Research and Studies

With the situation of destruction resulting from mining activities, this is an appeal to our Philippine government to see and realize that mining our fragile island ecosystems is an injustice to the local communities of the Philippines. Metals can be recycled and countries of the world have been doing that. There are also alternatives to generating revenues for the government and the people without destroying the natural resources and these are specifically ecotourism, sustainable agriculture and sustainable fishery resources. These three commendable livelihoods give more revenues than mining activities under the mining act of 1995. These sustainable livelihoods are all anchored on the conservation of biodiversity, hence ensuring the sustainability of the islands for the present and future generations.

(Note: This paper is written by Dr. Emelina G. Regis, Director of the Institute for Environmental Conservation and Research (INECAR) of Ateneo de Naga University, The Philippines.)