Philippines- an 'environmental superpower'

BAGUIO CITY - United States Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney on Thursday praised the Philippine Supreme Court and various government offices, civil society and the academe for working together to protect Philippine ecology through various programs including the enforcement of environmental laws.
"You are an environmental superpower. Your seas are points of biodiversity and you sit at the heart of the so-called Coral Triangle.You have types of plants and birds and other species in your 7,000 plus islands, this diversity is not found anywhere else in the world. So you have a great deal that is worth protecting," Kenney said in the Forum on Environmental Justice held at the University of the Cordilleras in Baguio City.
Kenney praised the Supreme Court for making the environment one of its highest priorities, and said the Baguio forum is important in creating a multi-stakeholder approach in implementing environmental justice in the country.
She said the US recently committed $73 million to various initiatives related to the Philippine environment, including education and search for clean and viable energy.
She said the US government is also working with the judiciary to help reduce the backlog of cases through automation.
Kenney said Filipinos should also look at prevention of environmental degradation instead of filing lawsuits after the fact.
"If you teach fishermen of the danger of dynamite fishing, if you help companies establish good rules and regulations protecting the environment, if you explain to indigenous peoples how to cut wood without aggravating deforestation, you have a much better chance of a well-protected environment and fewer cases. That allows courts to focus on the more significant cases," she said.

(via)