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NATIONAL SERVICE TRAINING PROGRAM

NAME OF THE GENERAL EDUCATION

PROGRAM
COURSE TITLE National Service Training COURSE CODE NSTP I
Program
PREREQUISITE/ CO- None COURSE UNIT 3 units
REQUISITE
COURSE OUTCOME CO4: Ability to employ mitigations to prevent further damage of the
environment that may lead to climate change
MODULE 5 Environmental Protection
LESSON LEARNING After successful completion of this module, you should be able
OUTCOME/S to:
LO 3.2: Developed ability in planning an activity on
environment protection
TOPICS Environmental Protection
      Programs on environmental protection
      Climate change
      Effects and threats
WEEK / INCLUSIVE 6
DATE October 1, 2022
MODALITY Synchronous/Asynchronous (WEBINAR/NEOLMS)

 LESSON PROPER
Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the environment, which can be done
individually, with an organization or through the initiatives of government and non-government entities.
The practice which is recognized and followed since 1960 was brought about by environmental
degradation due to population and technology.

Environmental protection deals with the following programs:

Pollution Control

Image from Beg (2021)

Pollution is an environmental concern where contaminants cause harmful changes both in the
environment and in human conditions. It can take the form of chemical substances, energy, noise, heat or
light.

In almost all human activities, whether eating, working, driving, fishing, planting rice, going to
school, playing or just being simply alive, people generate certain amount of waste. Often times, people
forget to notice that the accumulated waste thrown into the environment is already beyond tolerable
levels. Because of this, pollution in the environment becomes a problem, disrupting the balance of nature.
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Pollution causes a lot of problems, including floods due to clogged drainage, loss of soil fertility,
extinction of plants and animals, contamination of potable water sources, population displacement,
spread of disease-carrying pathogens, death of natural habitats, and so on.
The threats of pollution are man-made catastrophes, It is important therefore that people take
action so that the negative effects of pollution do not reach intolerable levels. It is the responsibility of
humans to clean-up and minimize their own waste so that the proper balance of nature is conserved for
the generations to come.

Waste Management

Image from myefiko.com

RA 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act states, that it is a “discipline associated
with the control of generation, storage, collection, transfer and transport, processing, and disposal of solid
wastes in a manner that is in accord with the best principles of public health, economics, engineering,
conservation, aesthetics, and other environmental considerations, and that is also responsive to public
attitudes”. The law aims to protect both the public health and the environment.

Water Purification

Image from www.bbc.co.uk

Water is essential to life on earth. The Earth’s water is 95% salt water; 5% fresh water (river,
lakes, streams) and only 1% of the fresh water is available for use.

Water is one of our most precious resources. Our bodies are made up of 66% water, and we
must have water to survive. Thus, we need to conserve water and protect our sources of water.

Sources of Water

 Groundwater – or the water emerging from some deep ground water which may have been rain
tens, hundreds and even thousands of years ago
 Upland lakes and reservoirs –typically located in the headwaters of river systems; upland
reservoirs are usually sited above any human habitation and may be surrounded by a protective
zone to restrict the opportunities for contamination
 Rivers, canals and low land reservoirs – low land surface waters
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 Atmospheric water generation – is a new technology that can provide high quality drinking water
by extracting water from the air by cooling the air and thus, condensing water vapor
 Rainwater harvesting – collected water from the atmosphere can be used especially in areas with
significant dry seasons and in areas which experience fog even when there is little rain
 Desalination of seawater by distillation or reverse osmosis

Where does wastewater go when it leaves our homes?

The wastewater travels through pipes called a sewer system. The sewer system brings the
wastewater from your home to the sanitation wastewater treatment plant. The treatment plant’s job is to
sanitize or clean the wastewater that just left your home.

The wastewater goes through 3 stages of treatment:

1. Chemical Treatment – which makes use of chlorine; and added to wastewater

2. Physical Treatment – gravity pulls the solid waste to the bottom of the treatment tanks. These
solids are called sludge.

3. Biological Treatment – Tiny microorganisms that live off the oxygen in the water eat about 92% of
the waste that is left after the first two steps of treatment. When the microorganisms are full, they
sink to the bottom becoming a sludge. The sludge is scraped from the bottom of the tank and is
separated from the water.

Water Treatment
 pre-treatment
- Pumping and contamination
- Screening
- Storage
- Pre-conditioning
- Pre-chlorination
 Flocculation – is a process which clarifies water
 Sedimentation – allows floc to settle to the bottom
 Filtration – removes remaining suspended particles and unsettled floc
 Disinfection – filters out harmful microbes using disinfectant chemicals

Climate Change Adaptation

Image from tunza.eco-generation.org

Climate change is a long-term change in the distribution of weather patterns and hydrologic
processes over periods of time that may range from several decades or millions of years.

According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, “it is the change of
climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global
atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods.”
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Projected Changes in Climate by 2050 (USAID Climate Change Risk Profile Philippines: Fact Sheet,
2017)
 Increased temperatures of 1.8°–2.2°C.
 Reduced rainfall from March–May in most areas, making the dry season drier. 
 Increased heavy and extreme rainfall in Luzon and Visayas during the southwest monsoon,
making the wet season wetter, but decreasing rainfall trends for most of Mindanao. 
 Increased frequency of extreme weather events, including days exceeding 35°C, days with less
than 2.5 mm of rain, and days exceeding 300 mm of rain. 
 Rising sea levels of 0.48–0.65 meters by 2100. 

