SEAT NUMBER-24 BSME-1C

GAYO, John Henderson A.

POLLUTION

ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS:

 Republic Act No. 8749, otherwise known as the Philippine Clean Air Act an act
providing for a comprehensive air pollution control policy and for the other
purposes. It is also a comprehensive air quality management policy and program
which aims to achieve and maintain healthy air for all Filipinos.

Reference:
https://www.doh.gov.ph/faqs/What-is-the-Clean-Air-Act
http://pepp.emb.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/RA-8749-Philippine-Clean-Air-Act-
of-1999.pdf

 Republic Act (R.A.) No. 9275 titled “An Act Providing for a Comprehensive
Water Quality Management and for Other Purposes”, also known as the
Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 (CWA). The law applies to water quality
management in all water bodies. It primarily applies to the abatement and control
of pollution from land-based sources. The water quality standards and regulations
and the civil liability and penal provisions under the law shall be enforced
irrespective of sources of pollution (Section 3). In addition to regulating pollution
of water bodies, DENR shall formulate and apply standards for the transport and
disposal of effluent, sewage and septage offsite, whether offshore or on land as
well as disposal of individual wastewater on land. The Department of Agriculture
(DA) shall develop guidelines for re-use of wastewater for irrigation purposes or
as soil conditioner or fertilizer (Rule 3.1)

Reference: http://ap.fftc.agnet.org/ap_db.php?id=281

NARRATIVE REPORT/IMPACT ANALYSIS:

Look at any ecosystem and there could be multiple forms of contamination—

streams full of toxic chemicals from industrial processes, rivers overloaded with nutrients
from farms, trash blowing away from landfills, city skies covered in smog. Even
landscapes that appear pristine can experience the effects of pollution sources located
hundreds or thousands of miles away.

Pollution may muddy landscapes, poison soils and waterways, or kill plants and
animals. Humans are also regularly harmed by pollution. Long-term exposure to air
pollution, for example, can lead to chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer and other
diseases. Toxic chemicals that accumulate in top predators can make some species unsafe
to eat. More than one billion people lack access to clean water and 2.4 billion don’t have
adequate sanitation, putting them at risk of contracting deadly diseases.

Reference: https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/pollution

Air pollution refers to the release of pollutants into the air that are detrimental to
human health and the planet as a whole. “Most air pollution comes from energy use and
production,” says John Walke, director of the Clean Air Project, part of the Climate and
Clean Air program at NRDC. “Burning fossil fuels releases gases and chemicals into the
air.” And in an especially destructive feedback loop, air pollution not only contributes to
climate change but is also exacerbated by it. “Air pollution in the form of carbon dioxide
and methane raises the earth’s temperature,” Walke says. “Another type of air pollution is
then worsened by that increased heat: Smog forms when the weather is warmer and
there’s more ultraviolet radiation.” Climate change also increases the production of
allergenic air pollutants including mold (thanks to damp conditions caused by extreme
weather and increased flooding) and pollen (due to a longer pollen season and more
pollen production). “While we’ve made progress over the last 40-plus years improving
air quality in the U.S. thanks to the Clean Air Act, climate change will make it harder in
the future to meet pollution standards, which are designed to protect health,” says Kim
Knowlton, senior scientist and deputy director of the NRDC Science Center.
“The less gasoline we burn, the better we’re doing to reduce air pollution and harmful
effects of climate change,” Walke says. “Make good choices about transportation. When
you can, walk, ride a bike, or take public transportation. For driving, choose cars that get
better miles per gallon of gas or choose an electric car.” You can also investigate your
power provider options—you may be able to request that your electricity be supplied by
wind or solar. Buying your food locally cuts down on the fossil fuels burned in trucking
or flying food in from across the country. And perhaps most important, “Support leaders
who push for clean air and water and responsible steps on climate change,” Walke says.
Reference: https://www.nrdc.org/stories/air-pollution-everything-you-need-know

