Module 5 Environmental Protection
Module 5 Environmental Protection
Learning Outcomes:
After completion of the module, the students will be able to:
1. Define environmental protection, global warming and climate change.
2. Identify the effects of global warming.
3. Identify and generalize the principles of environment.
4. Develop an action plan on how to address environmental protection,
global warming and climate change.
Introduction:
Lesson Proper:
Ice melt
One of the primary manifestations of climate change so far is melt. North
America, Europe and Asia have all seen a trend toward less snow cover
between 1960 and 2015, according to 2016 research published in the journal
Current Climate Change Reports. According to the National Snow and Ice
Data Center, there is now 10 percent less permafrost, or permanently frozen
ground, in the Northern Hemisphere than there was in the early 1900s. The
thawing of permafrost can cause landslides and other sudden land collapses.
It can also release long-buried microbes, as in a 2016 case when a cache of
buried reindeer carcasses thawed and caused an outbreak of anthrax.
One of the most dramatic effects of global warming is the reduction in
Arctic sea ice. Sea ice hit record-low extents in both the fall and winter of
2015 and 2016, meaning that at the time when the ice is supposed to be at its
peak, it was lagging. The melt means there is less thick sea ice that persists
for multiple years. That means less heat is reflected back into the atmosphere
by the shiny surface of the ice and more is absorbed by the comparatively
darker ocean, creating a feedback loop that causes even more
melt, according to NASA's Operation Ice Bridge.
Glacial retreat, too, is an obvious effect of global warming. Only 25
glaciers bigger than 25 acres are now found in Montana's Glacier National
Park, where about 150 glaciers were once found, according to the U.S.
Geological Survey. A similar trend is seen in glacial areas worldwide.
According to a 2016 study in the journal Nature Geoscience, there is a 99
percent likelihood that this rapid retreat is due to human-caused climate
change. Some glaciers retreated up to 15 times as much as they would have
without global warming, those researchers found.
2. All forms of life are equally important. (Ang lahat na may buhay ay
mahalaga).
In situ conservation
The main strategy for protecting and conserving biodiversity in the Philippines
is the establishment of an integrated protected area system (IPAS). The IPAS was
set up to protect and preserve a representative sample of all ecosystems and habitat
types in the country, as well as their plant and animal species. Executive Order 192
created the Parks and Wildlife Bureau to consolidate government efforts to conserve
biological diversity in the protected area system.
In June 1992, Republic Act No. 7586, otherwise known as the National Integrated
Protected Area Systems (NIPAS) Law, was passed. The law, which is being
implemented by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR),
has the following special features:
● It requires the designation of a buffer zone to stabilize protected areas whenever
and wherever applicable;
● It recognizes ancestral rights and includes community interests with concern for
socioeconomic development;
● It requires the development of standard planning for site-specific management;
● It establishes the Integrated Protected Areas Fund (IPAF), a trust fund which will
form the basis of a sustained financing system; and
● It adopts a decentralized system of protected area management.
By 1999, 76 protected areas had been established under the NIPAS Law.
The regional offices of DENR, its Community Environment and Natural Resources
Offices, and provincial Environment and Natural Resources Offices have also
identified 25 old-growth and mossy forests for inclusion in the IPAS.
Plus trees are being selected continuously across the Philippine archipelago.
The criteria for selection are based on morphology and resistance to pests and
diseases, but there have been few attempts to propagate the selected trees in
nurseries. In 1991, plus trees from 23 species in eight administrative regions of the
country were selected. Thirty-eight seed production areas (SPA) have been
identified and documented. The Forest Management Bureau (FMB) has also
identified 61 seed production areas for 19 tree species. Plans to improve the genetic
composition of these SPAs are under development. Although seed is being collected
from selected plus trees and SPAs, a system to monitor the transfer of germplasm
and its performance after planting is not yet in place.
Ex situ conservation
As early as 1996, monitoring of the country’s rivers showed that only 51% of
the classified rivers still met the standards for their most beneficial use. The rest
were already polluted from domestic, industrial and agricultural sources.
Most studies point to the fact that domestic wastewater is the principal cause
of organic pollution (at 48%) of our water bodies. Yet, only 3% of investments in
water supply and sanitation were going to sanitation and sewage treatment.
A recent World Bank report pointed out that Metro Manila was second to the
lowest in sewer connections among major cities in Asia and less than 7% compared
to 20% for Katmandu, Nepal and 30% for Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Thirty-one percent (31%) of all illnesses in the country are attributed to
polluted waters. Clearly, to ensure access to clean water for all Filipinos, it was
imperative that government put together a comprehensive strategy to protect water
quality.
The Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 (Republic Act No. 9275) aims to
protect the country’s water bodies from pollution from land-based sources (industries
and commercial establishments, agriculture and community/household activities). It
provides for a comprehensive and integrated strategy to prevent and minimize
pollution through a multi-sectoral and participatory approach involving all the
stakeholders.
The Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 (Republic Act No. 9275) aims to
protect the country's water bodies from pollution from land-based sources (industries
and commercial establishments, agriculture and community/household activities).