Japan's Lessons on the Economy and the Environment: A Pollution Experience

In the past few years, we have looked up to Japan as a nation of strong economy. They are one of the leaders in modern technology. May it be in automobiles up to different gadgets and electronic appliances we utilize in our daily lives. But amidst all of these, upon watching the video, "Japan's Lessons on the Economy and the Environment: Our Pollution Experience", we have learned about the unfortunate experience of the Japanese as they pay for the consequences of their consumption without considering its effects to their environment, and eventually, to their health.

After the 2nd world war, it became the primary objective of the Japanese government to strengthen their economy. Economic development through mass production of goods became the priority of the whole country. The Prime Minister of Japan that time even had a "Doubling of Income" Plan, to realize a drastic increase in GNP. As a result, in a span of 10 years, Japan attained second highest GNP in the world (second to US). But along with economic development, problems in pollution also came up. Illnesses such as Itai-Itai Disease, Minamata Disease, and Yokkaichi Asthma affected those who reside near heavy factories.

The said diseases worsened, and different studies proved that the cause of these diseases are contamination of the immediate environment of the patients. This led to the protest of these people living near the factories against the factory owners. A trial was held, and the final decision of the court was in favor of the plaintiffs. In action to these problems, the Japanese government enacted laws which would hold companies responsible for proper waste disposal. The companies were authorized to provide equipments which would clean their respective polluted areas. These countermeasures used cost a very huge sum of money, but in the end, no amount can compare to the number of lives taken due to improper waste disposal.

Economic development is good, but we must not forget that we should find a "harmony" between our economy and our environment. Because although these problems may not be present in our own country right now, we must understand that there is always a possibility that this will happen if we don't learn from the experiences of Japan in economy and the environment. After all, prevention is the best cure to any illness.

 

El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area

The El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area is located on the north-western tip of mainland Palawan. In 1991, the Government of the Philippines proclaimed Bacuit Bay as a marine reserve. In 1998, the protected area was expanded to include terrestrial ecosystems and portions of the municipality of Taytay. It is now known as El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area, which covers over 36,000 hectares of land and 54,000 hectares of marine waters. It contains towering limestone cliffs, beaches, mangroves, clear waters, unique forests over limestone and neat farmlands. It is home to five (5) species of mammals, including the Malayan Pangolin and 16 bird species endemic to Palawan including the threatened Palawan Peacock Pheasant, the Palawan Hornbill and Palawan Scops Owl.  Bacuit bay is also home to the dugong, dolphins and marine turtles, many of which are threatened species. Colorful coral reef fishes are found here. Some of these are the: butterflyfishes, parrotfishes, wrasses, triggerfishes, angelfishes, surgeonfishes, damsel fishes, emperors,snappers, groupers and rabbit fishes.

The climate in El Nido is distinguished by two seasons: generally dry, from December to May, and wet, from June to November. April and May are typically the driest months, while the heaviest rainfall occurs around August.

In 1996, the El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area was selected as one of the eight Protected Areas within the Philippines, to be included in the National Integrated Protected Areas Programme (NIPAP). The NIPAP was financed through a grant from the European Union (EU) with a progressively increasing contribution from the Philippines Government through the DENR. The overall objective of the program to help protect, conserve and manage natural habitats and biodiversity.

The provincial government has also mobilized its citizenry to actively participate in various environmental conservation and protection programs, such as the "Bantay Gubat" for forest protection, and the "Bantay Dagat" for the marine life preservation. Patrolling within the Protected Area especially in the marine zones is regularly conducted with the help of the World Wildlife Fund - Philippines that allocates funds to support the said activity.

The uniqueness of El Nido Reserve as compared with similar sites in the Philippines is that it partakes of the fact that the flora and fauna of the island of Palawan has affinities that are closer with that of the island of Borneo than those of the rest of the Philippines. This is due to the fact that geologically, the island of Palawan is connected to the island of Borneo and hence to mainland Southeast Asia as late as the Pleistocene Epoch. Due also to the relative isolation of the island from the rest of the country, its waters are pristine.