Water pollution occurs when harmful substances—often chemicals or

microorganisms—contaminate a stream, river, lake, ocean, aquifer, or other body of
water, degrading water quality and rendering it toxic to humans or the environment.
Water is uniquely vulnerable to pollution. Known as a “universal solvent,” water is able
to dissolve more substances than any other liquid on earth. It’s the reason we have Kool-
Aid and brilliant blue waterfalls. It’s also why water is so easily polluted. Toxic
substances from farms, towns, and factories readily dissolve into and mix with it, causing
water pollution. To put it bluntly: Water pollution kills. In fact, it caused 1.8 million
deaths in 2015, according to a study published in The Lancet. Contaminated water can
also make you ill. Every year, unsafe water sickens about 1 billion people. And low-
income communities are disproportionately at risk because their homes are often closest
to the most polluting industries. In order to thrive, healthy ecosystems rely on a complex
web of animals, plants, bacteria, and fungi—all of which interact, directly or indirectly,
with each other. Harm to any of these organisms can create a chain effect, imperiling
entire aquatic environments.

It’s easy to tsk-tsk the oil company with a leaking tanker, but we’re all accountable to
some degree for today’s water pollution problem. Fortunately, there are some simple
ways you can prevent water contamination or at least limit your contribution to it:

 Reduce your plastic consumption and reuse or recycle plastic when you can.

 Properly dispose of chemical cleaners, oils, and non-biodegradable items to keep

them from ending up down the drain.

 Maintain your car so it doesn’t leak oil, antifreeze, or coolant.

 If you have a yard, consider landscaping that reduces runoff and avoid applying

pesticides and herbicides.

 If you have a pup, be sure to pick up its poop.

One of the most effective ways to stand up for our waters is to speak out in support of
the Clean Water Rule, which clarifies the Clean Water Act’s scope and protects the
drinking water of one in three Americans.
Reference:
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/water-pollution-everything-you-need-know

Land pollution is the destruction and contamination of the land through the direct and
indirect actions of humans. The pollution results in changes to the land, such as soil
erosion. Some of the changes are irreversible, while others are not.

The effects of land pollution do not necessarily appear overnight. It is the result of
long-term destruction from human activities. For instance, the damage from chemicals
from an oil spill can take months or even years to be fully realized.
 There are several known causes of land pollution. Of those, there are six factors that
contribute more than others.

1. Deforestation and soil erosion

When forests are cleared for development and to meet the demand for wood
supply, the soil is loosened in the process. Without the protection of the trees, the land
becomes barren over time and starts to erode.

2. Agricultural chemicals

Part of the farming process often involves the use of harmful pesticides and
insecticides to protect crops. However, the chemicals can cause the land to become
barren. The once-fertile soil is then more susceptible to environmental elements, such as
the wind.

3. Industrialization

The Industrial Revolution may have resulted in significant positive changes to the

economy and society, but it also led to significant pollution of the land. Through unsafe
disposal practices for chemicals used in manufacturing, poor regulation, and the
overwhelming number of industries and factories that are polluting the land daily,
industrialization has become one of the main contributors to the pollution problem.

4. Mining

The mining process can lead to the creation of large open spaces beneath the
surface of the earth. This can result in the land caving in, which compromises the
integrity of the land. Mining also results in harmful chemicals, such as uranium, being
disturbed and released into the environment.

5. Landfills

The garbage found at landfills is filled with toxins that eventually seep into the
earth. During rains, the toxins are washed into other areas and the pollution is spread. As
the population grows, the amount of garbage filling landfills also grows.

6. Human sewage
 Untreated human waste can produce toxic gases that can seep into the ground. As
with air pollution, the soil quality is negatively impacted, and land nearby can be
contaminated. In addition to this, the probability of human illnesses occurring increases.

With luck and the right atmospheric conditions, air and water pollution disperse
and disappear. What makes land pollution such a problem is that land is static, so land
pollution stays exactly where it is until and unless someone cleans it up. Land that's
polluted stays polluted; land that's urbanized almost invariably stays urbanized. As we've
already see, plastics take hundreds of years to disappear while radiation can contaminate
land for ten times longer. That means landfill sites and radioactive waste dumps remain
that way pretty much indefinitely.

