Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu on Tuesday called for a collective effort among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to achieve economic and socially equitable growth without further compromising the environment in the face of ASEAN economic integration and climate change.
Speaking at the gathering of research and development (R&D) experts from ASEAN member countries and dialogue partners, Cimatu said the goal of sustainable urbanization in the region can only be achieved if megacities and other urbanizing areas will get their act together.
“ASEAN megacities such as Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bandar Seri Begawan and Manila and other highly urbanized cities in Vietnam, Lao P.D.R., Myanmar and Cambodia should collectively and proactively work together to make urbanization as environmentally sustainable as possible,” Cimatu said at the opening of the R&D Congress on Sustainable Urbanization in the Course of ASEAN Economic Integration being held at Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila in Pasay City from June 27 to 30.
He added: “Any of their innovative solutions should come out from partnerships with the government, academe, socio-civic organizations and private groups. And, we all know that this is a big challenge to all ASEAN member countries.”
Cimatu said the four-day regional conference, organized by the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), serves as an avenue for exchange of information and collaboration in exploring ways for developing mechanisms and safeguards to achieve sustainable urbanization in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).
According to Cimatu, the gathering of regional R&D experts was crucial in the realization of AEC since policy and decision-makers rely on the technologies generated through science-based research for their course of action and innovative solutions.
In fact, he said, such science-based research was the basis of the 25 rapidly growing cities in Southeast Asia when they came up with the ASEAN Initiatives for ESCs or Environmentally Sustainable Cities.
ESCs prioritize low-carbon technologies and encourages city dwellers, industrialists and commercial establishments to strive for carbon-neutral economy. They also promote the judicious use of natural resources and utilization of wastes into energy.
As for the Philippines, Cimatu said that the government — through the DENR — continues to push for urban biodiversity conservation and green technology in building resilient cities and in achieving inclusive economic growth.
“I want you to know that the Philippines, through the [DENR], espouses such approaches to sustainable urbanization, and I encourage everyone present here today to reconcile all efforts to make such strategies effective and fruitful,” Cimatu said.
The DENR chief urged everyone in the ASEAN “to protect the environment while we strive to strengthen the economic capacity of our region.”
“Let us be stewards of our natural resources and work on sustainable urbanization,” he stressed.
Research shows that urbanization is the major driver of the world’s changing climate brought about by global warming, Cimatu pointed out.
He noted that city dwellers worldwide consume 72 percent of energy from fossil fuels and contribute to emission of 80 percent of greenhouse gases (GHG), and that unsustainable practices in urban areas push the Earth beyond its ecological threshold such as change in land use, which leads to land degradation and biodiversity loss.
Cimatu also cited a 2015 study showing that cities and other urbanizing areas in Southeast Asia have urban “consuming class” of approximately 81 million households, which is likely to double in size to 163 million households by 2030.
This, he said, has implication of raising the city-based demand for consumable goods and services and demand for developed land for residential, commercial, institutional and other public use, and this could result in irreversible change in land use.
“The end result is an enormous increase in GHG emissions that further exacerbate climate change and its worldwide impacts,” Cimatu explained.
The forum was part of the 50th founding anniversary of the ASEAN, which is chaired by the Philippines this year. It brought together R&D practitioners from different research institutions, academe and private sector groups from ASEAN member countries and dialogue partners from South Korea, Australia and China. ###