History of Environmentalism in the Philippines Essay Example

of services then required, nevertheless its functions and responsibilities included several concerns related to the management of a wide range of natural resources, such as forest inventory and protection, land classification, watershed protection, water, biodiversity and mineral resources conservation.

First Philippine Republic

National Budget and the Congress Loan One of the important laws passed by the Malolos Congress was the law providing for a national loan to buoy the national budget in which the Republic was trying to balance. The loan, worth 20 million pesos, was to be paid in 40 years with an annual interest of six percent. The law was decreed by Aguinaldo on November 30, 1898.

1901-1916 Department of Interior was created vested with the powers and authority on matters that included natural resources. The Department of Interior continued to exist for about 15 years until November 18, 1916 when Act No. 2666 was enacted. The act entitled "An Act to Reorganize the Executive Department of the Government of the Philippine Islands" abolished the Department of Interior and transferred its functions and authority to the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR).

1902

Philippine Organic Act The Philippine Organic Act (c. 1369, 32 Stat. 691) was a basic law for the Insular Government that was enacted by the United States Congress on July 1, 1902. It is also known as the Philippine Bill of 1902 and the Cooper Act, after its author Henry A. Cooper. The approval of the act coincided with the official end of the Philippine–American War.

1935 - 1946 Commonwealth Period

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the

decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in 1930 and lasted until the late 1930s or middle 1940s.[1] It was the longest, most widespread, and deepest depression of the 20th century 1978

Presidential Decree 1586 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Statement The Environment Impact Assessment System was formally established in 1978 with the enactment of Presidential Decree no. 1586 to facilitate the attainment and maintenance of rational and orderly balance between socio-economic development and environmental protection. EIA is a planning and management tool that will help government, decision makers, the proponents and the affected community address the negative consequences or risks on the environment. The process assures implementation of environment-friendly projects.

1986 – 1990

In 1986, in 1988, and again in 1990, the Philippine tarsier was assessed as Endangered by the IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre. On September 13, 1991, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), per DENR Administrative Order Number 48 (DAO 48), also listed the Philippine tarsier as Endangered.

1990

Republic Act 6969 Toxic Substances, Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Control Act The law aims to regulate restrict or prohibit the importation, manufacture, processing, sale, distribution, use and disposal of chemical substances and mixtures the present unreasonable risk to human health. It likewise prohibits the entry, even in transit, of hazardous and nuclear wastes and their disposal into the Philippine territorial limits for whatever purpose; and to provide advancement and facilitate research and studies on toxic chemicals.

1990-1999 750,000 acres of virgin forest were lost. Last year, Senator Loren Legarda, past chairperson of the Senate

committee on environment, bared in a senate committee report that only 1.75 million acres remain of the nation's virgin forests. The loss is incredible; the rate of deforestation in that decade was almost 75,000 acres a year. It also came at a time when logging ban was imposed in some selected sites in the country. As a result, flooding, soil erosion and degradation pegged at 100,000 tons of soil yearly, loss of species diversity and genetic material, loss of human lives and properties and aesthetic and recreational loss were at their worst.

1999

Republic Act 8749 Philippine Clean Air Act The law aims to achieve and maintain clean air that meets the National Air Quality guideline values for criteria pollutants, throughout the Philippines, while minimizing the possible associated impacts to the economy.

2000

Republic Act 9003 Ecological Solid Waste Management Act In partnership with stakeholders, the law aims to adopt a systematic, comprehensive and ecological solid waste management program that shall ensure the protection of public health and environment. The law ensures proper segregation, collection, storage, treatment and disposal of solid waste through the formulation and adaptation of best eco-waste products.

2000-2007 We had less than 600,000 hectares of old-growth forest left. In one century, we had cut down close to 97 percent of our original forest. A study by the Environmental Scientists for Social Change (ESSC) reveals that we have systematically cut this forest down and that we have not stopped its destruction and that of its core biodiversity.