ENVIRONMENT Secretary Lito Atienza on Monday said he would
forge a partnership with the Rotary Club, one of the world’s oldest service club
organizations, in his department’s bid to stall or even reverse the ill effects
of climate change in the country.
"Our rivers are dying, and becoming threats to public health.
Climate change is no longer imminent, but is already happening, and humanity
must act fast and decisively to reverse it. We need to plant trees by the
millions," Atienza said in a speech delivered for him by Environment
undersecretary Teresita Castillo at the recent annual district 3780 convention
of the Rotary Club held at the Subic Convention Center in Zambales.
"These are just some of the highly urgent undertakings for
which the DENR has been mobilizing people, institutions and organizations. They
are also the undertakings where the Rotary Club can make its profound impact
felt," Atienza added.
Atienza said the Rotarians are well-placed to help the DENR
protect and manage the environment on a long-term basis due to its track record.
He noted that there are 1.2 million Rotarians worldwide, a good number of whom
are Filipinos who are "distinguished leaders in government, in business, in the
professions, and in countless communities, for many decades.’
"Rotary’s greater involvement in environmental undertakings
will, therefore, inspire more people to follow suit," Atienza said.
He said partnering with the Rotary Club would be particularly
helpful on urgent projects that need to be carried out on a sustained basis for
a long time considering that environmental solutions need time to take effect.
He said the DENR and the Rotary Club share many things in
common, one of which is the adoption of a global approach on environmental
issues due to the country’s status as a biodiversity hotspot and its being a
signatory of many international conventions and agreements on the environment,
including the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gases that contribute to climate
change.
Atienza said the DENR is also actively pursuing partnerships
and volunteers from other government agencies, local government units,
non-government and people’s organizations, schools, industrial and commercial
sector, and even civic organizations. "We engage in social mobilization in the
belief that the environment is everyone’s responsibility, because it is for
everyone’s benefit,’’ Atienza said.
Rotarians, Atienza noted, will be able to make their presence felt in Metro
Manila which has peculiar problems like air and water pollution plus solid waste
management, and also in Davao City, because it is a "biodiversity-sensitive
area. – Job T. Realubit
