DATE: ____JULY _1________3, 2020 DAY: _____MONDAY________ DENR IN THE NEWS Strategic Communication and Initiative Service STRATEGIC BANNER COMMUNICATION UPPER PAGE 1 EDITORIAL CARTOON STORY STORY INITIATIVES PAGE LOWER SERVICE July 13, 2020 PAGE 1/ DATE TITLE : DENR promotes plant-based diet to fight climate change 1/2 DENR promotes plant-based diet to fight climate change July 12, 2020, 2:53 pm MANILA – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Saturday urged Filipinos to help fight climate change by switching to plant-based diet, which has been shown to reduce the ecological footprint of human food consumption. In a press release, the DENR, through its Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), has launched a month-long public information drive to encourage everyone to shift away from animal-based products towards consumption of more fruits and vegetables. The “Plant-Based Solutions for Climate Change” campaign, which coincides with the celebration of July as nutrition month, urges Filipinos to include more vegetables and fruits into their diet following the recommendation of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) on proportion by three main food groups -- go, grow and glow foods. EMB Director William Cuñado said shifting to plant-based diet is one way to greatly reduce the environmental impact of one’s food consumption. “Switching to a plant-based diet not only benefits one’s health, it can also help protect the environment due to the smaller environmental footprints plant-based diets tend to have,” Cuñado said. According to a 2013 study by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, meat and dairy -- particularly from cows -- account for around 14.5 percent of the global greenhouse gases each year. That’s roughly the same amount as emissions from all the cars, trucks, airplanes and ships in the world combined. A recent study by the University of Oxford suggested that cutting meat and dairy products from a person’s diet could reduce his carbon footprint from food by up to 73 percent. Cuñado said a plant-based diet could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and land used for factory farming, which are all factors in global warming and environmental degradation. “By gradually modifying our meals and shifting to balanced diets with more plant-based food, we have already taken part in reducing greenhouse gases, which in turn will help slow down the rise in global temperatures,” Cuñado said. The month-long campaign is being done virtually or online given the restrictions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. The EMB has been regularly posting infographics about plant-based diet as a climate change solution on its official Facebook page to make it easier for people to understand and follow the concept. It also launched an online food photo contest called #UOTD or Ulam of the Day, where participants can send photos of their meal based on Pinggang Pinoy food guide developed by FNRI. Pinggang Pinoy is an easy-to-understand food guide that uses a familiar food plate model to convey the right food group proportions on a per meal basis. This aims to help Filipinos acquire healthy eating habits needed to attain optimum nutrition. STRATEGIC BANNER COMMUNICATION UPPER PAGE 1 EDITORIAL CARTOON STORY STORY INITIATIVES PAGE LOWER SERVICE July 13, 2020 PAGE 1/ DATE TITLE : DENR promotes plant-based diet to fight climate change 2/2 Pinggang Pinoy is an easy-to-understand food guide that uses a familiar food plate model to convey the right food group proportions on a per meal basis. This aims to help Filipinos acquire healthy eating habits needed to attain optimum nutrition. The EMB started receiving entries for the #UOTD on July 4 through its email address [email protected]. The photo contest will run until July 20. Further details about the contest are posted on the Facebook page of EMB Central Office. (PR) Source: https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1108719 STRATEGIC BANNER COMMUNICATION UPPER PAGE 1 EDITORIAL CARTOON STORY STORY INITIATIVES PAGE LOWER SERVICE July 13, 2020 PAGE 1/ DATE TITLE : PLDT helps protect Caimpugan Peatland By ... -July 12, 2020 The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has partnered with PLDT Inc. and its wireless subsidiary Smart Communications Inc. to protect, conserve and restore the Caimpugan Peatland in the Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary. This peatland is the only recorded remaining intact peat swamp forest and the largest of its kind in the Philippines, the DENR said. Peatlands are wetlands whose peat soils consist of carbon-rich dead and decaying plant matter which store twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests combined. The partnership is for three years but can be extended by the parties. PLDT said apart from applying various technologies for peatland assessment, monitoring and enforcement activities as well as communication, education and