Policies on Environmental Protection and Agriculture

The Rio Earth Summit

Summary of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
From 3-14 June 1992, Rio de Janeiro hosted the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development (UNCED). The focus of this conference was the state of the global
environment and the relationship between economics, science and the environment in a political
context. The conference concluded with the Earth Summit, at which leaders of 105 nations
gathered to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable development.
History of the Summit
In 1972, Stockholm, Sweden, hosted the first United Nations Conference on the Human
Environment, which was attended by 113 delegates and two heads of state (Olaf Palme of Sweden
and Indira Gandhi of India). This conference raised a generation’s awareness of an issue, the
global environment. The Stockholm conference secured a permanent place for the environment
on the world’s agenda and led to the establishment of the United Nation’s Environment Program
(UNEP). The conference made known the international nature of the environment and introduced
the idea of the relationship between development and the environment. It is with this premise
that having a common enemy, environmental degradation, and the countries of the world will
unite to face this common enemy.
Since the 1972 conference, there have been many international environmental agreements,
a number of which have been ratified by Canada. These include the 1978 Great Lakes Water
Quality Agreement; the 1979 Geneva Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution;
the 1985 Helinski Agreement (a 21-nation commitment to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions); the
1988 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer; and the 1989 Basel
Convention on Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes. It was this kind of international
cooperation that the 1992 Rio Conference sought, but on a larger scale.
In 1983, the UN General Assembly set up the World Commission on Environment and
Development, known as the Brundtland Commission after its chairperson, Norwegian Prime
Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland. The Brundtland report, published in 1987 as Our Common
Future, declared that the time had come for the marriage between the environment and the
economy and used the term “sustainable development” as the way to ensure that economic
development would not endanger the ability of future generations to enjoy the fruits of the earth.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

