimed the first week of
July as National Biotechnology Week, following the launch of a major
government program to promote biotech, including transgenics, in
agriculture. Biotech groups from the US, where agribiotech company
Monsanto is based, expect massive government approval of GMO crops in
the next few years(1).

Several local provincial efforts however
recognize the dangers of GMO crops. The province of Bohol passed a
resolution banning the entry of GMOs in 2003, becoming the first GMO
Free Island in the Philippines. The provinces of Mindoro Oriental and
Marinduque (as part of the "Organic Haven Islands of Mindoro,
Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan or MIMAROPA) both have a Provincial
Environmental Code and Administrative Order also banning the entry of
GMOs in their areas. Last year, the provinces of Negros Occidental and
Negros Oriental signed a memorandum of agreement in pursuit of their
shared vision to become the ‘Organic Island of the Philippines’ and are
expected to pass a similar ban on GMOs in the island. Similar
legislations are pending in several provinces in Mindanao.

The
government’s pro-active GMO commercialization policy, however, can only
spell disaster for Philippine agriculture. GMOs cause massive genetic
contamination, threaten the livelihood of farmers and undermine
agricultural biodiversity and consumer choice. Experiences with GE
crops in other countries, such as GE papaya in Hawaii and GE cotton in
India, as well as the local experience with Bt corn, indicates that GE
crops are more of a burden rather than a boon(2).

"Greenpeace
urges local governments in other parts of the country to make their
provinces GE free," said Greenpeace Southeast Asia Genetic Engineering
Campaigner Daniel Ocampo. "GMO-free agriculture is the only way toward
true sustainable agriculture."

“For its part, the national
government should prioritize local efforts toward GMO-free sustainable
agriculture and work for the interest of local farmers instead of
willfully killing sustainable agriculture with its obvious bias toward
GMO crops developed, patented, and marketed commercially by
multinational bio-tech companies."
_______

Notes:
Among the provinces represented during the conference were: Abra,
Isabela, Camarines Norte, Mindoro, Palawan, Marinduque, Misamis
Occidental, Agusan Del Norte, Cebu, Bukidnon, Lanao Del Norte, Bohol
and Negros Occidental

(1) Philippines may become major biotech crop producer http://www.freshplaza.com/2006/06jul/2_ph_biotech.htm
First week of July is national biotech week
http://www.pia.gov.ph/news.asp?fi=p060706.htm&no=39
DOST launches program to promote biotech
http://www.pia.gov.ph/news.asp?fi=p060628.htm&no=42

(2) The Failure of GE Papaya in Hawaii, Greenpeace, 2006
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/seasia/en/press/reports/copy-of-papaya-the-failure-o.pdf
The Economics of Bt Corn: Whose interest does it really serve?, Greenpeace, 2005 http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/seasia/en/press/reports/rpt-ge-bteconomics.pdf

July 12, 2006
In a decisive victory that attests to the growing opposition against
coal in the country, the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) has
conceded today to withdraw its plans for an integrated coal mining and
mine-mouth power plant project in Isabela after massive opposition from
Isabela communities and Greenpeace. The move came less than two weeks
after Isabela community leaders and Greenpeace activists protested in
front of the PNOC compound last 29 June 2006 to express their complete
rejection of the project and to deliver a petition signed by 15,000
concerned Isabela citizens against the project.

“The people of
Isabela have defeated a coal plant today,” said Isabela Anti-Coal Mine
Mouth Alliance representative Fr. Tony Ancieta. “This victory is a
tribute to the communities in the province who have been ceaselessly
working against this coal project ever since it was proposed, as well
as to other communities in the country who are also working against
coal.“

The PNOC announced that they were withdrawing their
proposal to construct a coal mine and coal plant in Isabela in a
meeting earlier today with Isabela Anti-Coal Mine Mouth Alliance and
Greenpeace. PNOC President and Chief Executive Officer Eduardo Mañalac
said that they were pulling out of the project because of the lack of
community support.

The coal project was supposed to have been
constructed in the municipalities of Naguilian and Benito Soliven, and
the City of Cauayan, Isabela. All three towns have rejected the PNOC’s
request for endorsement of the project, acknowledging coal as a menace
to the environment and human health.

Coal is the dirtiest fossil
fuel. The acute and long-term environmental and social costs associated
with coal usage make it an expensive and unacceptable burden to its
host communities. The coal industry moreover is a major contributor to
climate change, the greatest threat to our world today. The proposed
project will have been the Philippine’s first coal-fired power plant
located on a mine site.

“Coal is a losing proposition. The
growing opposition against this dirty fossil fuel should be a signal to
the government that coal is not a wise investment,” said Greenpeace
Southeast Asia Climate and Energy Campaigner Jasper Inventor. “If
President Arroyo is serious in achieving a ‘Green Philippines’ in five
years, the government should stop the construction and expansion of
more coal plants in the country, and initiate a massive shift to clean,
renewable energy with a clear target of 10% of our total energy needs
generated from sun, wind, and modern biomass by the year 2010.”

July 11, 2006