THE Environment department’s Land Management Bureau (LMB) has recently launched a new system to hasten the processing and issuance of land titles that will cut down the previous six-month wait to five days.
Sep 162016
Aug 172016
ENVIRONMENT Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez is looking for a mine that may serve as a model to the industry for responsible practices, after initially signaling her doubts about the entire industry’s environmental record, an official said.
Apr 052016
THE LOCAL boards tasked with managing protected areas have been ordered to revisit their fire prevention strategies, the Environment department said, after grass fires swept across four major mountains in Mindanao and on Negros Island.
Sep 172015
THE ENVIRONMENT department has asked the Department of Energy (DoE) to stop granting permits for new coal-fired plants, in order to reduce emissions and cut the country’s dependence on coal.
Sep 252014
THE DEPARTMENT of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will focus on agrobiodiversity, urban biodiversity, access and benefit sharing, and invasive alien species (IAS) for the next 15 years under its Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (PBSAP).
Apr 082014
Workers from first Bukidnon Electric Cooperatives (FIBECO) repair power lines damaged by super typhoon Yolanda in Tacloban City (November 26). (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Malacañang on Saturday said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources may schedule consultations with other stakeholders concerning the no-build zone policy, which prohibits the construction of structures within 40 meters from the shoreline, in areas affected by super Typhoon Yolanda. In an interview on state-run dzRB radio, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte also assured the people the DENR is aware of the concerns raised by several groups. “We continue to work with the stakeholders to find a policy, or at least to settle [concerns over the rule]. Ang sa amin po kasi ay safety nung ating mga kababayan ‘yung pinakaimportante at kung papaano tayo mag-a-adjust para masiguradong talagang safe… lalo ‘yung nasa mga low-lying coastal areas,” she said. “So we’ll flag the DENR for this and perhaps they can set for consultations if possible for other stakeholders that have concerns on the ‘No-Build Zone’ policy,” she added. German Development Cooperation (GIZ) chief advisor on disaster risk management Olaf Neussner was quoted in an earlier report as saying the 40-meter no-build zone is not enough to ensure safety from a tsunami or a storm surge. “You have seen that Yolanda in some places went for more than a kilometer [inland],” he said. “So obviously 40 meters does not help very much.” Neussner said the topography of certain areas should have been considered in the delineation Read More …
Jun 162013
Following an outcry from environmental groups, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources is scrapping its plan on June 21 to burn some five tons of seized elephant tusks. Instead, DENR Secretary Ramon Paje said they will merely crush the tusks at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center in Quezon City, radio dzBB’s Allan Gatus reported. The report said the DENR initially planned to douse kerosene on the tusks then burn them, to deter people from engaging in tradingtusks. Last week, environmental groups opposed the DENR’s plan to burn some five tons of seized elephant tusks on June 21, saying it may violate the law and send a wrong message to the public. “(B)urning the confiscated tusks goes against the prohibition against the open burning of municipal solid waste enshrined in two of our major environmental laws: R.A. 9003, the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act and R.A. 8749, the Clean Air Act,” the groups said in a letter to Paje and Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau director Theresa Lim. Citing a DENR news release, the groups said authorities are to burn the confiscated elephant tusks at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center (NAPWC) in Quezon City. The DENR, in a news release last June 9, had quoted Paje as saying the tusks “will be crushed by a road roller and burned in the presence of foreign experts and anti-ivory trade advocates on June 21 at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center in Quezon City.” A government official Read More …
Jun 142013
MANILA, June 13 (Mabuhay) — About 5,000 kilos of ivory seized by authorities over the past 17 years are set to be destroyed next week, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). The sale and distribution of elephant tusks around the world is forbidden, but trade continues because of the high value […]
Jun 092013
By Jeannette I. AndradePhilippine Daily Inquirer 5:40 pm | Sunday, June 9th, 2013 AP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is set to crush and burn some P420 million (US$10 million) worth of seized elephant tusks to show the country’s support for the global campaign to end the illegal trade of wildlife species. The five tons of ivory are part of the total cargo of elephant tusks intercepted by customs officials since 2009 in separate operations nationwide. These are stored in the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB). The ivory will be crushed by a steam roller before they are burned in June 21 rites at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center, according to Environment secretary Ramon Paje. Foreign experts and anti-ivory trade advocates are anticipated to witness the event, one of the highlights of the environment month celebration. In a statement, Paje said, “Our decision to destroy these ivory tusks that entered the country illegally is to show to the whole world that the Philippines will not tolerate illegal wildlife trade.” The country is a signatory to the 1989 Geneva-based Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of flora and fauna, which bans the ivory trade as a cause of the massive decline in elephant populations in Africa, according to Paje. PAWB is designated as the management authority under the Wildlife Resource Conservation and Protection Act. Under the CITES, elephants are highly endangered and their international trade declared illegal. The Read More …
Apr 162013
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has launched a EUR3.5-million aid for the implementation of the country’s environmental laws and other “green” projects.