The objective of this convention is to achieve stabilization of greenhouse gas
concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic
interference with the climate system. Such a level should be achieved within a time frame
sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production
is not threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner.
The main principles of this convention state that the developed world must lead in
combating climate change and its adverse effects. Canada could be a leader in achieving the
commitments of the convention by reducing greenhouse gas emissions to the 1990 level by the
year 2000. It should be noted that the convention principles state that “any policies and measures
to deal with climate change should be cost effective so as to ensure global benefits at the lowest
possible cost.”
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that if present emission
trends for greenhouse gases continue, the average global temperature will increase by 1.5-4.5°C
by the middle of next century. The discussions on climate change took place from February 1991
to May 1992 and concluded with a framework convention agreed to by more than 130 countries.
The key elements of the convention are:
1. New and additional financial resources to meet convention goals.
2. Promotion of transfer of technology to developing countries.
3. Develop an institutional mechanism to enable the international community to manage the
climate change problem over the long term, working with the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change.
There were limitations to the agreement in this convention:
1. The Convention on Climate Change lacked the targets and timetables for stabilizing
emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) that had been desired by most industrial nations.
2. It contains only guidelines and the target dates are “as soon as possible”.
On the twentieth anniversary of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment,
representatives from 178 nations, non-governmental agencies (NGOs) and other interested
parties met in Rio de Janeiro to discuss global environmental issues that would become central to
policy implementation. The conference sought agreement on concrete measures to reconcile
economic activities with protection of the planet to ensure a sustainable future for all people. The
first UN Conference on Environment and Development – UNCED for short, but better known as
the “Earth Summit” after its final three days – was the culmination of two and one-half years of
world-wide consultation that demonstrates the best intentions of the human race to live
responsibly.
UNCED addressed environmental issues, such as the protection of air, land and water,
conservation of biological diversity, forests, and natural resources; and sound management of
wastes and technology. It was a unique opportunity for world leaders to curtail the human
activities that are threatening our planet. Human activities such as pollution of land, ocean and
atmosphere, drought, desertification through land degradation, thinning of the ozone layer,
global warming and the threat of rising sea level, and the extinction of plant and animal species.
Also included were the concerns that have led to serious differences between countries of
the North and South: patterns of development that cause stress to the environment, poverty in
developing countries, economic growth, unsustainable patterns of consumption, and
demographic pressures and their impact on the international economy.
At UNCED, more than 130 nations signed a Convention of Climate Change and a
Convention of Biodiversity. The delegates also reached agreement on Agenda 21, an action plan
for developing the planet sustainably through the twenty-first century, and a statement of
principles of protecting forests. All nations present accepted without change the Rio Declaration
statement of broad principles for environmental policy.
The UNCED negotiation came to an agreement that industrialized nations should pay for
the environmental protection since they are the ones that is the source of the pollutants and not
the developing nations.
 AGENDA 21
Agenda 21 is an environmental action plan for the next century. It forms the basis for a
new international partnership for sustainable development and environmental protection
worldwide.
Agenda 21 was the major document coming out of Rio and deals with some of the
fundamental problems of resource degradation and aid to the developing world. It addresses
issues on global sustainability including financing, the implementation of technology transfer
and institutional follow-up to UNCED.
Agenda 21 primary goal is to ensure that development proceeds to a sustainable manner:
“the system of incentives and penalties which motivate economic behavior must be reoriented to
become a strong force for sustainability”. Another goal is ultimately to eliminate poverty
throughout the world through better management of energy and natural resources and
improvement of the quality of life by ensuring access to shelter and clean water, sewage and solid
waste treatment.
Agenda 21 attempts to achieve the sustainable use of global and regional resources such
as atmosphere, oceans, seas, and freshwater and marine organisms. The final goal is for improved
management of chemicals and wastes.
Agenda 21 addresses all groups and professions involved in the achievement of its goals.
There were issues not agreed upon before the conference. There were forest protection,
desertification, and financing. The overseer in the implementation of Agenda 21 was also an issue
not agreed upon by the conference.
Lastly, the use of environmental destruction as a weapon of war was not examined, nor
was the need for more open trade and its environmental and developmental impacts.
PHILIPPINE AGENDA 21
Philippine Agenda 21 is the nation’s blueprint for sustainable development. It is an action
plan for each ecosystem (coastal/marine, freshwater, upland, lowland and urban); and across
therein. The path is grounded on respect and active advocacy for the empowerment of the various
social groupings of society to manage the economy, critical resources, society and culture, politics
and governance and in the arena of foreign relations.
Philippine Agenda 21 advocates a fundamental shift in development approach. It departs
from traditional conceptual frameworks that emphasize sector-based and macro concerns.
Philippine Agenda 21 promotes harmony and achieves sustainability by the following
approaches:
• A scale of intervention that is primarily area-based. The national and global policy
environment builds upon and supports area-based initiatives.
• Integrated island development approaches where applicable. This recognizes the archipelagic
character of the Philippines which includes many small island provinces.
• People and integrity of the nature at the center of development initiatives. This implies
strengthening the roles, relationships, and interactions between and among stakeholders in
government, civil society, labor and business. Basic sectors have an important role to play in
achieving equity and managing the ecosystems that sustains life.
Philippine Agenda 21 envisions a better quality of life for all Filipinos through the
development of a just, moral, creative, spiritual, economically vibrant, caring and diverse yet
cohesive society characterized by appropriate productivity, participatory and democratic
processes, and living in harmony and within the limits of the carrying capacity of nature and the
integrity of creation.
Philippine Agenda 21 was adopted on 26 September 1996 with the issuance of
Memorandum Order No. 399 by then President Fidel V. Ramos which identified the roles of the
Philippine Council for Sustainable Development (PSCD) and each sector in the operationalization
of PA 21. The action agenda is based on the imperatives of the current national situation and
emerging landscape for sustainable development.
Philippine Agenda 21 is a dynamic document that will continue to evolve as new
challenges and opportunities emerge, as the level of consensus continue to deepen in the
Philippine society, as the Filipinos attempt to solidify the framework. The government continues
to refine the processes, and as the Filipinos strive to widen and enrich their understanding of each
other to pave the way for new modes of collaboration.
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION—GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS AND
TRADE (WTO—GATT)
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was signed in 1947, is a multilateral
agreement regulating trade among 150 countries. The purpose of the GATT is the “substantial
reduction of tariffs and other trade barriers and the elimination of preferences, on a reciprocal
and mutually advantageous basis”.
The GATT functioned de facto as an organization, conducting eight rounds of talks
addressing various trade issues and resolving international trade disputes. The Uruguay Round,
which was completed on December 15, 1993 after seven years of negotiations, resulted in an
agreement among 117 countries (including the U.S.) to reduce trade barriers and to create more
comprehensive and enforceable world trade rules. The agreement coming out of this round, the
Final Act embodying the results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations was
signed in April 1994. The Uruguay Round agreement was approved and implemented by the U.S.
Congress in December 1994 and went into effect in January 1, 1995.
This agreement also created the World Trade Organization (WTO) which came into being
on January 1, 1995. The WTO implements the agreement, provides a forum for negotiating
additional reductions of trade barriers and for settling policy disputes and enforces trade rules.
The WTO launched the ninth round of multilateral trade negotiations under the “Doha
Development Agenda” (DDA or Doha Round) in 2001. “Doha Development Agenda:
Negotiations, Implementations and Developments” provide information about the Doha Round.

