COOPERATION IN WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
As I understand it, the DENR has jurisdiction over mangrove trees, and not the DA. That is probably due to their understanding that mangroves do not produce fruits and are therefore not part of food security targets. It therefore goes without saying that all trees that do not produce fruits or do not have edible portions are also not part of food security. If that is the case, then both the DENR and the DA would need to come up with a database that will show which is which. Just to be clear, wildlife could mean both flora and fauna and, in that sense, mangrove trees are generally part of wildlife, although there are already mangrove forests that are artificially or commercially planted. Although mangrove trees do not directly produce food, these trees are the reason why more fish, crabs and shrimps are harvested where they grow. My purpose in writing this is to encourage all concerned national government agencies (NGAs) and LGUs to work together more and coordinate more in protecting our wildlife, especially when there are overlaps in jurisdictions and whenever it is not clear who does what. Rather than allow gray areas in jurisdictions to cause confusion as to who does what, I suggest that the LGUs should take the lead, with the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) of the DENR and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) of the DA providing the supports, possibly with the assistance of the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) under DA.
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GOVERNMENT SHOULD LEAD
IN USING BIOFUELS
As the collective owner of one of the biggest transportation fleets in the country, the government should take the lead in using biofuels in all of their vehicles. And I do not just mean the vehicles of the executive branch, I also mean the vehicles of the judicial and the legislative branches. As far as I know, there is really nothing wrong with our local biofuels, including our biodiesels. The problem I think is economic rather than scientific, because as of now, the regular diesel product that is derived from fossil fuels is cheaper than the biodiesels. I do not know which agency of the government could do it, but I think that if a macroeconomic study is done, it would come out that in the overall, it would be cheaper to use biodiesels compared to the regular diesel fuels. What macroeconomic costs and benefits should we consider? First in my list is the livelihood opportunities it would create if more coconut farmers could sell more of their produce. Second is the potential savings in foreign exchange if we could reduce the imports of foreign fuels. Third is the job opportunities it would create in the local manufacturing of biodiesels. Fourth would be the reduction of our carbon footprints as we reduce the importation of the foreign fuels. The list could go on and on but what is important is the real awareness that we should not limit ourselves to myopic microeconomic analysis to arrive at the real costs of these fuels.
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LET’S HAVE LONG TERM
DEVELOPMENT PLANS!
We are supposed to have “Ambisyon 2040” and the “Medium Term Philippine Development Plan” (MTPDP) for 2023 to 2028 as two separate documents that were officially adapted the government. As I understand it, “Ambisyon” is a road map, while MTPDP is a plan, even if I do not understand exactly what is the difference between the two. Although “Ambisyon” does not seem to be a plan, it does seem to contain some “wishes” of what should happen or what could happen on or before 2040. That sounds good, but it seems that “Ambisyon” is really more of a “wish list”, with no one really accountable whether something happens or not. As I see it, what is obviously missing is a real long term development plan that that goes beyond 2028, and even beyond 2040. In the absence of such a plan, we do not really know what are national targets are beyond those time frames. I say that we must correct this discrepancy, and I also say that we must even plan for 100 years or more, perhaps up to 2128. Every time that a new cabinet member is appointed, he or she comes up with his or her action programs as if his or her programs do not have existing programs at all. While his or her innovative spirit may be good for his or her department, it would be bad if he or she disregards the existing programs. The fact is, all cabinet members are supposed to base their action programs on both “Ambisyon” and the MTPDP for the most part.
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LASER POWERED MICROSCOPES
As viruses and bacteria become more complex and more sophisticated, there is now a need for more advanced laser powered microscopes and supercomputers, and there are no other ways around that. Old equipment that we have been using over the years could probably still work, but are no longer accurate and are rather slow. The choice is very clear. Either we buy the new equipment or not. If we don’t, our analysis of viruses and bacteria will always be slow and inaccurate. Never mind the slowness, but we can not do away with accuracy, because the readings will be useless if these are not on the spot. In technology, it is always a balance between speed and accuracy. While some might argue that this equipment is too expensive and is perhaps not affordable, I will argue on the other hand that there is no price to the human life that could be saved or lost, depending on which way it will go. Add to that the disruption in social life that epidemics and pandemics can cause. Perhaps before, the need for this equipment was occasional, but that is no longer the case nowadays. For example, many viruses are constantly mutating, and therefore we need to know what their characteristics are, as soon as possible. Not knowing the new mutations of these viruses would mean our not knowing what to do, as fast as possible. This is a matter of life and death.
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