“We need at least 54% forest cover to maintain ecological processes in the country,” said Belinda De La Paz, CEO of Haribon Foundation. But right now, she pointed out that the Philippines’ actual forest cover is still 30% below the ideal.



“If we really want change, we can do a lot better than these numbers,” Paeng Lopez said.



Shifts in approaches



National and local government officials presented their plans toward environment protection and sustainable development, under the guidance of the new administration.



Negros Occidental’s Provincial Environment Managing Officer, Ramon Peñalosa, shared how the province used political will to take down environmental violators, adopt a concrete solid-waste management program, and promote organic farming among barangays. Their next goal is to build a network of 93 local conservation areas that can be protected by other local government units.



DENR, under the leadership of Gina Lopez, will now actively “shift from a regulatory to a development role,” said Al Orolfo, the department’s regional director for Negros Island. DENR promises to involve civic organizations more in the development of on-ground policies and programs, such as the “revival” of Laguna Lake.



The Department of Agriculture will focus on upping its efforts to guarantee food security for Filipinos, in preparation for severe drought or floods that will affect crops and food production. DA secretary Manny Piñol promised to raise the country’s food buffer stock to 6 months. He also expressed interest in promoting organic farming – environmental advocates are lobbying to institutionalize this, as it would greatly reduce the agriculture sector’s carbon emissions. However, Piñol also said that if the market has no demand for organic produce he cannot dictate farmers to adopt it. “It’s not gonna happen right away,” he said.