Philippine Government Regulations on Fertilizer and Pesticide Use

1. RA 10068 (Philippine Organic Agriculture Act)
An act which prohibits the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticide use.
2. RA 2145 (Quarantine Law)
Prevention on the entry and spread out of pests and diseases.
3. PD 1144 (Act that creates the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority)
The act which provides that NO pesticides and fertilizers should be exported, manufactured, or formulated,
stored, distributed, sold or offered for sale, transported or delivered or used unless it has been duly registered
with the FPA. All fertilizers and pesticides should be registered to the FPA.
 Philippine Government Codes and Regulations on Environment Hazards

1. PD 1152 (Philippine Environment Code)

The Philippine Environmental Code is a body of laws setting forth management policies and prescribing
quality standards for the environment in its totality. It provides a comprehensive program of environmental
protection and management. The Code established specific environment management policies and
prescribes environmental quality standards. To achieve and maintain such levels of air quality as to protect
public health and to prevent to the greatest extent practicable, injury and/or damage to plant and animal
life and property, and promote the social and economic development of the country.
2. RA 8749 (Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999)
The Clean Air Act outlines the government’s measures to reduce air pollution and incorporate
environmental protection into its development plans. It relies heavily on the polluter pays principle and
other market-based instruments to promote self-regulation among the population. It sets emission
standards for all motor vehicles and issues registration only upon demonstration of compliance. It also
issues pollutant limitations for industry. It also establishes a R&D program for air pollution reduction
mechanisms and technologies. It bans incineration and smoking in public places. At the local and municipal
levels, governments are allowed to set emission quotas by pollution source, and the development of recycling
programs is encouraged.
3. RA 9003 (Philippine Ecological and Solid Waste Management Act of 2000)
The Act provides a systematic, comprehensive, and ecological solid waste management program in the
country.
4. RA 9275 (Clean Water Act of 2004)
The Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 aims to protect the country’s water bodies from pollution from
land-based sources (industries and commercial establishments, agriculture and community/household
activities). It provides for a comprehensive and integrated strategy to prevent and minimize pollution
through a multi-sectoral and participatory approach involving all the stakeholders
5. RA 9729 (Climate Change Act of 2009)
Primarily conceived as the country’s response to the worldwide phenomenon on climate change. The Act
allowed mainstreaming of climate change into government formulation of programs and projects, plans
and strategies, and policies, creation of Climate Change Commission, and establishment of Framework
Strategy and Program for climate change. The law serves as an action plan that lays out the strategies,
initiatives, and activities to prepare the country to the inevitable effects of climate change. Both the
identified mitigation and adaptation strategies aimed to build a more climate-risk resilient Philippines. In
the end, achieving the goals of the plans as stipulated in R.A. 9729 is deemed attainable with the support
and assistance of all stakeholders to include among others the national and local government units, the
private sector, the NGOs, and the local communities.