Quezon City gov't to contractors: Make your structures "green"

I am particularly proud of this development in the Quezon City Hall. The new Department of Building Official is a product of the Citizen Report Card (CRC)which we did for Quezon City in 2007 (together with CRC for business permit and health service). We did not directly suggest the creation of the new "department" but it was a wise move from then Mayor Sonny Belmonte to have it separated, thru an ordinance, from the City Engineer's Office (back then, it was called the "Office of the Building Official") after we reported so many anomalies. Now the department is staffed with qualified building inspectors and technical staff, and being managed professionally. I had the chance to interview the head and I sincerely believe in his competence. I hope other LGUs will follow the example of Mayor Bistek's green city initiative.

Quezon City gov't to contractors: Make your structures "green"

By Julie M. Aurelio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 13:40:00 02/18/2011

Filed Under: Laws, Local authorities, Environmental Issues


MANILA, Philippines--Developers seeking to build new buildings in Quezon City better make sure their structures are "green."

City building official Engr. Isagani Versoza Jr. said the Quezon City government will begin enforcing its "green building ordinance" in April where they will require contractors to adopt eco-friendly technologies in their structures.

The ordinance mandates the use of eco-friendly technology and system in the planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance including the retrofitting of building projects.

Versoza said he is proud of Quezon City being the pioneer among local government units in adopting and implementing green building infrastructure, which he said is City Mayor Herbert Bautista's advocacy.

He added that the city government wishes to promote energy efficiency and cost effectiveness in building construction as well to mitigate adverse impacts on environment degradation.

"Our mayor strongly believes that the implementation of green policy emphasizes the need to promote and protect the interrelation of the natural ecosystem and development. These are the key factors that contribute to sustainable development, empowerment of people and urban development," Versoza said.

The building official explained that part of the administration's advocacy is to reduce greenhouse gas and other hazardous emissions from buildings and similar structures.

The ordinance's implementing rules and regulations will be adopted this April.

To encourage developers and contractors to support the new ordinance, the city government will offer incentives in the form of tax credits to those conforming to the green building policy.

"There is an incentive in the form of tax credits for the land users, developers and planners who incorporate, implement, install and actually use environment friendly technologies," Versoza said.

To brief developers, contractors and building owners on the green building policy, the city government will hold a symposium next week for concerned parties to be able to clarify issues on the ordinance.

Versoza said the symposium will be held on Feb. 23, 2011 at the U.P. Ayala Technohub to brief the affected parties before the actual adoption and implementation of the ordinance come April.

Invited to attend are developers, contractors, professions, building owners and government engineers who wish to thresh out some questions with the city
government.

"Those who want to know the guidelines, procedure requirements, forms and other relevant information on how to apply for a green building certificate, which is a requirement in applying for permits in the construction, renovation or retrofitting of buildings et al," Versoza said in qualifying who may attend.

Interested parties may contact Frediswinda de Guzman at 4447272 local 8905 for details or visit www.quezoncity.gov.ph.

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view/20110218-320952/QC-govt-to-contractors-Make-your-structures-green

Part 1: Governance of Climate Change in the Philippines

(for a clearer copy, e-mail the author at efloranoy@yahoo.com)

by Ebinezer R. Florano
with inputs from the MoI Cluster of the CCC-NCCAP Technical Workshop*

The Philippine Climate Change Commission (CCC) conducted a "Technical Workshop on the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP)" on 26-28 January 2011 at Stotsenberg Hotel in Clark Field, Pampanga. The objective, among others, was to help the CCC create concrete action plans for the implementation of the NCCAP from 2011-2028. The 500+ participants from national government agencies, local government units, academe, political parties, and civil society organizations were grouped into several clusters, one of which is the Means of Implementation (MoI) cluster. The MoI cluster was able to draw up some concrete plans for the NCCAP and the CCC. In addition, they drew the relationships of the CCC to various national government agencies and local government units (LGUs), taking into consideration the legal mandates of these agencies. The diagram above is the product of the long-discussion on what should be the working relationships of various government agencies in the area of climate change governance in the Philippines.