public awareness programs and activities to increase knowledge and appreciation of the value of these fragile ecosystems will also be made. The project will engage with wetland-dependent communities to come up with a sustainable and biodiversity- friendly livelihood program. Source: https://malaya.com.ph/index.php/news_special_feature/pldt-helps-protect-caimpugan-peatland/ STRATEGIC BANNER C OMMUNICATION UPPER PAGE 1 EDITORIAL CARTOON STORY STORY INITIATIVES PAGE LOWER SERVICE July 13, 2020 PAGE 1/ DATE TITLE : Ginawang sementertyo sa Cebu, ipinatigil ng DENR 1/2 Source: https://malaya.com.ph/index.php/news_special_feature/pldt-helps-protect-caimpugan-peatland/ STRATEGIC BANNER C OMMUNICATION UPPER PAGE 1 EDITORIAL CARTOON STORY STORY INITIATIVES PAGE LOWER SERVICE July 13, 2020 PAGE 1/ DATE TITLE : Ginawang sementertyo sa Cebu, ipinatigil ng DENR 2/2 Source: https://www.facebook.com/PTVph/videos/277667593560375/ STRATEGIC BANNER COMMUNICATION UPPER PAGE 1 EDITORIAL CARTOON STORY STORY INITIATIVES PAGE LOWER SERVICE July 13, 2020 PAGE 1/ DATE TITLE : Cebu City LGU says it has permit to cut down trees to make way for new cemetery Published July 12, 2020 9:45pm The local government of Cebu City defended its tree-cutting activity in Barangay Guba, saying the operation was covered by a permit issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. According to a report on “24 Oras Weekend” on Sunday, Cebu City councilor Dave Tumulak said the city administrator confirmed there was indeed a permit for them to conduct the tree- cutting in the barangay. “Kinumpirma natin kay city administrator [Floro] Casas na may permit tayo para magputol ng mga puno. Tinatawagan na niya si Mr. [Raul] Pasoc ng DENR na siya ring nagbigay ng permit para makapagputol ng puno,” Tumulak said. However, DENR Region 7 told GMA News that the cutting of almost 400 mahogany trees in the protected area had no clearance from them. The department has already issued a notice of violation against the city government. The LGU cut down the trees to build a new cemetery, as the city’s public cemetery has been running out of space amid the rising cases of COVID-19 there. More than 300 mahogany trees have already been cut for the project. — Ma. Angelica Garcia/BM, GMA News Source: https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/regions/746576/cebu-city-lgu-says-it-has-permit-to-cut- down-trees-to-make-way-for-new-cemetery/story/?just_in STRATEGIC BANNER COMMUNICATION UPPER PAGE 1 EDITORIAL CARTOON STORY STORY INITIATIVES PAGE LOWER SERVICE July 13, 2020 PAGE 1/ DATE TITLE : CA junks OceanaGold’s appeal to continue operations Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine Star) - July 13, 2020 - 12:00am MANILA, Philippines — The Court of Appeals (CA) has dismissed Australian-Canadian mining firm OceanaGold’s call for an injunction against Nueva Vizcaya’s restraining orders of its mine operations. The CA decision released last week upheld the decision of the Regional Trial Court of Nueva Vizcaya last July 2019 denying the injunction of OceanaGold Philippines. The CA cited that “the petitioner failed to establish its clear and unmistakable right to continue its mining operation.” OceanaGold’s financial and technical assistance agreement (FTAA) expired in June 2019 and it has failed to secure a renewal of its mining contract, and therefore, mine closure was implemented by local authorities. However, the firm continued operations despite the lack of permit, prompting the local government unit and the local community to set up a people’s barricades to prevent any illegal entry of mining vehicles. The actions of the community and the LGU led to OceanaGold filing an injunction, which was later denied by the RTC of Nueva Vizcaya in July 2019. Nueva Vizcaya Governor Carlos Padilla welcomed the CA decision, saying it affirms the province’s position that upon expiration of its FTAA, OceanaGold does not have any more rights to engage in mining activities in Didipio. “It clearly belies the position taken by the MGB (Mines and Geosciences Bureau) that OceanaGold is permitted to continue its mining operations pending renewal of its FTAA,” Padilla told The STAR. “In view of such development, we now strongly demand for the complete pull out of OceanaGold from the area,” he said. Since the expiry in June 2019, President Duterte still has yet to approve the renewal for another 25 years, even with the endorsement from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau. The President has the final decision on the grant and renewal of FTAA upon the endorsement of the MGB and DENR. The Office of the President earlier found a deficiency – the first 25 years of OceanaGold were not covered by the Indigenous Peoples’ Right Act and its area was outside the ancestral domain of the Bugkalot tribe. OceanaGold’s FTAA covers some 10,000 hectares. Out of that, only 975 hectares have an approved environmental compliance certificate and 330 hectares are only being utilized.