She said that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) should ensure to live up to its mandate as “environmental defenders.”
Lindo also called on decision-makers to deal with the environmental concerns through a “rights-based approach” by taking into consideration the population because the communities are often neglected in the decision-making.
“Naiiwan ang communities sa (communities are always neglected in) decision-making and resorts are the signs and symptoms of this kind of development,” she added.
Lindo said that defending a protected area needs a multi-sectoral approach, encouraging the environmentalists and conservationists to continuously engage the DENR “because not all of the crucial decision-makers are experts in the environment and development.”
Instead of destructive commercial activities, she said more efforts should be poured into protecting biodiversity by focusing on “sustainable food production, conservation, and development of people and resources.”
“We also have problems with the language. We use the terms like ‘responsible’ and ‘sustainable’ and do otherwise when it comes to implementing laws,” Lindo said.
Leo XL Y. Fuentes Jr., regional coordinator of farmers’ group Masipag Inc.[]
, said while these environmental issues now coming to light is a welcome development, he hopes the DENR would look into the expansion of banana plantations within the foothills of Mount Apo.
He said there is a need to strengthen the regulation of “human activities” at Mount Apo, particularly the resorts, which may likely cause damage to the environment.
In a memorandum dated March 26, Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga suspended the authority of the regional offices of DENR to approve environmental compliance certificates (ECCs) within the protected areas.
It said all pending and future ECC applications for projects within the protected areas shall be submitted to the Environment Management Bureau-Central Office for final review and approval and an additional license clearance from the Biodiversity Management Bureau shall be required.[]