In a summary, the President of the Philippines provides the strategic direction on climate change governance. He/she is assisted by the CCC which is the sole policy-making body of the government tasked to coordinate, monitor and evaluate the programs and action plans of the government relating to climate change pursuant to the provisions of the Climate Change Act of 2009 (Republic Act No. 9729). The CC policies shall be integrated into the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) and all other plans that the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is tasked to do as the central development planning agency of the country. The President is Chairman of both the CCC and the NEDA, hence, coordination should not pose as a problem between the two agencies.

For 2011-2016, NEDA has chosen "Green Growth" as its theme for the MTPDP of the Aquino Administration. Planning for CC and green growth, theoretically, should use both the bottom-up and top-down approach. The President, at the beginning of his/her term, shall instruct, through NEDA, all government agencies, including LGUs and government-owned and/or controlled corporations (GOCCs), to formulate their development plans according to his/her vision and campaign promises.

Now, that climate change is mandated to be mainstreamed into all development plans by the Climate Change Act of 2009, the NEDA guidelines should reflect this. Using the NEDA guidelines, all LGUs, which are at the frontline of the CC campaigns, through their local development councils (LDCs), shall formulate their Local Climate Change Action Plan (LCCAP) which shall serve as inputs, together with plans for local disaster risk reduction (DRR), to the local development plans (LDPs), annual investment plans, etc. Municipalities and cities can be assisted by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), various local government leagues, and their provincial governments in the formulation of the LCCAP and LDPs.

All of these local development plans shall be integrated and be used for the formulation of regional development plans (RDPs). In the formulation of the RDPs, multi-stakeholder participation - from regional offices of national government agencies, provincial chief executives, and civil society organizations - is employed. The regional offices of NEDA act as secretariat to the Regional Development Councils which are tasked to formulate their RDPs.

From the regional level, the NEDA regional offices shall transmit the RDPs to their national office - the NEDA Secretariat. The RDPs shall serve as inputs in the formulation of the MTPDP. The latter shall be approved by the NEDA Board whose chairman is the President of the Philippines.

Meanwhile, all LCCAPs shall also be transmitted directly to the CCC which shall integrate all of them and see to it that they are mainstreamed into the MTPDP.

The diagram above can also be used not only in mainstreaming of CC matters in the development plans but also in the implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of CC programs, plans, and projects.

Unfortunately, during the discussions in the MoI cluster, it was reported that the 2011-2016 MTPDP is being formulated without the benefit of the top-down and bottom-up approaches described above. Hence, there is lingering doubt that the MTPDP would really reflect the LDPs and RDPs of LGUs, and even the sectoral plans of national government agencies, to climate-proof the country's development.

*Note: The diagram and discussions benefitted from the contributions from the following government agencies, LGU umbrella organization, environmental NGOs, political parties, and an academic institutions, namely: Climate Change Commission, National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Budget and Management, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Transportation and Communication (government agencies); Union of Local Government Authorities, Rice Watch and Action Network, Conservation International, Philippine Clean Air Initiative (NGOs); University of the Philippines-National College of Public Administration and Governance (academe); and Partido Kalikasan, and 1-UTAK (political parties).

*Disclaimer: The author is solely responsible for this write-up. All agencies and organizations mentioned above should not be held liable.

(Next topic: Other suggestions from the MoI cluster presented to the CCC during the technical workshop).

GOOD NEWS: Pres. Aquino suspends approval of large-scale mining applications

By Delon Porcalla
The Philippine Star)
Updated February 05, 2011 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang announced yesterday that President Aquino has ordered Secretary Ramon Paje of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to suspend all large-scale mining applications while the government reviews pending and inactive mining claims this year.

“The instruction right now from his office is not to accept new applications of mining claims since January this year,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said, adding that there is now a ban on processing of mining claims.

“We believe that we need to enforce properly the mining regulations and mining laws. So that is what the DENR is doing, and will continue to do, to strictly monitor and strictly implement the mining regulations,” he said.

