Conservation Union offers to help solve RP’s waste problem

The World Conservation Union has offered to the Philippine government solve its waste management problem, specifically in the disposal of hazardous waste materials left behind by the Americans in former US military bases in the country.

In a recent letter to President Arroyo, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Director General Achim Steiner said the matter has been brought to the attention of the global organization on environment conservation by IUCN regional councilor Antonio M. Claparols. The private sector has expressed deep concern regarding the impact of the hazardous wastes on the environment and on the people living near the former bases.

In this light, Steiner said that being aware of the actions the government has initiated, IUCN "would like to know if there is anything IUCN can do to assist."

IUCN was founded in 1948, bringing together 79 states, 112 government agencies, 760 non-government organizations (NGOs), 37 affiliates, 179 countries, and some 10,000 scientists and experts. IUCN is a unique worldwide partnership for conservation. Its mission is to influence, encourage and assist in societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature, and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable. IUCN has already helped over 75 countries to prepare and successfully implement national conservation strategies in the past 50 years.