ENVIRONMENT UPDATE

Baguio air safe, Sen Legarda on evironment
DEXTER A. SEE

BAGUIO CITY – Thousands of tourists visiting this mountain resort city and local residents here are assured that air quality in the nation’s summer capital is still safe amid rapid urbanization. Wilma Lagonilia, of the Environmental Management Bureau in the Cordillera, bared this saying air quality in the city still remains at safe level amid the growing number of motor vehicles and rapid increase in population.

The latest monitoring done by the EMB showed total suspended particulates in the air at the central business district is 1976 micrograms per cubic meter, which is way below the tolerable limit of 230 micrograms per cubic meter.

However, the establishment of a state-of-the-art monitoring equipment at the foot of Session road has also showed promising results in monitoring pollutant matters in the city’s air. The equipment is said to be able to detect the smallest matter causing pollution in the air such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, xylene, tollobin and benzene among others.

In 1999, the city recorded the worst air quality in the central business district at 500 micrograms per cubic meter which is the worst in the city’s history. The EMB official revealed the city’s air quality is best early mornings but pollutants start to pick up during the rush hour due to the huge number of vehicles plying the city’s streets.

Based on a monitoring done by the agency, there are at least 44,000 private and public vehicles in the city’s central business district daily. Motor vehicles, private or public, are the major contributors of pollutants in the city due to the bi-products of the burning of diesel and gasoline.

The EMB is setting up a billboard at the central business district where the data on the actual number of pollutants in the air at a given time will be reflected for the information of the public. Lagonilia explained that the data from the ambient air quality monitoring machine serves as a guide for people especially those who have asthma and other kinds of diseases on when to pass through the central business district area.

But the EMB said air quality in the central business district area is totally different from areas outside the city proper because of the presence of trees neutralizing pollutants in the air. The gadget being used by the city is similar to the machine used by other highly urbanized areas in the global village in monitoring the state of air quality in their respective areas.

In 2001, the Work Bank reported Baguio City is one of the worst polluted highly urbanized areas in the country due to alleged high degree of pollutants in the air monitored at the central business district area.
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In a related development in nearby La Trinidad, Benguet, Sen. Loren Legarda said last week the political will of all national and local government officials coupled with the appropriation of sufficient funds for the environment is a systematic solution to preserve the rapidly deteriorating state of watersheds especially in the Cordillera which contribute to good air quality.

Environmental protection and conservation, according to Legarda, is the call of the times to prevent serious negative effects of climate change in the future. Legarda was guest speaker during the 4th general assembly of the Cordillera Indigenous Elected Women Leaders League and was bestowed the name “Tukwifi,” a local term for Morning Star or Bright Star, in recognition of her advocacy on the rights and welfare of children in the country.

The environment is being abused right in our very presence, she said, thus it is the mandate of local officials with the help of people to implement laws that protect the environment so that abusers will have second thoughts of pursuing their evil motives.

The fourth CINDEWOLL general assembly was organized through the office of Undersecretary Josephine de Castro-Dominguez of the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office and active participation of women leaders led by Mayor Concepcion Balao of Atok, Benguet and Gov. Floydelia Diasen of Kalinga. Among the pro-environment laws crafted for implementation include the National Integrated Protected Areas Systems (NIPAS) Act, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, Rainwater and Springs Development Act and various local ordinances.

Legarda said the environment is exploited by unscrupulous individuals and groups without the very people, particularly indigenous cultural communities, who own it benefiting from it. Thus, a concerted effort among stakeholders is needed to preserve the environment of the region. The lady senator agreed to the crusade of environmentalists in the region for the national government to allocate substantial amount of funds to preserve and protect the remaining forest covers of the region from exploitation but local officials must lash show their commitment to protect their own areas of jurisdiction from environmental degradation.

The Cordillera has been considered the watershed cradle of Northern Luzon since it is the sole source of water for domestic, irrigation and power for the vast tracks of agricultural lands and power plants in the lowland areas.

However, the region is receiving a measly allocation from the national government for various projects and programs aimed at protecting the watersheds to ensure the continuous supply of water to the low-lying areas.

Earlier, experts warned unabated commercial farming in the mountains and lackluster of concrete government effort to protect the environment in the Cordillera could result in loss of biodiversity and water scarcity in the next 10 years if the trend of land degradation would continue at a rapid pace without mitigating measures to be imposed.

Legarda challenged Cordillera officials to advocate a no logging, no mining policy to ensure non-exploitation of rich natural resources of the region and instead maintain the scenery beneficial for tourism purposes. She said she will try to work out in the Senate the increased allocation of the budget for environment for the region once they will start debates on the P1.227 trillion national budget for next year.