The simplest effect of land pollution is that it takes land out of circulation. The
more land we use up, the less we have remaining. That might not sound a problem where
there's plenty of land in rural areas, but it's certainly a concern where productive
agricultural land is concerned, especially as the world's population continues to increase.
The biggest problem comes when contaminated land is returned to use, either as building
or agricultural land. Houses might be built on brownfield (former industrial) sites that
haven't been cleaned up properly, putting future owners and their families at risk. Or
people might get their water from rivers supplied by groundwater contaminated by
landfill sites, mine workings, or otherwise polluted land some distance away. Illnesses
such as cancer develop over years or decades for a variety of reasons and it's extremely
difficult to prove that they've been caused by something like local environmental
pollution, especially when people move homes during their lifetime. No-one knows how
much land is contaminated, how contamination varies from one place to another, or how
land contaminants react with one another once they enter watercourses and become water
pollution. So the scale of the problem and its ultimate effects are impossible to determine.

However, we do know what effect individual pollutants have. We know, for

example, that lead is a toxic heavy metal that has all kinds of unpleasant effects on
human health; it's been implicated in developmental deficits (such as reductions in
intelligence) in children. We know that some chemicals are carcinogenic (cancer-
causing) while others cause congenital defects such as heart disease. At the very least, it
seems prudent not to introduce dangerous chemicals, such as persistent organic
pollutants, into the environment where they may mat harm people's health for many years
into the future.
 For instance, leaving some of the trees in a forest to naturally die and decay. This
not only leaves the cover needed for the soil and other vegetation, but it helps to provide
the nutrients that the soil needs to remain fertile. Other solutions include:

 Proper waste disposal that focuses on treating waste and disposing it in the safest
manner possible.
 Reusing materials to reduce the need for harvesting of resources. Products that are
not reusable can likely be recycled.
 Reducing the usage of non-biodegradable materials, such as plastic shopping
bags. The simple act of CAUSE: SOLUTION:
switching to a reusable cloth
bag for groceries can help cut Smoke that comes out Reduce the burning of
down on the need for non- to vehicles and etc. gasoline.
biodegradable materials.

 Organic gardening can reduce the usage of pesticides and insecticides. Non-
gardeners can help by buying organic food.

References: https://www.conservationinstitute.org/land-pollution/
https://www.explainthatstuff.com/land-pollution.html

AIR POLLUTION

This was captured in the highway of Agoo, La

Union. You canWATER POLLUTION
see vehicles passing through
the road and it damage the quality of air.
The photo was taken when I was in my way to
somewhere and it happened that I saw a canal
filled with wastes. It is visible that the quality
of water was ruined.
 CAUSE: SOLUTION:

Harmful substances— Proper waste disposal

often chemicals or and support Clean
microorganisms. Water Rule.

LAND POLLUTION

A land full of waste was seen on the photo and

it was taken in Mangaldan, Pangasinan. The
garbage were burned and dumped for a long
time and does affect the quality of land.

CAUSE: SOLUTION:

Destruction and Proper waste disposal,

contamination of the land organic gardening, recycle
through the direct and and reducing the usage of
indirect actions of non-biodegradable
humans. materials.
 DEFORESTATION

Deforestation is the permanent removal of trees to make room for something

besides forest. This can include clearing the land for agriculture or grazing, or using the
timber for fuel, construction or manufacturing. 

Forests cover more than 30% of the Earth's land surface, according to the World
Wildlife Fund. These forested areas can provide food, medicine and fuel for more than a
billion people. Worldwide, forests provide 13.4 million people with jobs in the forest
sector, and another 41 million people have jobs related to forests. Forests are a resource,
but they are also large, undeveloped swaths of land that can be converted for purposes
such as agriculture and grazing. In North America, about half the forests in the eastern
part of the continent were cut down for timber and farming between the 1600s and late
1800s, according to National Geographic. 
Reference:
https://www.livescience.com/27692-deforestation.html

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES’

REPORTS:

 Preparation of a National REDD+ Mechanism for Greenhouse Gas

Reduction and Conservation of Biodiversity in the Philippines (National
REDD+ System Philippines)

Bugayong, L.A., Dolom, P.C., and Carandang A.P. (2016). Assessment of Drivers of

Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Eastern Samar and Davao Oriental REDD-
plus Project Sites. Manila, Philippines: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale
Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
The study is part of the project “Preparation of a National REDD-plus Mechanism for
Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Conservation of Biodiversity in the Philippines”
(National REDD-plus System Philippines) funded by the German Federal Ministry for
the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety under its
International Climate Initiative.

