by: MA. ALAINE P. ALLANIGUE
QUEZON CITY, June 17 (PIA) -- Experts are calling for drastic changes in the way people consume and produce to ensure humanity’s survival.
This, after noting the pervading norm— to purchase, consume, and discard— in a seeming rat race, along with other business-as-usual practices, has overstretched the planet’s natural resources.
Sustainable consumption took the spotlight in a webinar organized by the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) recently, where experts in the region and representatives of planning and economic ministries of the ASEAN Member States convened to exchange experiences in sustainable consumption and production as well as in green growth amid the COVID-19 recovery efforts.
Opening the webinar, ACB Executive Director Theresa Mundita Lim said while sustainable consumption and production are not new to the ASEAN, there is more to be done.
“The business sector continues to be pivotal, given its hand in managing supply chains. Ensuring that raw materials used for manufacturing are sustainably, legitimately, and equitably sourced are just some ways the private sector can help maintain a harmonious relationship with nature,” Lim said, citing the commitment of the ASEAN leaders in strengthening cooperation on sustainable consumption and production.
Dr. Orapan Nabangchang of the Economy and Environment Partnership for Southeast Asia explained that ecosystems degrade when we extract provisioning services at a rate that exceeds its regenerative rate.
“The world was unprepared for the pandemic, but biodiversity loss has sent us warnings to which we haven't paid much attention,” Nabangchang said.
Joining Dr. Nabangchang in the panel were Dr. Michikazu Kojima, research fellow of the Regional Knowledge Centre for Marine Plastic Debris of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN; and Dr. Helena Varkkey of the University of Malaya in Malaysia.
The webinar held on Zoom was the second instalment of the series of online discussions on the economics of biodiversity supported by the European Union, German Development Bank (KfW), and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) through the Biodiversity Conservation and Management of Protected Areas in ASEAN (BCAMP) Project, Small Grants Programme (SGP), and the Institutional Strengthening of Biodiversity Sector in the ASEAN II Project, respectively.
The webinar series sought to explore the recommendations of the recently released Dasgupta Review on the Economics of Biodiversity, an independent global review of the relationship between economics and biodiversity.
COVID-19 impacts on plastic use, haze
Dr. Kojima pointed out the impacts of the spillover of plastic wastes to marine ecosystems observed in the ASEAN region. For example, he said, there were reports about whales, turtles, dugong, dolphins, sharks, and others dying after getting entangled in fishing nets or having ingested plastics.
“Although (lockdowns and mobility restrictions) have likely reduced the generation of plastic wastes, plastic pollution continues during the pandemic,” he said.
Dr. Kojima explained that due to lockdowns, the generation of industrial waste and office waste declined. Travel restrictions likewise reduced inbound tourists and the waste generated in tourist sites.
On the other hand, he stressed that the increase in the use of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), including masks and gloves amid the pandemic, along with price drop of plastic materials due to the rollback of oil prices, may contribute to the widespread use of plastics.
“We should ensure that the leakage of plastic to the environment should be minimised, and these wastes should be collected and properly managed,” he said.
Sharing the findings of her recent study on the haze and the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Varkkey said that people living in areas with higher air pollution, both in the short- and long-term, are at higher risk of deaths related to the COVID-19.
“There is a concern that haze particles can act as vectors of the disease, putting Southeast Asian communities at increased risk,” she said.
Even though weather trends show that a prolonged dry season is unlikely this year, she said observers note that COVID-19 restrictions, stretched government budgets, and economic pressure may result in more fires on the ground.
“To avoid future pandemics, land-use change in tropical peatlands, which risk being the site of novel zoonotic infectious diseases, must be carefully controlled or halted”, she said.
Action plans
Meanwhile, the panel discussion of senior economic planning officials in the AMS was joined by Ms. Siti Khadijah Abd Gani, principal assistant secretary of Malaysia’s Division of Biodiversity Management under the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources; Assistant Director of the Philippines’ National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Diane Gail Maharjan, and Dr. Tanit Changthavorn, deputy director-general of Thailand’s Biodiversity-Based Economy Development Office (BEDO).
Maharjan said the Philippines, even before the pandemic, has developed the Philippine Action Plan for Sustainable Consumption and Production (PAP4SCP) to facilitate green recovery and influences sustainable behaviour and practices. The action plan operationalises the Philippines’ medium-term plan and responds to the country’s commitments to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
“The plan aims to have more Filipinos produce and consume green goods and services to accelerate the shift towards sustainable and climate-smart lifestyles and practices,” Maharjan said.
Dr. Changthavorn, meanwhile, discussed Thailand’s Bio-Circular-Green economy model, a sustainable and inclusive approach for socio-economic development in the post-COVID-19 era.
In this session, Ms. Loraine Gatlabayan of Southeast Asia SWITCH-Asia Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) Facility likewise shared insights and updates on the EU-supported regional programme, which provides assistance to governments in improving their national strategies and action plans with regard to sustainable production and consumption practices.
The recorded livestream of the webinar can be accessed on the ACB’s Facebook page through this link: https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=488713219063556&ref=watch_permalink. (PIA NCR)
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