Batangas fish kill a wake-up call for sustainable agri practice – experts

The Batangas fish kill incident may point to a need for sustainable practice in agriculture as indicated in a global business agenda launched in the Philippines on Tuesday, two Europeans involved in the report said. “It’s a good warning sign on the way we produce food," said Matthew Lynch, program manager for the Development Focus Area of Geneva-based World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), giving an off-the-cuff response to a question related to fish kill during an interview with reporters. His colleague, WBCSD Development Focus Area deputy director Filippo Veglio, associated the fish kill to similar challenges faced by European countries. “There is a certain demand for fish. But how can you ensure that the fish will eventually be replenished?" Veglio added on the sidelines of the event, titled “The Business Climate Imperative: A Sharing Forum" in Pasig City. Also Tuesday, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) warned of what may possibly be a new wave of fish kill incidents due to low oxygen levels in Taal Lake. Earlier this month, an Agriculture official pointed to overstocking in fish cages as a possible reason for the massive fish kill in Batangas province. “The lack of dissolved oxygen could have been avoided if fish cage operators followed our recommendation [not to place too many cages in the area]," said BFAR assistant director Benjamin Tabios Jr. ‘Vision 2050’ In the forum, Veglio and Lynch clarified they have not adequately studied the Batangas fish kill but presented a WBCSD report that maps out the changes needed in the business community “to allow the projected nine billion inhabitants of our planet to be living well at mid-century."

Filippo Veglio, a deputy director of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, explains the “Vision 2050" global business agenda in an interview with Philippine media representatives. Paterno Esmaquel II

Titled “Vision 2050," the report outlines a set of visions in nine areas:

• People’s values
• Human development
• Economy
• Agriculture
• Forests
• Energy and power
• Buildings
• Mobility
• Materials

The report envisions an economic environment where “… growth has been decoupled from ecosystem destruction and material consumption, and re-coupled with sustainable economic development and societal well-being." In a statement, another WBCSD official emphasized that businesses and ecosystems are “inextricably linked." “Simply put, companies that don’t know their ecosystem impact put their businesses at a greater risk and miss out on potential opportunities," explained James Griffiths, WBCSD managing director for Ecosystems, Water, and Sustainable Forest Products Industry. “Valuing these impacts and dependencies helps companies make better decisions." Filipino traders, on the other hand, said their efforts remain impeded by the high costs of staging actions to counter climate change, according to the Climate Change and Sustainability Survey 2011 by PricewaterhouseCoopers Financial Advisors Inc. (PwCFA). The think-tank presented the survey in the same forum in Pasig City. — VS, GMA News