Perlas says Arroyo does not deserve ICCF award; DENR objects

Presidential aspirant and environmentalist Nicanor Perlas has urged the International Conservation Caucus Foundation to rethink giving the prestigious Teddy Roosevelt International Conservation Award to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The DENR, however, thinks Arroyo deserves the recognition. In an open letter of protest on Tuesday, Perlas said he was "appalled by the ICCF’s insensitivity to the extent of environmental desecration in the Philippines during Arroyo’s presidency." "Solid waste, water and air pollution have increased to dangerous levels. The country is inadequately prepared for the massive impact of global climate change that it is experiencing. Chemicals and poison continue to destroy the fertility of our soil and undermine our agriculture sector and endanger our health as consumers. We continue to over-fish our oceans and destroy our forests and watersheds. Mining practices are environmentally unsound and socially disruptive," Perlas said. [See: Open letter vs ICCF’s green award for Arroyo] But Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Horacio Ramos objected to Perlas claims, saying the President deserves the green award, and its conferment has set a new benchmark in environmental governance in the country, which succeeding national leaders will have to match. On the last day of her two-day visit to Washington DC, early this week, Mrs. Arroyo was conferred the ICCF’s Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Award in ceremonies held at Capitol Hill’s Cannon House Building. ‘Green’ achievements According to Ramos, Mrs. Arroyo has been "cited for innovative leadership to protect oceans and preserve the biodiversity of the Coral Triangle, President Arroyo may well be remembered by the Filipino people for her commitment to the protection of the country’s biological resources and the critical habitats for our wildlife species." Further, Ramos said Mrs.Arroyo had proclaimed 24 protected areas and signed 10 protected areas into law, increasing area under protection by 44.6 percent. "The country now has 106 protected areas covering 3.46 million hectares or 11.5 percent of the country’s total land area," he said. Among the areas placed under protection are Subic in Zambales, Panglao in Bohol, Samar Island, Northern Panay, Mt. Isarog in Camarines Sur, Tubbataha Reef in Palawan and Central Cebu. A total of 6,228 hectares of mangrove areas were likewise rehabilitated during the Arroyo administration. Of these, the 10 protected areas were passed into laws, such as Mt. Apo in Davao, Central Cebu, Sagay Marine Reserve in Negros, Northern Sierra Madre, Mt. Kanla-on in Negros, Mt. Banahaw-San Cristobal in Quezon, Mimbilisan in Misamis Oriental, Mt. Malindang in Misamis Occidental, Mt. Hamiguitan Range in Davao Oriental, and Tubbataha Reefs in Palawan. The Tubbataha Reefs is the most recent protected area signed into law (Republic Act No. 10067) by President Arroyo last April 6. Ramos noted that prior to the present administration, there were only three laws on protected areas: Republic Act 7586 or the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act (NIPAS) of 1992; the Mt. Kitanglad Range Protected Area Act of 2000 (RA 8978) and the Batanes Protected Area Act of 2000 (RA 8991). He stressed that the green award was not only for the President, but for the country. "It is a recognition of what we, as a people, have done to protect our biodiversity. For this, the Filipino is distinctly honored," Ramos said. ICCF’s reputation imperiled? Perlas believed that should the ICCF stand by its decision to award Arroyo, its reputation would be in peril. "Honoring Ms. Arroyo as an environmental steward is an affront to the Filipinos and the entire Philippine archipelago, which have borne the brunt of Ms. Arroyo’s venal, inequitable and destructive policies," he said. Apart from having been recognized by the EcoWaste Coalition and Greenpeace as having the "greenest" platform among the presidential bets, Nicanor Perlas is a recipient of the Right Livelihood Award (also known as the Alternative Nobel Prize Award) and the United Nations Global 500 award for his environmental advocacy, and global consultant on sustainable development. In a strongly worded letter of protest to ICCF’s green award, Perlas recounts his first-hand experience with “Arroyo's slanted view of the environment and ugly economics." "While presiding over the meeting of the Philippine Council for Sustainable Development, a multi-sectoral group created by the Ramos administration to ensure that development does not damage the environment, Ms. Arroyo said that the pursuit of sustainable development and ecological balance was anti-poor and should not be given emphasis. "Her flawed statement which shocked civil society leaders was a portent of things to come. The whole point of the (UN) Earth Summit in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro was to show that there was no conflict between the environment and development. The deterioration of the Philippines' environment in almost every aspect can be traced to Arroyo's flawed statement eight years ago," Perlas said. — LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV