Tag: WWF Philippines

WWF-Philippines supports the implementation of the Extended Producer Responsibility Law

WWF-Philippines supports the implementation of the Extended Producer Responsibility Law

Posted on by jane

According to studies by conservation group World Wide Fund for Nature Philippine (WWF-Philippines), each Filipino consumes a yearly average of 20kgs of plastics, and 15.43kgs of it becomes total plastic waste. The country is also suffering from a very low plastic recycling rate of 9% and the studies show that the Philippines leaks about 35% of plastic waste into the environment. 

WWF-Philippines has long been an advocate of the Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) Law. The EPR scheme is a critical policy tool that holds producers accountable for the full life cycle of their products and packaging. EPR is an environmental policy approach that emerged in the 1990s and is now increasingly recognized globally as a useful tool for accelerating the transition to sustainable waste management and a circular economy. This scheme encourages waste reduction through the elimination of unnecessary packaging of products, the development of more environmentally friendly packaging design, and the recovery of plastic packaging from the trash in order to reuse or recycle them back into the production process.

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WWF-Philippines' Build Back Better campaign aims to give Bicol fishing communities better boats

WWF-Philippines’ Build Back Better campaign aims to give Bicol fishing communities better boats

Posted on by jane

Philippine fisherfolk are not only among the poorest sectors in the Philippines; they are also the most vulnerable to natural hazards and extreme weather conditions. In 2020 alone, three consecutive typhoons devastated Lagonoy Gulf, heavily affecting fifteen municipalities. Whole fishing communities lost not only their homes but also their means of livelihood, their boats.

World Wide Fund (WWF) Philippines has worked with the fishers of Lagonoy Gulf for over a decade in establishing the country’s first sustainable Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified handline tuna fishery. Sustainable tuna fishing is the practice in this area. They are the country’s first small-scale fishers to achieve MSC certification.

Project sites of WWW-Philippines in the Lagonoy Gulf

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WWF-Philippines supports the UN Environment Assembly in pushing for a global treaty on plastic pollution

WWF-Philippines supports the UN Environment Assembly in pushing for a global treaty on plastic pollution

Posted on by jane

From February 28 to March 4, 2022, the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) 5.2 will convene. UNEA 5.2 coincides with the 10th anniversary of its creation and the 50th anniversary of the UN Environment Programme.  UN Member States are expected to adopt a decision to start negotiations on a new treaty on plastic pollution. More than three-fourths of the UN membership publicly support the development of a new global agreement along with more than 2.1 million individuals, 25 financial institutions, and more than 60 companies globally.

WWF-Philippines is one with the Philippines and other UN countries’ plan to push for this global treaty.  The Philippines is a co-sponsor of the Peru and Rwanda Resolution which proposes that UNEA establishes an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) with a mandate to prepare a new legally binding global agreement that would form part of international law.

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WWF-Philippines and Grieg Foundation partner to help reduce plastic waste by 50% in certain Philippine ports

WWF-Philippines and Grieg Foundation partner to help reduce plastic waste by 50% in certain Philippine ports

Posted on by jane

Remember the Titanic? It was the largest ship of its time during the early 1900s, a product of a British passenger line, the White Star Line. The Titanic weighed over 46,000 tons! That is roughly 104.6 million pounds!

Well, here is some trivia from the sea and it is NOT looking good. According to a study conducted by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), in a project funded by Grieg Foundation, a Norwegian foundation, Filipinos consume about 2.15 million tons of plastics in a year (equivalent to 41 Titanics!) from which 9% are recycled and 35% leak into the open environment. Just imagine — 35% of all that plastic ends up as plastic waste in the ocean EVERY YEAR!!! And the major pathway that leads to plastic waste in oceans is through ports where there is a high level of activity and traffic.

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Let's do our share to reduce plastic waste in the Philippines! Say #AyokoNgPlastik!

Let’s do our share to reduce plastic waste in the Philippines! Say #AyokoNgPlastik!

Posted on by jane

A 2015 report on plastic pollution done by Ocean Conservancy and McKinsey Center for Business and Environment is said to have ranked the Philippines as the third top plastic polluter in the world. A pilot whale was found dead in Thailand with almost 20 pounds of plastic in its stomach. Just the other day, news broke out that microplastics have been found in human feces. It is no longer surprising. If animals ingest plastics by accident and meat is part of our diet, these microplastics will eventually find its way into our gut.

It also does not help that plastics proliferate, especially here in the Philippines, due to the ‘tingi’ (sachet) concept where products are repackaged into one-time use plastic sachets for convenience, sanitation, and affordability by the less fortunate.

Recently, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines, together with Ayala Malls and other partner corporations, officially launched #AyokoNgPlastik — a movement that hopes to address these alarming facts by bringing together companies, individuals, and other sectors to minimize and eventually eradicate single-use plastics such as straws, bags, bottles, and caps by refusing to use them.

WWF-Philippines National Ambassadors Marc Nelson and Rovilson Fernandez with WWF Next Generation Council member, Stephanie Zubiri-Crespi

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Earth Hour 2018 is happening on March 24 with its theme #Connect2Earth

Earth Hour 2018 is happening on March 24 with its theme #Connect2Earth

Posted on by jane

Save the date – March 24, 2018. On this day, Filipinos nationwide will be observing Earth Hour for the 11th straight year.  Its theme, #Connect2Earth, is a campaign to strengthen awareness about biodiversity and climate action.

Earth Hour Flashback

Earth Hour began originally in Sydney on March 31, 2007. The year after, in 2008, Manila joined in. My family and I participated by turning off our house lights. I’ve been trying to participate in some way since then. Initially Earth Hour just involved turning off lights everywhere. Malls and public places began organizing events around this lights-off highlight. But in 2011, Earth Hour launched its theme “Going Beyond the Hour” to encourage all participant cities to do more than just turn lights off for an hour. Today, Earth Hour participants span over 7,000 cities and 180 countries and territories with many sustainable and energy-saving activities year-long. In the Philippines, for example, these Beyond the Hour activities involve:

  • The deployment of portable solar lamps to replace dangerous and dirty kerosene lamps in Palawan and Mindoro.
  • The sharing of best practices for communities via the One Planet City Challenge.
  • The dissemination of climate change solutions via environmental education sessions, training modules, heavy media engagements, and talks.

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WWF-Philippines celebrated 20 years of environmental solutions

Posted on by jane

It was a night of celebration as WWF-Philippines celebrated 20 years of environmental solutions in the Philippines with its Partners’ Night. I am a supporter of environment care, ecotourism, renewable energy and the like. My good friend from decades back, Vince Perez,  was WWF-Philippines’ Chairman for several years and is currently Chair of the WWF-Philippines National Advisory Council.
20 years of transforming lives
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