Environmental Issues and Solutions

An environment is generally defined as the surrounding or conditions in which a person, animal

or plant survives or operates. From this, it must be relatively easy for one to comprehend its
importance in the famed cycle of life.

Our environment is constantly changing, and as our environment changes so does the need to
become increasingly aware of the environmental issues that are causing these changes. With a
massive increase in natural disasters, warming and cooling periods, and different types of
weather patterns, people need to be a lot more cautious with the way they lead their lives in
conjunction with the types of environmental issues our planet is facing.
Also Read: Our Environment

Environmental Issues
Environmental issues are the harmful effects of human activities on the environment. These
include pollution, over-population, waste disposal, climate change, global warming, greenhouse
effect, etc. 
Various environment protection programs are being practised at the individual, organizational
and government levels with the aim of establishing a balance between man and environment.
Some of the current environmental issues that require urgent attention are:
Climate Change
Climate change is a great concern in today’s scenario. This problem has surfaced in the last few
decades. Greenhouse gases are the major cause of climate change. Environmental changes have
several destructive impacts such as the melting of glaciers, change in seasons, epidemics, etc.

Global Warming
The burning of fossil fuels, emissions from the automobiles and chlorofluorocarbons add to the
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This has led to an increase in earth’s temperature causing
environmental changes. This increase in temperature across the globe is known as global
warming.

Ozone Layer Depletion

The ozone layer is a layer of concentrated ozone gas. It protects us from the sun’s harmful
ultraviolet rays. This very important layer is being destroyed by CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons),
which are used in industries and everyday life (e.g. aerosol cans).
The chlorine in these compounds destroys the ozone layer. The hole in the ozone layer leaves
humans and wildlife exposed to the harmful UV rays resulting in several skin diseases including
cancer.

Water Pollution
The introduction of harmful substances into rivers, oceans, lakes and ponds, which changes the
physical, chemical or biological condition of the water is called water pollution. The polluted
water lacks oxygen and therefore the organisms die. 
Water is the main source of life and therefore it is our prime duty to prevent it from any kind of
pollution.

Air Pollution
Air pollution is the result of emissions from the industries, automobiles, and increasing use of
fossil fuels. The gaseous emissions have added to an increase in the temperature of the earth. Not
only this, but it had also increased the risk of diseases among individuals.

Solid Waste Management

Solid-waste management is defined as the discipline associated with the generation, storage,
collection, transfer and transport, processing, and disposal of solid waste in a manner that it does
not have a harmful effect on the environment. 

Deforestation
Deforestation is the depletion of trees and forests at an alarming rate. The trees provide us with
oxygen, several raw materials and also maintain the temperature of the earth. Due to the
depletion of trees for commercial purposes, there has been a drastic change in the earth’s climate.
Forests are an abode to a large number of wild animals and plants. Destruction of forests has led
to the elimination of a large number of plants and animal species affecting the biodiversity.

Overpopulation
The earth’s population is increasing drastically. It is estimated to be more than seven billion. The
increasing population has led to a shortage of resources. If this continues, it will be very difficult
to sustain such a huge population. The other environmental issues including pollution, waste
management, deforestation, climate change and global warming are all associated with over-
population.
Also Read: Solid Waste Management

Solutions to Environmental Issues

Following are some of the most common solutions to the environmental issue:

1. Replace disposal items with reusable items.

2. The use of paper should be avoided.
3. Conserve water and electricity.
4. Support environmental friendly practices.
5. Recycle the waste to conserve natural resources.

Environmental issues are a warning of the upcoming disaster. If these issues are not controlled,
there will soon be no life on earth.
Environmental issues in the
Philippines  
 

Connected to:
 DeforestationTyphoonDynamite fishing

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The Philippines' evident risk to natural disasters is due to its location. Being a country that
lies in the Pacific Ring of Fire, it is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. In addition,
the country is surrounded by large bodies of water and facing the Pacific Ocean where 60%
of the world's typhoons are made . One of the most devastating typhoons that hit the
[according to whom?]

