Fight corruption to save forest – ELAC

CEBU, Philippines - To save what remains of the country’s forest, anti-corruption efforts should be implemented at all levels of governance.

This is the recommendation of Environmental Legal Assistance Center, Inc. (ELAC) Executive Director Grizelda Mayo-Anda during the three-day “Environmental Law Talks II on Forest Management and Mining Laws in Southeast Asia” international environment forum held at the University of Cebu Banilad Campus last week.

Talking on “Corruption Challenges in Forestry Management and Mining Sector,” Anda said criminal justice to combat illegal logging; promotion of transparency, participation, and accountability in all decision-making levels in local and national governance should be improved.

She said firm resolve is needed because violators have the money, are motivated by need, greed and power, and have the opportunity because of weak forest management, inadequate domestic regulatory capacity, lack of controls.

She said studies showed corruption is an important enabler of deforestation in developing countries like the Philippines.

Anda said Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index in 2010 gave the country a score of 2.4 out of the best score of 10.

She said extortion, bribery, favoritism and manipulation of land classification documents plagues protection efforts.

 She also said that weak oversight of the forestry sector by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources because of corruption discourages effective forest management.

Another problem is the confusing, conflicting forest policies and mandates that have unclear and uncoordinated implementing rules and regulations.

She stressed that the lack of political will and coordination due to conflicting mandates of national and local government agencies constrains coordination and collaborative efforts.  (FREEMAN)