 
It has the objectives:

 (1) analysis of drivers and causes of deforestation and forest degradation in the
project sites;
 (2) assessment of the importance of various drivers and causes of deforestation
and forest degradation; and  
  (3) development of differentiated recommendations

to address the various drivers and causes of deforestation and forest degradation.
The assessment followed three of the five steps identified in the Decision Support Tool
for Identifying and Addressing Drivers prepared by the ASEAN Regional Knowledge
Network on Forests (ARKN-FCC 2014). These steps include:

 (1) gatheringinformation and assessing drivers;

 (2) selecting drivers to address; and
 (3) designing interventions to address prioritized drivers.
 (4) implementation of selected interventions to address the prioritized drivers and
 (5) monitoring and evaluating success of interventions,

are to be undertaken by the respective REDD-plus project partners.

The methods used include review of secondary data, information, and literature;
key informant interviews; focus group discussions; analysis of available data sets from
NAMRIA and Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Forest Management
Bureau; descriptive statistics; financial analysis; and qualitative descriptions.

The priority drivers identified with the stakeholders in both project sites include:
upland agriculture expansion, timber poaching, tree cutting for fuelwood, charcoal, rattan
extraction, and mining. Underlying causes of deforestation and forest degradation include
socio-demographic factors such as increasing population and in-migration; cultural
factors like changing consumption patterns; economic factors that include poverty,
limited livelihood opportunities, and market demand; technological factors such as low
productivity, proliferation of chainsaws, and poor access to market; and policy and
institutional factors among which are unstable policy environment and weak forest
governance. 

To address the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation through REDD-

plus, the interventions include forest land use planning, co-management of forests and
forest lands with tenure options, improved governance, and improved livelihood options.
Addressing the poverty and lack of livelihood options that drive current degradation
activities needs to be prioritized such as technical, financial, and marketing assistance on
improved upland farming systems. A number of farm-based livelihood options were
analyzed that would guide the project implementers and farmers. The options analyzed
include: status quo or business as usual (BAU); REDD-plus without enhancement;
REDD-plus with communal tree plantations (dipterocarps and fast growing trees),
agroforestry-based farming (coconut, banana, or citrus based), fuelwood plantation, and
rattan plantation. The BAU option involves the current kaingin farming or shifting
cultivation with timber poaching and fuelwood tree cutting. The REDD-plus without
enhancement option means they will stop kaingin farming and timber poaching/fuelwood
tree cutting, but this option yields negative net present value (NPV) of benefits. All other
interventions with REDD-plus enhancement such as agroforestry and/or timber
plantations resulted to positive NPVs and attractive internal rates of return.

 Modernization of Forest Policy and Piloting of Reducing Emissions from

Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) Project

Carandang, A. P. et al. (2012). Analysis of Key Drivers of Deforestation and Forest

Degradation in the Philippines . Quezon City : Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale
Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
 
The 2011 Philippine Forestry Statistics of the Forest Management Bureau (FMB)
show that based on the interpretation and analysis of 2003 satellite imageries, the national
forest cover amounts to 7.168 million hectares or 23.89 per cent of the country’s total
land area of around 30 million hectares. While the deforestation rate has stabilized and
even reversed in some areas, the forest cover is way below the 1934 data of 17.8 million
hectares. The forest loss affects the national interest to produce goods and ecosystem
services and translates to a substantial contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.
 
During the UNFCCC COP-13 in Bali, Indonesia in December 2007, the
international community has called upon countries to explore the concept of reducing
emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) as a new mechanism to
combine forest protection with objectives of climate protection, biodiversity conservation
and improvement of local livelihoods. In the recent international discussions, the concept
has been expanded to include conservation of forest carbon stocks, sustainable
management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD-plus). At the
country level, the Philippines expressed its high interest to participate as signified by the
commitment to adjust its forest policy to the necessities of climate protection in the
context of REDD-plus. In this context, the Government in collaboration with a wide
range of actors has established the Philippine National REDD-Plus Strategy (PRNRPS)
which has become integral part of the Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016 and the
National Climate Change Action Plan 2011-2028.
 