Lacierda noted that upon assumption to office, Paje promised that “he will clean the process of the mining claims.”

“There were 2,800 mining claims when he assumed office. Right now he has cancelled already 500 mining claims. He is also in the process of reviewing 500 more,” Lacierda added.

Lacierda said this has been one of the programs of Aquino even when he was still a senator.

The DENR has terminated more than 500 mining permits and applications that have remained inactive and incomplete in terms of requirements.

Mines and Geosciences Bureau records show that there are 2,180 mining applications presently pending in various regional offices.

Paje said the department’s regional offices have been given two deadlines – on Feb. 20 and December this year – to clear all pending and inactive mining applications for this year.

He said the clearing of “aging” mining applications is in line with the department’s anti-corruption program.

“We have to decide... what to do with all of these mining applications pending in our regional offices. Otherwise, the public will continue to perceive us as inefficient and corrupt,” Paje said.

Source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=654543&publicationSubCategoryId=63

COP16 approves the Cancun Accords: Documents include creation of a Green Fund

Following negotiations that ran through early Saturday morning, delegates at the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) in Cancun adopted by consensus the Cancun Accords, a series of documents that will provide the basis for efforts to confront climate change after the Kyoto Protocol expires.

The accords include a $30 billion-package for 2012 to aid nations taking immediate actions to halt effects of global warming, as well as financing for long-term projects to protect the environment through a Green Fund, which will provide $100 million annually for adaptation and mitigation measures.

Delegates also approved the creation of the forestry program Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) to facilitate the flow of resources to communities dedicated to forest conservation.

The President Felipe Calderón congratulated representatives of nearly 200 countries and the Conference authorities, including Ambassador Patricia Espinosa Cantellano, who headed COP16/CMP6 activities throughout the two-week conference.

"You have broken that inertia (toward negativity) and have traded a feeling of collective failure for one that recovers hope in multilateralism,” President Calderón Hinojosa said after the Cancun Accords were approved.

Source: http://www.cc2010.mx/en/press-center/news/news-interviews_2010121153618.htm

Note: Mute the video above to listen to the video below.

GOOD NEWS: Aquino issues EO 23 on indefinite log ban

By Delon Porcalla
(The Philippine Star)
Updated February 04, 2011 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino yesterday declared an indefinite log ban all over the country.

Aquino issued Executive Order 23 implementing the indefinite log ban and creating an Anti-Illegal Logging Task Force to be headed by Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Ramon Paje.

Aquino authorized the release of P10 million as seed fund for the task force. The initial budget would be sourced from the Department of Budget and Management with additional funds to be cleared by the President.

Aquino tasked Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Philippine National Police chief Director General Raul Bacalzo and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Ricardo David to help the task force in implementing the indefinite log ban all over the country.

“The task force is mandated to take the lead in the anti-illegal logging campaign and ensure the implementation of this executive order under the supervision of the DENR. It shall also assist the DENR in the enforcement of other environmental laws,” the order read in part.

The moratorium shall remain in effect “unless lifted after the effectivity of this EO.”

EO 23, entitled “Declaring a moratorium on the cutting and harvesting of timber in the national and residual forests and creating the Anti-Illegal Logging Task Force,” was issued in light of widespread flooding and landslides in Mindanao, Eastern Visayas and Bicol where scores of people have died and were displaced.

The President earlier said illegal logging continues to be the main culprit of landslides in these areas that cause significant loss of life and damage to property.

Under the EO, the DENR would be restricted from issuing logging permits and contracts “in all natural and residual forests,” including renewing tree cutting permits in all forests all over the country.

The only exceptions to the log ban are those that involve the “clearing of road right of way, site preparation for tree plantations… provided that all logs derived from these permits shall be turned over to DENR for proper disposal.”

Cutting of trees that have been part of cultural activities of indigenous peoples “may be allowed only subject to strict compliance with existing guidelines of the DENR,” the EO stated.

