By: AJ Rodriguez
Climate activism has been a buzzword for the past few years, especially after former US Vice President Al Gore’s speech about climate change and what he described as a “planetary emergency.” The conversation was put front and center for many world leaders and policymakers after the growing realization that there is a need for action to ensure a livable future.
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Here, in the Philippines, climate change has been felt for decades through the occurrence of massive floods to super typhoons, sinking lands, and storm surges. Climate change has been so pervasive in the minds of individuals that many are already using this as an argument against starting their own families and bringing kids into the world. Many express fear that increasing the world population will strain the world resources even further.
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However, some groups are pushing for a more thoughtful and systemic approach to addressing our climate change and environmental concerns. The Red Chronicles (TRC) got in touch with Ms. Patria Gwen Borcena, a Filipino sociologist specializing in social development and the environment. She is the founder of a think-tank, Greenresearch Environmental Research Group Inc., which focuses on sociological research and policy analysis on the Philippine environment. This type of approach relies more on the implications of the changes in the environment to social structures and community dynamics. Its mission is to develop creative, reflexive, action-oriented, and process-oriented knowledge products through the use of interdisciplinary perspectives and participatory approaches.
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Ms. Borcena has been a co-convenor or founder of a few environmental networks. She has been one of the key advocates in the Philippine environment and natural resources sector from civil society. She represented civil society in the Planning Committee for the environment chapter of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) during the Aquino and Duterte administrations. She also served as the environment representative in the United Nations Civil Society Advisory Committee (UNCSAC – Philippines).
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When asked what she considers as key issues we are currently facing on the environmental front, she shares, “I think we need to realize that environmental issues are primarily a political one since policies set the direction of the country in the conservation process. Climate activism is but one of the ways that we can push forward our environmental agenda. Recently, we convened Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and came up with a statement calling for a Pro-Filipino Climate and Environmental Agenda. It was launched back in February 2022. 125 CSOs signed the statement criticizing the neo-liberal policies directed toward the environment. These policies included profit-first, pro-exploitation policies that did not set sensible safeguards to protect our natural resources.” This was a reaction by the group towards government policies that seemed to give preference to capitalists, especially to mining companies, that allowed them to exploit the natural resources of the country unabatedly.
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She further adds, “Our group included the Church, NGOs, academic institutions, international organizations. We stressed a pro-green paradigm in policy-making. We also reviewed the policies of the candidates in the recent presidential elections – specifically, on mining, waste management, and protection of the seas, among others. We realized that we need to work more closely with our government and civil society if we want to expound on the conversation about the protection of our environment.”
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When asked what could be practical solutions in addressing these issues that were mentioned, she shared, “We can look at the encyclical of Pope Francis Laudato Si as a framework to continue the reforms and revolution in our social structures. We are also pushing for a shift of governmental priority from an excessive prioritization of a flawed economic development program towards a more sustainable development path. We are also pushing for a change of mindset of the people – that of having a sustainable mindset rather than profit first mindset. We should also go beyond ‘personalistic’ politics and shift towards a policy-based movement.”
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Finally, when asked on the potential contributions of law students and law practitioners to this effort to protect the environment, she replied, “I believe that law students and lawyers are in a very good position to effect changes in our environmental policies. Your many years of study will allow you to better understand the ills of our society – from crime to corruption to poverty, and in our case, environmental degradation and climate change. These things may seem too abstract or complex to be solved by a few people, but with the proper motivation and a collaborative mindset, I think we can achieve anything. History has taught us that most significant improvements in society are borne about by the willingness and drive of a small group of people to push for reforms. This started a domino effect because more and more people saw the benefits. I believe we still have hope despite what many people say. As long as some people continue to fight for worthwhile causes, then reforms will happen.”