Other Effects or Threats of Climate Change

a. Effects on Climatic Elements and Weather

- Increased amount of precipitation
- Prolonged episodes of drought
- Increased risk of floods, storms and forest fires
- Heat waves and air pollution
- Stagnant weather conditions
- Increased surface temperature of water bodies
- Elevation of mean sea level
- Extreme weather conditions
- Increased frequency and intensity of El Nino

b. Effects on Biodiversity
- Degradation of natural habitats and ecosystems
- Disruption of phonological processes such as flowering and migration
- Increased risk of extinction of many flora and fauna

c. Effects on Human Population and Health

- Changes in range and seasonality of infectious diseases
- Population displacement
- Changes in agricultural productivity and reliable food supplies
- Deaths and injuries caused by floods and other calamities

Mitigation and Adaptation

Adaptations are responses of humans to the changing climate to minimize the potential impacts
and adverse effects of climate change. Some adaptation strategies include construction of dams along
flood-prone areas, implementation of soil and water conservation practices, implementation of best
practices in crop production etc.

Mitigations, on the other hand, involve intervention and creation of policies to reduce the
emissions of greenhouse gases. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is one of
the international bodies that impose legal policies against carbon emissions

The effects of climate change may differ from one geographical location to another. The
assessment of risk and vulnerability however may reveal specific tendencies that would help formulate
adaptation and mitigation strategies that are appropriate for a specific area. In the same manner, different
threats are approached in different ways. For a certain threat, coming up with several strategies is
desirable, providing more options and solutions to the people concerned.

Nursery Establishment

Nurseries are places where plants are propagated and grown to usable size. Plants may be
propagated by seeds, but often desirable cultivars are propagated asexually by budding, grafting, layering
or other nursery techniques. Nurseries come very useful in producing plants in big volumes. Forest
rehabilitation, for instance, requires big volume of planting materials.

Environmental Laws
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Environmental protection is influenced by three interwoven factors: environmental legislation,

ethics and education. Each of these factors plays an influencing part in the environmental decisions.
Environmental legislation is in the forms of Presidential Decrees, Republic Acts, Ordinances and
Environmental Policies. These legislations cover the wildlife (flora and fauna) and the challenge to protect
the environment.

In the Philippines, environmental laws can be classified based on its scope. The first one is
terrestrial law which refers to the protection and preservation of forests and biodiversity. Marine and
aquatic resources laws pertain to the protection of the waters and preservation of marine life. Aerial laws
deal with preventing air pollution. Other environmental laws refer to those that involve hazardous wastes
and other environmental concerns (Legaspi, et al., n.d.).

TERRESTRIAL LAWS
Act No. 3572 An Act to Prohibit the Cutting of Tindalao, Akle, or Molave
Trees, under Certain Conditions and to Penalize Violations Thereof
PD No. 705 Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines
PD No. 1433 Plant Quarantine Decree of 1978
RA No. 3571 An Act to Prohibit the Cutting, Destroying, or Injuring of
Planted or Growing Trees, Flowering Plants, and Shrubs or Plants of Scenic Value along
Public Roads, in Plazas, Parks, School Premises or in any other Public Ground
RA. No. 7076 People’s Small-Scale Mining Act of 1991
RA No. 7586 National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 1992
RA No. 7611 Strategic Environmental Plan (SEP) for Palawan Act
RA No. 7942 Philippine Mining Act of 1995
RA No. 9072 National Caves and Cave Resource Management and
Protection Act
RA No. 9147 Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act
RA No. 9175 Chainsaw Act of 2002

MARINE AND AQUATIC RESOURCES LAWS

PD No. 979 Marine Pollution Decree of 1976
PD No. 1067 Water Code of the Philippines
RA No. 4850 Laguna Lake Development Authority Act
RA No. 8550 Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998
RA No. 9275 Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004
RA No. 9483 Oil Pollution Compensation Act of 2007

AERIAL LAW
RA No. 8749 Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999

OTHER LAWS
PD No. 856 Code on Sanitation of the Philippines
RA No. 6969 Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control
Act of 1990
RA No. 8371 Indigenous Peoples Right Act of 1997
RA No. 9003 Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000
RA No. 9729 Philippine Climate Change Act of 2009

On the other hand, environmental protection can be influenced by studying environmental ethics
which focuses on human being’s ethical relationship with the environment. It extends the traditional
boundaries of ethics from solely humans to non-human world. It serves as basis for ethical decisions that
human beings make with respect to the environment.

Examples:

 Should we continue to cut trees and denude forests for the sake of human consumption?
 Should we continue to make gasoline powered vehicles?
 Is it right for humans to intentionally cause the extinction of species for the convenience of
humanity? Say for instance, crocodiles and snakes?

Environmental Education is a learning process that increases people's knowledge and awareness
about the environment and associated challenges, develops the necessary skills and expertise to address
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the challenges, and fosters attitudes, motivations, and commitments to make informed decisions and take
responsible action (UNESCO, Tbilisi Declaration, 1978).

 ACTIVITY/ EXERCISE/ ASSIGNMENT

Activities:

a.What is our obligation as citizen of the country to protect our environment? Give at least 5 things that
you can do to help protect the environment in your community.

 SUPPLEMENTARY LEARNING MATERIALS

CLIMATE CHANGE EFFECT I SAVE THE MOTHER EARTH BEFORE ITS TO LATE 🌍 - Bing
video
Philippines: Changing Climate Changing Lives - Bing video
CLIMATE CHANGE: THE WORLD IN 2050 - Bing video
What is Climate Change? | Start Here - Bing video

 REFERENCES
MSEUF-NSTP-CWTS Manual