DENR reports many 'firsts' in environment protection

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Lito Atienza said 2009 will find the Philippines a better place to live in for Filipinos with “many firsts’’ achieved by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) from climate change mitigation to environmental law enforcement in 2008.

“We have definitely made concrete strides toward our goal of sustainable development of our environment and natural resources. The last 12 months saw the DENR launching programs that are a first in terms of quality and benefits for the people, especially the poor. We also scored victories on the legal front on numerous environmental issues,’’ Atienza said in a statement.

In 2008, Atienza said the DENR embarked on massive reforestation, a no-nonsense cleanup of the coasts and bodies of water, enhancement of people’s preparedness against natural disasters, and broadened people participation in coping with climate change.

Among the most important “firsts” that the DENR accomplished, according to Atienza, were the two unanimous decisions of the Supreme Court upholding the DENR’s defense of Boracay Island as a forestland and state property, except for titled portions, and ordering all concerned government agencies to coordinate in the restoration and preservation of Manila Bay.

“We must now translate these legal victories into actual and living ecological triumphs,” he said.

Aside from these “firsts,” the DENR was also able to plant 15.9 million seedlings on 19,561 hectares of forestlands, on top of 30 agroforestry projects implemented during the year that benefited 5,238 families.

The DENR was also able to institutionalize the rehabilitation of critical river systems and other bodies of water such as Manila Bay, Laguna Lake and Pasig River by enlisting the support of governors and Metro Manila mayors.