Philippines in 2013 was Typhoon Haiyan, or "Yolanda," that killed over 10,000 people and
destroyed over a trillion pesos worth of properties and damage to various sectors . Other [citation needed]

environmental problems that the country is facing include pollution, illegal

mining and logging, deforestation, dynamite fishing, landslides, coastal erosion,
wildlife extinction, global warming and climate change . [citation needed]

Water pollution
This section's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please help update this article to
reflect recent events or newly available information. (June 2021)
The Pasig River in Manila, one of the world's most polluted rivers. [1]

Further information: Pollution of the Pasig River

Although water resources have become scarce in some regions and seasons, the Philippines
as a whole has more than enough surface and groundwater. However, neglecting to have a
coherent environmental policy has led to the contamination of 58% of the groundwater in the
Philippines.  The main source of pollution is untreated domestic and industrial wastewater.
[2]

 Only one third of Philippine river systems are considered suitable for public water supply.
[1] [2]

It is estimated that in 2025, water availability will be marginal in most major cities and in 8
of the 19 major river basins.  Besides severe health concerns, water pollution also leads to
[3]

problems in the fishing and tourism industries.  The national government recognized the

[4]

problem and since 2004 has sought to introduce sustainable water resources development
management (see below). [5]

Only 5% of the total population is connected to a sewer network. The vast majority uses
flush toilets connected to septic tanks. Since sludge treatment and disposal facilities are rare,
most effluents are discharged without treatment.  According to the Asian Development
[6]

Bank, the Pasig River is one of the world's most polluted rivers, running through the capital
city of Manila.  In March 2008, Manila Water announced that a wastewater treatment plant
[1]

will be constructed in Taguig.  The first Philippine constructed wetland serving about 700

[7]

households was completed in 2006 in a peri-urban area of Bayawan City which has been
used to resettle families that lived along the coast in informal settlements and had no access
to safe water supply and sanitation facilities. [8]

Deforestation
Main article: Deforestation in the Philippines
This section's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please help update this article to
reflect recent events or newly available information. (June 2021)

Over the course of the 20th century the forest cover of the Philippines dropped from 70
percent down to 20 percent.  In total, 46 species are endangered, and 4 have been eradicated
[9]

completely. Only 3.2 percent of total rainforest is left. Based on an analysis of land use
pattern maps and a road map, an estimated 9.8 million acres of forests were lost in the
Philippines from 1934 to 1988.  Illegal logging occurs in the Philippines  and intensifies
[10] [11]

flood damage in some areas. [12]

According to scholar Jessica Mathews, short-sighted policies by the Filipino government

have contributed to the high rate of deforestation: [13]

The government regularly granted logging concessions of less than ten years. Since it
takes 30–35 years for a second-growth forest to mature, loggers had no incentive to
replant. Compounding the error, flat royalties encouraged the loggers to remove only the
most valuable species. A horrendous 40 percent of the harvestable lumber never left the
forests but, having been damaged in the logging, rotted or was burned in place. The
unsurprising result of these and related policies is that out of 17 million hectares of
closed forests that flourished early in the century only 1.2 million remain today.
The Philippines had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 5.91/10, ranking
it 91st globally out of 172 countries. [14]

Air pollution
This section's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please help update this article to
reflect recent events or newly available information. (June 2021)

Due to industrial waste and automobiles, Manila suffers from air pollution,  affecting 98% [15][16]

of the population.  Annually, the air pollution causes more than 4,000 deaths. Ermita is
[17]

Manila's most air polluted district due to open dump sites and industrial waste.  According [18]

to Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the country produces an average of 41

kilotons of garbage daily with almost 10 ktons/day coming from Metro Manila alone.  While [19]

most local government units establish a Material Recovery Facility (MRF), implement
segregation at the source, and collect and process all recyclable and biodegradable materials,
most of the municipal solid wastes are either disposed in the dump sites or openly burned,
which further worsen the quality of heavy polluted air in the cities.  According to a report in
[20]

2003, The Pasig River is one of the most polluted rivers in the world with 150 tons of
domestic waste and 75 tons of industrial waste dumped daily. [21]

Illegal fishing
General
The Philippines has a strong fishing culture due to its historically productive and diverse
marine ecosystems. In 2018, 927,617 people were officially reported as being involved in
“Capture Fishing”, and fish contributes to 50% of a Filipinos protein consumption.  This [22][23]

fish reliance has contributed to the current overfishing of 70% of Philippine fishing grounds
and about 40% of fish caught being done illegally. [23][24]

COVID-19 lockdowns seem to have allowed an increase in illegal fishing. Karagatan Patrol
ships using VIIRS (visible infrared imaging lure lights) have detected an increase in apparent
commercial fishing vessels from 3,602 in February 2020 (before COVID-19 lockdowns) to
5,950 in March, which went back down to 1,666 in May when lockdown eased.  These [25]

vessels were detected in waters that only allow small artisanal fishermen using passive
fishing methods, due to the area being a spawning ground for most fish species. [25]