 To support the implementation of the PNRPS particularly the REDD-plus
readiness phase, the International Climate Initiative of the German Federal Ministry for
the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) funded the Project
“Climate-Relevant Modernization of the National Forest Policy and Piloting of REDD
Measures in the Philippines”. The Project is implemented by GIZ with the DENR as the
main partner, in cooperation with local government units (LGUs) and a wide range of
stakeholders. In line with the country’s efforts towards forest and climate protection and
the development of appropriate policy and instruments for pursuing REDD-plus as
foreseen under the PNRPS, the Project supported the conduct of four policy studies in
collaboration with key stakeholders: (1) Analysis of drivers of deforestation and forest
degradation, (2) Forest policy, (3) Clarifying carbon rights, and (4) Analysis of free prior
informed consent (FPIC) implementation.
 
This study aims to assess the key drivers of deforestation and forest degradation,
analyze the underlying causes, incentives and relative importance, to develop a policy
agenda and to derive differentiated recommendations to address the various drivers of
deforestation and forest degradation effectively and to be able to design related REDD+
activities.
 
Thus, the study could provide pertinent information to policy makers at local and
national levels in looking deeply into the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation
and craft necessary policy actions to prevent their occurrence and reduce the negative
impacts of climate change through mitigation and adaptation. Understanding the direct
and indirect causes of forest loss would result in a more focused strategy to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and combat global warming.

Reference:
https://faspselib.denr.gov.ph/taxonomy/term/526
 INTERPRETATION:

 The current population of the Philippines is 109,124,914 as of Tuesday, March

10, 2020, based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data.

 The Philippines 2020 population is estimated at 109,581,078 people at mid year

according to UN data.

 The Philippines population is equivalent to 1.41% of the total world population.

 The Philippines ranks number 13 in the list of countries (and dependencies) by

population.

 The population density in the Philippines is 368 per Km2 (952 people per mi2).

 The total land area is 298,170 Km2 (115,124 sq. miles)

 47.5 % of the population is urban (52,008,603 people in 2020)

 The median age in the Philippines is 25.7 years.

Reference:
https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/philippines-population/

  Population explosion is considered as one of the undisputable alarming obstacles

that stand on the path of the less developed countries. These countries produce great
numbers in terms of human resources because the birth rate is much higher than in the
rich countries, but the rate of employment and production in the poor countries is very
low. Definitely this is a very serious problem that the government should never take for
granted.
             The Philippines belong to the group of these "less developed countries." And as
we all know, the growth of population in our country is unstoppable. In fact, the
Philippine population is one of the fastest growing countries in the world. It is estimated
that 3,000 Filipino babies are born every day, 100,000 every month, or one million a year
to round up the figures. There are more babies being born today than there were in the
1970s. There will be more babies born 20 years from now than the number of babies that
are born this day. In this lies the problem: at first, the babies need milk, diapers and
vitamins. But the trouble is, babies grow up. And when they do, they need education,
which requires more school structures; they need food, clothing, houses, jobs, etc. These
are basic needs that must be filled. Providing them creates a large number of problems
that demand the fullest utilization of the nation's resources.
             This rapid growth of population is quite hard to endure for it really affects both
the social and economic condition of our country. However, population growth cannot be
controlled easily because of cultural and religious reasons, not to mention, the Philippines
is known to be very conservative and very much Catholic, in its broadest sense. The
Filipinos are truly bound to their being "Christians" that their minds are closed to the idea
of contraceptives as one of the ways of family planning (to avoid the rapid increase of the
population).

Reference: https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/29205.html

FAMILY CODE:

 PRESIDENTIAL DECREE No. 1410. Creating the population/family

planning office in the Department of Labor.
https://www.chanrobles.com/presidentialdecrees/presidentialdecreeno1410.html#.
XmdfLKgzaUk
 REPUBLIC ACT No. 6365. An act establishing a national policy on
population, creating the commission on population and for other purposes.
https://laws.chanrobles.com/republicacts/64_republicacts.php?id=6369 

 REPUBLIC ACT No. 9858. An act providing for the legitimation of children
born to parents below marrying age, amending for the purpose the family
code of the Philippines, as amended
https://psa.gov.ph/civilregistration/civil-registration-laws/republic-act-no-9858