COTABATO CITY—The Bangsamoro Government is stepping up its efforts in mitigating the risks of climate change in the region.
In September, the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Energy through its Environment Management Services (MENRE-EMS) started its discussion on the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission inventory which shall be implemented in the regional offices of the Bangsamoro Government.
Chief EMS Engr. Amier Ashan Aplal said, “kailangan po muna nating malaman kung gaano karami ang na re-release na greenhouse gas (GHG) ng bawat ministry para magkaroon tayo ng program to address the issue.”
“Gradually, sisimulan muna natin sa loob ng mga opisina ng BARMM to calculate the greenhouse gas before tayo pumunta sa next level,” he added.
Experts says that various human activities such as fossil fuel-based power generation are among the sources of GHG emission that continuously accumulating in the atmosphere and traps the heat which causes rise of global temperature and change in climate.
Aplal pointed out that the Environment Ministry is already implementing various programs to reduce the impacts of climate change, including large-scale tree planting efforts, capturing carbon emissions, and tougher fuel efficiency standards for vehicles.
“For instance, we are introducing a flood control program, and also monitoring the infrastructure for us to cope up with the impact of climate change,” Aplal added.
Meanwhile, MENRE-EMS Director Jalani Pamlian said, “there are limited data on climate change in BARMM kaya napag-usapan namin na magkakaroon ng series of meetings and capacity building for the betterment of the region in terms of climate change.”
In terms of air pollutants, Pamlian said that BARMM environmentalists have established air monitoring sites in this city to monitor the particulate matter (particle pollution), carbon dioxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, volatile organic compound, and lead.
This also includes the regular industrial monitoring of large and medium-sized companies to check if they comply with National Emission Standards for Source-Specific Air Pollutants (NESSAP) and National Ambient Air Quality Guidelines Standards (NAAQGS). They must also secure permits to operate prior to operation.
Last week, the Ministry, together with the regional employees of BARMM and other volunteers, spearheaded the massive clean-up drive in the coastal area of of Timako Hill, Kalangalan II in this city to celebrate the National Environment Awareness Month.
MENRE Director General Atty. Badr Salendab stressed the need to have collective efforts and collaboration of all sectors in the society in taking care of the environment for the welfare of future generations by initiating measures that could prevent the harmful effects of man-made environmental disasters.
In BARMM, around 11.5 million tree seedlings have been planted on 10,401 hectares of land across the Bangsamoro region to fight flood and climate change.
[See related story: https://bangsamoro.gov.ph/news/latest-news/menre/]
“Our intention here is to instill consciousness in the hearts and minds of our Bangsamoro people, especially our children, our environmental responsibility being the vicegerent (Khalifa) of Almighty God (Allah SWT) on our obligation to care and protect our environment at all times,” Salendab said. (Kasan Usop, Jr./Johaira Sahidala /BIO)
