We're a bunch of nobodies really who put it in their heads that, since the government is so inadequately managed and so ill equipped, citizens have to participate more in protecting and saving what we have left of our forests, rivers, and seas.
Who we are really isn't at all that important to what we are trying to achieve and we really aren't aiming to become celebrities at all because celebrities just take attention away from the substance of the message -- even though a lot more people listen to celebrities than they do to reason and common sense.
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| Found on http://anitokid.blogspot.com/2009/09/bagyong-ondoy-floods-update.html |
All of this started way back in 2010, almost a year after Ondoy when we started campaigning for a ban on the use of plastic bags by grocery stores and other types of plastic packaging that usually end up clogging Metro Manila's storm drains as well as waterways.
We believed that one of the causes of almost perennial flooding in Metro Manila was that our storm drains and waterways were being clogged by various types of plastic trash -- from plastic bags, to retail product packaging, bottles, disposable food containers, etcetera.
We supported the call of environmental organizations as well as politicians to either end or substantially reduce the use of plastic packaging. We were fortunate enough to have been helped by friends in the media and got our message through to broadcast and print -- which punctuated our main tool for raising awareness, which was (and still is) social media.
Months after starting our campaign against plastic pollution, various business organizations involved in retail product sales (groceries, for instance) stopped using plastic bags. Likewise, local government units banned the use of different types of plastic bags and other plastic products.
As much as I would like to crow about the success of this campaign, there is one glaring fact that prevents me from doing this... Metro Manila as well as a greater part of Luzon still experiences flooding even when we only experience moderate rains.
And this can only mean that curbing plastic pollution (if at all it is happening), solved only part of a much larger and more complex problem.
This has led us to look for answers elsewhere. Currently, we are looking at our country's population growth, the demands this huge population has made on the land, and how this has destroyed ecosystems.
Yes, ecosystems in this country are no longer in the process of destruction. They have been destroyed and while that isn't apparent now, it will be in the near future -- perhaps within the lifetime of our children.
Here are some of the things that are happening.
1. Most of the country's forests, high and low, are almost all gone now. Of the 70 percent forest cover that we had in the 20th century, only 20 percent is left or maybe even much less.
2. Most of the country's water systems are gone. Here's a pretty good summary from WEPA.
Just over a third or 36 percent of the country’s river systems are classified as sources of public water supply:
- Up to 58 percent of groundwater sampled is contaminated with coliform and needs treatment;
- Approximately 31 percent of illness monitored for a five-year period were caused by water-borne sources; and
- Many areas are experiencing a shortage of water supply during the dry season.
3. Our air is severely polluted. Here's an excerpt from a 2004 DENR report on air quality.
Ambient air quality monitoring data in 2003 and 2004 show that ambient concentration of particulate matter (TSP, PM10 and PM2.5) exceeded the NAAQ Guideline Values, both for short term and long-term exposure in Metro Manila and major urban centers. The high levels of TSP and PM10 in major urban cities in the country can be attributed to resuspended dust and vehicle emissions. The hourly ozone concentrations also exceeded the NAAQ Guideline Values depending on the time of the day (specifically between from 1:00 to 4:00 PM).
And that's just for starters because we haven't even gone into how many species of plants and animals vital to the country's ecosystems are now gone.
Right now, our mission is to gather as much information as we can about our country's remaining watersheds.
Why? If you study watersheds, one thing you will find is that these exist because of a particular confluence of terrain, seasonal air currents, and water. A watershed is basically a naturally formed basin which collects water flowing from land above it and disperses the water through streams and rivers which eventually lead out to see.
Simply put, a healthy watershed in a forested area is vital to the supply of safe water. An unhealthy watershed where the surrounding forests have been removed and converted into human settlements or farms or factories will yield unsafe water -- or water that is full of toxins and harmful microbes.
More importantly, the health of a watershed also helps mitigate devastating floods. And that, I guess, closes the loop.
We hope that you support us.
We hope that you support us.
