[ Manila Bulletin Online ] March 22, 2008
By ELLALYN B. DE VERA
Secretary Jose Atienza Jr. of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has sought to forge a partnership between the DENR and the Rotary Club, a worldwide service organization of 1.2 million individuals, for the protection of the environment, particularly to mitigate the effects of climate change.
"Our rivers are dying and becoming threats to public health. Climate change is no longer imminent, but is already happening, and humanity must act fast and decisively to reverse it. We need to plant trees by the millions. These are just some of the highly urgent undertakings for which the DENR has been mobilizing people, institutions, and organizations. They are also the undertakings where the Rotary Club can make its profound impact felt," Atienza said.
The DENR chief cited the Rotary Club’s track record in protecting and managing the environment on a long-term record.
He said the Rotarians, a good number of whom are Filipinos, are "distinguished leaders in government, in business, in the professions, and in countless communities, for many decades.’’
"Rotary’s greater involvement in environmental undertakings will, therefore, inspire more people to follow suit," Atienza said.
Likewise, he cited the Rotary Club and the DENR’s common efforts in many things.
Like the Rotary, the DENR adopts a global approach to environmental issues because of the country’s status as a biodiversity hotspot and its being a signatory of many international conventions and agreements on the environment, including the Kyoto Protocol, on greenhouse gases that drive climate change, Atienza explained.
In addition, same as the Rotary Club, the DENR is also actively pursuing partnerships and volunteerism from other government agencies, local government units, non-government and people’s organizations, schools, industrial and commercial sector, and even civil organizations.
"We engage in social mobilization in the belief that the environment is everyone’s responsibility, because it is for everyone’s benefit," Atienza said.
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