Frontline Solutions to the Climate Crises: How communities adapt, respond and fight climate change.
The Center for Environmental Concerns Philippines co-sponsored and participated in a side event at COP 27 in Egypt last November 16, 2022.
About the event: As temperatures rise, water scarcity pursues, food chains break, and storm systems strengthen, a concerted effort among frontline peasant farmers, fisherfolk, indigenous peoples, and environmental justice communities is reshaping the landscape of climate solutions at the local and regional level.
This side event brought together frontline environmental defenders to share their initiatives in addressing the climate crisis.
Watch the video recording here: https://youtu.be/xxBumOmQCMg
Here are the transcriptions and translations of the statements of the Center for Environmental Concerns Philippines at the side event:
Introduksyon:
English: “Thank you. Hello. Good afternoon, everyone. I am Lia Mai Torres from the Center for Environmental Concerns Philippines. It’s a nonprofit, non-government organization focusing on environmental research, education and advocacy work, working closely with local communities around the Philippines. I am also part of the Secretariat of the Asia-Pacific Network of Environmental Defenders. It is a solidarity campaign network of organizations working for environmental rights and the defense of environmental defenders. Thank you.”
Filipino: “Salamat. Magandang hapon sa lahat. Ako si Lia Mai Torres mula sa Center for Environmental Concerns Philippines. Ito ay isang nonprofit, non-government organization na tumutuon sa pananaliksik sa kalikasan, edukasyon at adbokasiya, at nakikipagtulungan sa mga lokal na komunidad sa buong Pilipinas. Bahagi rin ako ng Secretariat ng Asia-Pacific Network of Environmental Defenders. Ito ay isang network ng kampanya ng pagkakaisa ng mga organisasyong nagtatrabaho para sa mga karapatan ng kalikasan at sa depensa ng mga tagapagtanggol ng kalikasan. Salamat.”
Pagbabahagi ng kasalukuyang sitwasyon at ang mga gawain ng organisasyon:
English: “Okay. So for us in the Philippines, it is the local communities that hold the solution when it comes to climate change adaptation and mitigation. And what we would like to expose now is the false solutions that are being brandished by our government. We are a signatory to the Paris Agreement, and our president is newly elected. He has made broad and bold pronouncements on climate change action. He is the son of the late dictator Marcos Sr., and he is trying to push forward policies and projects that were done by his father. But now we think that the government’s targets to achieve renewable energy and see a decline, to curb carbon emissions or other greenhouse gas emissions cannot be achieved at the pace that is happening now.
We already have a renewable energy act, but it has a limited definition and does not include actually human rights in the process of transitioning to renewable energy and does not take away the dependence on coal-fired power plants. We have seen many communities exposing these false climate solutions, such as mega-dams being harassed and attacked because of their work. So an example is the Kaliwa Dam which is funded by the Chinese government, and it is seen to have grave impacts on the environment, causing local extinction of aquatic species and also causing displacement of Dumagat-Remontado indigenous people. But then again, it is still being pushed because of the loans. They say it will bring about money, but then again, we believe that that is not the case, and many Indigenous people have already been killed in the past decades because of their opposition to the dam. There is also a practice of the government called red-tagging, where they call indigenous people and other environmental advocates terrorists and communists. They use it to justify further attacks criminalization, arrests, harassment and intimidation. And it doesn’t happen only on that site.
Just recently, in Laguna, in the Ahunan Pumped Hydropower plant project, a 69 year old woman (Daisy Macapanpan) who was a leader in the community and opposed the project was dragged from her home and arrested. Authorities said that she was a terrorist and a communist. She was charged with rebellion. So we think that one of the gravest threats now is the attacks on environmental defenders, even though they present viable solutions like micro hydro and not really these mega-dams that the government would want.
So we have continuously talked to them to develop their definition for what kind of energy sector they would like. And we said that renewable energy is not enough. We have to have just and sustainable energy. And this means that having developed renewable energy but ensuring that human rights are upheld, there is no development aggression, and nobody gets killed in the process. Indigenous people in other residents of local communities are not displaced by these renewable energy projects. And we believe that for this to continue, it should not only be for profit but for the actual benefit of the local communities, including giving them jobs and the energy they benefit from. It should not only go to the capitalists. So that’s for a case in the Philippines.”