The EO also tasked the DENR to prohibit the operation of sawmills, veneer plants and other wood processing plants “that are unable to present proof of sustainable sources of legally cut logs for a period of at least five years within one month from effectivity of this EO.”

The President also tasked other agencies to support the task force and assist in the discharge of its functions.

This support, as provided in the four-page executive order, is “not limited to the provision of administrative or technical assistance, logistical support and detail of personnel.”

The environmental activist group Kalikasan-People’s Network for the Environment led by Clemente Bautista Jr. said Aquino should immediately implement a total log ban.

“The people have suffered too much because of unabated logging and deforestation in the country,” Bautista said. – With Rhodina Villanueva

Source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=654254&publicationSubCategoryId=63

SAD NEWS: Scientists find ‘creeping effects’ of climate change in Philippine coastal areas

By Tarra Quismundo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:16:00 02/04/2011

MANILA, Philippines—If the world worries about monster storms, floods and landslides, what the eyes don't usually see should concern them as much.
Top marine scientists from around the country have found indications of the "creeping effects" of climate change on marine life—a study aimed at shifting focus from changes in weather phenomena on land to those happening underwater.

Tagged ICE CREAM (Integrated Coastal Enhancement: Climate Research, Enhancement and Adaptive Management), the government-funded project has found rising water temperatures, coral bleaching and coastal erosion in several of its 28 project sites dotting the Philippine coastline.

The team shared its initial findings to the INQUIRER as it marked the start of its third year. The P98-million project, funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DoST), the World Wildlife Fund and Conservation International involves more than a dozen marine science experts from across the country and separate staff at project sites.

“Something that is not visible is much more difficult to understand. It (the sea) is much more prone to being dismissed as being “no, there's still a lot of fish,” said Wilfredo Campos, a marine biologist from the University of the Philippines-Visayas.
“You don't really see what's happening. You see that there are mudslides, you see what's happening in the forest, but at sea, you really don't know what's happening. You look at the sea and feel that it (resources) is still finite, when actually, it's not,” Campos told the INQUIRER on Thursday.

Much debate still surrounds climate change, its causes and effects, but Porfirio Aliño, marine biologist from the UP Marine Science Institute, would rather look the at the bottomline.

“The climate is always changing, how you see it in relation to whether it's going to be more frequent or accelerated. But the bottomline is how do we respond to it, given that if we don't do anything, it will become accelerated,” he said.

“One question is that, climate has changed in evolutionary time. But the point is, during evolutionary time, there were no people yet. Now, climate change has a big effect on people,” he said.

Based on initial findings, the DoST climate change project found a 3-percent rise in shallow water temperature off Lian, Batangas in April to May of last year—an increase not observed even in intense summers.

“By May, it spiked to 31 degrees Celsius, while the normal range is 27 degrees to 29 degrees. For water, that's very high,” said Maricar Samson, an environmental scientist from the De La Salle University.

Such warm waters caused coral bleaching, which endangered an ecosystem that could buffer vulnerable coastlines from storm surges, the team said.

“If you take care of the reef, it will be able to compensate with sea level rise. But if of course it is in poor condition, it will not be able to buffer, for example, the storm surge. The increase in sea level will reach the shore,” he said.
Such rate of temperature rise, if observed every 5 years, would leave only 1 percent of the current coral reef population, Samson said. The same rise, if seen every 10 years, would leave only 11 percent.

In Botolan, Zambales, scientists found out that the coastline has receded significantly from 1977 to 2003.

“This has a big impact on the coast . Now, we're trying to do some projections in some parts of the Philippines on what will happen on their coastal stability,” Samson said.

Another study under ICE CREAM found a decrease in the productivity of fish species in coastal areas by roughly 20 percent, a “very fast rate” observed within two decades said Aliño.

“If we don't take care of our coral reefs, mangroves, sea grass and other habitats, obviously, the decline will be fast, we cannot cope with climate change. The other thing is, we are not as conscious about it unfortunately,” he said, adding that waters surrounding the archipelago were almost seven times bigger than its land area.
The team hopes to use data to influence policy-makers and stakeholders at the local and national levels: local government units could draft ordinances for better coastal protection while communities could practice more responsible use of marine resources.

