Groups urge Gov’t to fight for climate justice

MANILA, Philippines – Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), urges Government to fight for climate justice in the international negotiations in a culminating multi-sectoral event on Wednesday held in Marikina Riverbanks.

ATM, advocacy group on environmental and human rights issues and people’s movement composed of more than eighty (80) organizations from mining-affected communities and civil society organizations nationwide, is member of the Philippine Network on Climate Justice (PMCJ).

“Climate justice is about demanding developed countries to be accountable for their historical responsibility as major contributors to climate change,” said ATM national coordinator Jaybee Garganera.

“The centuries of progress of developed countries were driven by their fossil-fuel intensive economy that has disrupted our climate system. Now that climate change is already upon us, it is the poor and developing countries, which are least responsible for this problem and have the least capacity to cope with its impacts are the ones in great danger,” said Garganera.

Developed nations identified as Annex 1 countries, under the international environmental treaty to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) known as the Kyoto Protocol (KP), have agreed to reduce their collective greenhouse gas emissions by 5.2% from their 1990 levels by 2012.

“Our Government should negotiate with the call for climate justice, which demands for early deeper emissions cuts that will involve not just not just the Annex 1 countries but also ALL developed countries who have economically progressed through excessive emissions detrimental actions and extraction of resources from other countries before the Conference of Parties (COP) 16. Countries like the US and Australia, which did not ratify the KP should also be held accountable,” said Garganera.

“Moreover, our Government must demand that these developed countries pay developing countries as reparations that should equitably provide finance to enable people of these vulnerable countries to cope with the impacts of climate change and to compensate for the damages, destruction and losses,” added Garganera.
                                                                                                                                
Besides urging international pressure, Garganera also suggested local initiatives be implemented to mitigate climate change.
 
“To address climate change is to take both global and local actions. We can mitigate our carbon emissions by diligently regulating industries, impose moratorium on extractive industries that exacerbates climate change such as mining. Large-scale mining destroys our ecosystems, which are natural climate stabilizers,” said Garganera.

“Furthermore, Government should also protect the vulnerable communities such us those the indigenous peoples (IPs) affected by mining whose main livelihood and culture depend on a healthy ecology,” added Garganera.
 
“We, B’laans, have an accustomed climate system. Now, our elders are wondering about the changes in our climate that affect our livelihoods like our corn and rice production,” said Jay Labuayan, Columbio Multisectoral Ecology Movement from Sultan Kudarat

“The dry season decreases our water supply making farming difficult and what makes this situation worst is logging and entry of mining. The lesser the tress, the less water we have. We blame government for allowing this happened to our community,” said Labuayan.
 
“Our community has never experienced landslides before coal mining in our community,” said Allan Alam, a T’boli and member of the Hukom-Hublag Kontra Mina from Lake Cebu, South Cotabato

“Upon the entry of coal mining in our community, with its drilling operations, we now experience landslides and it has also contaminated our water source. Our people are getting sick and many are experiencing diarrhea because of the chemicals used in mine drilling,” exclaimed Alam.

“OceanaGold Philippines, Inc. (OGPI) bulldozed our mountains and flattened our lands. They even scrapped off the topsoil with our citrus plantation and with some vegetation. Our area now feels hotter that before it was bulldozed because the plants, which used to provide a cooling effect to our area are now gone,” said Marina Ansibey, Didipio Earth Savers Movement Association (DESAMA) from Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya (NV).
 
“Moreover, because of OGPI’s drilling, the water freely flowing to our springs have dried out,” added Ansibey.

“We grow different kinds fruit-bearing plants in our valley, which we supply to different parts in Luzon. Given the dry season we are experiencing now, there is a decrease in our production even without mining in our area. We fear that the entry of mining in our neighboring communities e.g. Runruno and Didipio will have impacts in our water supply and will make the situation worst,” said Raymundo Bolhayon, an Ifugao and chairman of SALAKNIB – Salakniban ti Lubong, Aglawlaw ken Karbengan dagiti Umili ti Nueva Vizcaya [Protect our environment because this is the right of the people of Nueva Vizcaya] from Malabing Valley Kasibu, NV

“The intense dry season is affecting our farm production, which now does not suffice the production for our livelihood. Our creeks, rivers and streams are drying up,” said Savador Dimain, tribal chieftain of the Maporac Tribal Council and chairman of Maporac Aeta Organization from Cabangan, Zambales.

“We fear the nonstop logging by the mining company in our community. Before the entry of mining, our community experience two months straight of rain without any occurrence of flashflood. Since mining conducted massive logging operations we now experience flashfloods within the span of 2 to 3 days consecutive rains,” explained Dimain.

“The mining company has turned our river into their mine tailings dump. We are scared of the next rainy season should there be a spill or overflow from that river. It will contaminate our water and there will be 126 families from Maporac who will be affected, which might also reach the town in Cabangan Zambales,” added Dimain.

The culminating activity for climate justice is an initiative of the PMCJ to express its global solidarity action parallel to the ‘World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth’ happening in Cochabamba, Bolivia as a response to the failed COP 15 in Copenhagen held in December last year.

ATM is convened by HARIBON, Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center – Friends of the Earth Philippines (LRC/FOEI) and Philippine Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas (PhilDHRRA). (30)

For more information:
Jaybee Garganera, ATM Coordinator, (0915) 315.37.19 /
Roslyn Arayata, ATM Policy Research and Advocacy Officer (0917) 521.7937