Filipino: “Sa Pilipinas, ang mga lokal na komunidad ang may hawak ng solusyon pagdating sa adaptation (pagangkop) at mitigation (pagpapagaan) sa pagbabago ng klima. At ang gusto naming ilantad ngayon ay ang mga maling solusyon na minumungkahi ng aming gobyerno. Bilang konteksto, kami ay isang lumagda sa Paris Agreement, at ang aming bagong halal na pangulo ay anak ng yumaong diktador na si Ferdinand Marcos Sr. Nagsabi na siya ng malawak at matatapang na mga pahayag tungkol sa pagkilos sa pagbabago ng klima at sinusubukan niyang isulong ang mga patakaran at proyekto na ginawa ng kanyang ama. Ngunit ang iniisip namin na ang mga target o ambisyon ng gobyerno na makamit ang renewable energy at makakita ng pagbaba at pigilan ang carbon emissions o iba pang greenhouse gas emissions ay hindi makakamit sa bilis na nangyayari ngayon.
Mayroon na kaming renewable energy act, ngunit ito ay may limitadong kahulugan at hindi kasama ang aktwal na karapatang pantao sa proseso ng paglipat sa renewable energy at hindi ito pinipigilan ang lubos na paggamit ng mga coal-fired power plant. Nakita namin ang maraming komunidad na inilalantad ang mga maling solusyon sa klima na ito, tulad ng mga mega-dam na kung saan hina-harass at inaatake sila dahil sa kanilang trabaho. Ang isang halimbawa ay ang Kaliwa Dam na pinondohan ng gobyerno ng China (Tsina), at ito ay may malubhang epekto sa kapaligiran, na nagiging sanhi ng pagkamatay ng mga aquatic species (hayop sa dagat) at nagdulot din ng pagsira ng mga tahanan ng mga katutubo ng Dumagat-Remontado. Ngunit, ito ay itinutulak pa rin dahil sa laki ng inutangan. Magdadala daw ito ng pera, pero naniniwala kami na hindi iyan totoo at marami nang mga katutubo ang pinatay sa nakalipas na ilang dekada dahil sa kanilang pagtutol sa proyekto na ito. Mayroon ding kaugalian ng gobyerno na tinatawag na red-tagging, kung saan tinatawag nilang mga terorista at komunista ang mga katutubo at iba pang environmental advocates. Ginagamit nila ito upang bigyang-katwiran ang mga karagdagang pag-atake, kriminalisasyon, pag-aresto, panliligalig at pananakot. At hindi lang sa lugar na iyon nangyayari.
Kamakailan lamang, sa Laguna, sa proyekto ng Ahunan Pumped Hydropower plant, isang 69 taong gulang na babae (Daisy Macapanpan) na isang lider sa komunidad at sumalungat sa proyekto ay kinaladkad mula sa kanyang tahanan at inaresto. Sinabi ng mga awtoridad na siya ay isang terorista at isang komunista. Kinasuhan siya ng rebelyon. Kaya para sa namin, ang isa sa pinakamatinding banta ngayon ay ang mga pag-atake sa mga tagapagtanggol ng kalikasan, kahit na nagpapakita sila ng mga praktikal na solusyon tulad ng micro hydro at hindi talaga ang mga mega-dam na gusto ng gobyerno.
Kaya tuloy-tuloy ang pakikipag-usap namin sa kanila para makabuo nang maayos na depinisyon para sa kung anong uri ng sektor ng enerhiya ang gusto nila. At sinabi namin na ang renewable energy ay hindi sapat. Kailangan nating magkaroon ng makatarungan at napapanatiling enerhiya. At nangangahulugan ito na dapat magkaroon ng renewable energy na pinatitiyak ang mga karapatang pantao, walang agresibong pagpapatupad ng mga proyekto (development aggression), at walang mamamatay sa proseso. Ang mga katutubo ay dapat hindi nawawalan ng tahanan sa mga proyektong ito. At naniniwala kami na para ito ay magpatuloy, hindi lamang dapat para sa tubo kundi para sa aktwal na benepisyo ng mga lokal na komunidad, kabilang na din ang pagbibigay sa kanila ng trabaho at enerhiya na sila ay makikinabang. Hindi lang dapat ito mapunta sa mga kapitalista.”
Click this link to the complete transcription and translations of the entire side event: http://bitly.ws/xkaK
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