“In the absence of scientists on the ground, the program hopes to give people tools where people can formulate their own [climate-change adaptation programs],” Samson said.

“These are site-specific. It's not possible that the whole Philippines will sink ... There will be different scenarios for [different parts of the] Philippines,” she added.

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20110204-318321/Scientists-find-creeping-effects-of-climate-change-in-Philippine-coastal-areas

Editorial: Crazy weather

(collage by the blogger)

In the past 12 and a half months great areas of the world have experienced extreme, crazy and topsy-turvy weather. Both the western and eastern worlds suffered a midsummer breakdown:

The hottest summer (more than 100 degrees F for the first time) in Russia, sparking wildfires and blanketing Moscow with toxic smog;

The heaviest monsoon rains in Pakistan, causing rivers to rampage over the countryside, flooding thousands of villages, killing 1,500 people and leaving 14 million homeless;

The worst floods in China in decades which, together with landslides, killed at least 1,100 people and left more than 600 missing;

The wettest midsummer (some call it "Nashville's `Katrina'") in Iowa in 127 years of record-keeping, floodwaters forcing hundreds from their homes;

The calving off from the great Petermann Glacier in Greenland's northwest of a 100-square-mile chunk of ice.

Winter in the West (the cold season in the East) has been especially harsh. A "Snowmaggeddon" has blanketed huge areas of the United States. From extreme, brain-cooking heat during the summer, the weather has turned to the other extreme, with record snowfalls being experienced in areas that usually saw mild, gentle winters in the past.

And the end is not yet in sight. In the first half of January devastating floods have hit Australia; a tsunami-like wall of water ripped through Queensland's Lockyer Valley, tossing cars like toys, lifting houses from their foundations, and displacing hundreds of thousands of people (very reminiscent of "Ondoy"!). Thousands of kilometers away, in Brazil, more than 500 people have died in mudslides near Rio de Janeiro. In the Philippines, heavy rains have lashed the Bicol region, the Visayas and Mindanao, killing scores of people, displacing hundreds of thousands and causing billions of pesos in damage to crops, public works and private property.

Why the freakish, crazy weather? Scientists are hotly debating the issue, but the great majority say that it is caused by global warming. The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has long predicted that rising global temperatures would produce more frequent and intense heat waves and more intense rainfalls. The IPCC's most recent assessment report says, "It is now more likely than not that human activity has contributed to observed increases in heat waves, intense precipitation events and the intensity of tropical cyclones."

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has reported that 2010 was "the hottest meteorological year." For über-meteorologist Dr. Jess Masters of Weather Underground, 2010 was the year of living dangerously (insofar as the weather was concerned): "The stunning extremes we witnessed give me concern that our climate is showing early signs of instability."

Masters continued: "…I suspect that crazy weather years like 2010 will become the norm a decade from now, as the climate continues to adjust to the steady build-up of heat-trapping gasses we are pumping into the air… Forty years from now, the crazy weather of 2010 will seem pretty tame… This year's wild ride was just the beginning."

It was extremely fatal, destructive and frightening in many parts of the world, and yet, for a weather expert "it was just the beginning." Wild, wild 2010 should make all nations take more aggressive steps to try to control global warming. And everyone should contribute to the effort, from the poorest country to the richest, which are among those who are producing the greatest volume of greenhouse gases.

Governments and the private sector will have to study and adopt strong measures to control emissions; promote the use of human-friendly sources of power such as solar, wind, geothermal and ocean wave; curb deforestation; make rational land use plans; and resettle the poor who are always vulnerable on flood plains. Bold, aggressive measures have to be adopted, and the richer nations, which cause the most pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, have the moral obligation to provide funds to the poorer ones to help them cope with the problem.

We are now really seeing and experiencing "the dark side of climate change." Unless we begin solving the problem now, we will be condemning our children, and our children's children to a very harsh future, and probably, even to an early death.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer at http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/editorial/view/20110118-315066/Crazy-weather