Dynamite fishing
Dynamite fishing, also known as blast fishing and fish bombing, was outlawed in 1932.  It is [26]

a practice of throwing bombs into the water to kill and stun the fish caught in the blast, and
then collecting the fish. In the process, the surrounding habitat (coral reefs), and kill both the
fish too young to sell and destroy the eggs in the area. This damage is estimated to have
cause $99.2 billion in losses a year, according to a study by Rhodora Azanza of the
University of the Philippines.  As such, average fish yields have been reported to be
[24]

decreasing. Jimely Flores, a senior marine scientist for Oceana, described the situation
saying, “In some dynamited areas, if you dive you don’t see any fish at all.” [27]

Climate change
Both floods and droughts are predicted to increase

Climate change in the Philippines is having serious impacts such as increased frequency and
severity of natural disasters, sea level rise, extreme rainfall, resource shortages, and
environmental degradation.  All of these impacts together have greatly affected the
[28]

Philippines' agriculture, water, infrastructure, human health, and coastal ecosystems and they
are projected to continue having devastating damages to the economy and society of the
Philippines. [28]

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the

Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world.  The archipelago of
[29]

7,109 islands is situated along the Pacific Ocean's typhoon belt, leaving the country
vulnerable to an average of 20 typhoons every year, five of which are destructive. In
addition, the Philippines is also located within the “Pacific Ring of Fire" which makes the
country prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.  Compounding these
[30]

issues, the impacts of climate change, such as accelerated sea level rise, exacerbate the
state's high susceptibility to natural disasters, which also flooding and landslides.
[31]

Environmentalism
Anti-nuclear movement
The anti-nuclear movement in the Philippines aimed to stop the construction of nuclear
power facilities and terminate the presence of American military bases, which were believed
to house nuclear weapons on Philippine soil. Anti-nuclear demonstrations were led by groups
such as the Nuclear-Free Philippines Coalition (NFPC) and No Nukes Philippines.
Coalitions argued that American bases in the Philippines perpetuated nuclear threats from
other opponent nations of the United States, and that nuclear testing was transpiring in these
bases. The nuclear threats and the bases also represented foreign intervention from
the United States, which was a staunch issue among nationalists. [32]

A focal point for protests in the late 1970s and 1980s was the proposed Bataan Nuclear
Power Plant (BNPP), which was built by ousted President Ferdinand Marcos but never
operated. The NFPC was formed by Senator Lorenzo M. Tañada, considered the father of the
anti-nuclear movement in the Philippines, to stop the opening of the power plant, which it
succeeded in pursuing. The Bataan nuclear project was criticized for being a potential threat
to public health and for risks associated with the plant being located in an earthquake-
prone location on the Bataan Peninsula. The power plant was also less than 180 kilometers
away from Metro Manila, thus implicating multiple economic centers and regional sectors. [33]

The anti-nuclear movement campaigned to remove foreign military bases in the Philippines.
In 1991, the Philippine Senate voted to reject a new bases agreement treaty with the US, after
which Tañada stood up from his wheelchair and was greeted with applause. The US left
behind tons of toxic waste after its withdrawal and anti-nuclear campaigners provides
assistance for the bases' cleanup.  The former bases are now profitable tourist sites in the
[33]

Philippines, such as the Subic Naval Bay in Subic and the Clark Air Base in Clark,

Pampanga, which is a legacy of the anti-nuclear movement. [34]

The movement continues to face challenges as attempts have been made to open the
abandoned Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. In 2017 Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. Ltd.
(KEPCO) and Russia's Rosatom offered to negotiate to rehabilitate the plant. Opposition to
the nuclear plant immediately responded and quickly raised concerns on long-term disposal
of highly toxic waste, safety and health issues, reliance on imported uranium, the high cost
of decommissioning, and other adverse effects. [35][36][37]

Threats to environmentalists
The Philippines is sometimes considered the most dangerous country for environmental
activists.  According to environmental watchdog Global Witness, at least 30 land and
[38][39]

environmental defenders were killed in the Philippines in 2018, many of whom were in
conflict with private business groups.  Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment
[40]

recorded 46 deaths in 2019.  The group said activists have also been harassed, vilified, "red-
[41]

tagged," and labeled as terrorists or "enemies of the state." [41][40][42]

Environmental groups have asked Congress to pass a Human Rights Defenders Bill to help
protect activists and their families. [41]