Crackdown on environmental defenders ‘may lead to P1-T ecological damage yearly’
Crackdown on environmental defenders ‘may lead to P1-T ecological damage yearly’
Variuos group burn the effigy of President Rodrigo Duterte during rally to commemorate International Human Rights Day at Mendiola in Manila on December 10, 2019. They call against the repression and rampant killings and injustices under Duterte administraion. (Photo by Inoue Jaena/Rappler)
By Mavic Conde
ALBAY–The Philippines’ 6.2 million hectares of critical landscapes and seascapes that provide at least P1.04 trillion of annual ecosystem services are at stake in the ongoing crackdown against environmental defenders.
This was according to a new report from environmental group Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE), which it submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) as part of various groups’ submission reports on the human rights situation under the Duterte administration.
The report revealed that the country is at risk of losing a total of P1.04 trillion annually, or equivalent to 28% of the country’s national budget in 2019, should the critical landscapes and seascapes protected by environmental defenders from extractive and destructive interests be degraded or destroyed.
These documented areas include important landscapes such as the Pantaron Mountain Range, where the indigenous Lumad struggling for self-determination have faced intense militarization; and the protected areas of El Nido-Taytay and Victoria-Anepahan in Palawan, where forest rangers and “para-enforcers” have been murdered for their continuing campaign to arrest illegal loggers.
Comments (0)