The state of water resources in the Philippines - Greenpeace

health (for example, malignant tumors) generally occur only after extended
periods of exposure and are difficult to attribute accurately to specific
environmental or lifestyle factors.”
F. Efforts to address problems
Various efforts have been and are being undertaken to address the problems on
water pollution, especially chemical pollution.
Adoption of sustainable agriculture (SA) and/or organic agriculture (OA) is one of
the several efforts that have been and are being undertaken to address the
problems of chemical pollution. There is a common notion about sustainable
and/or organic agriculture – people generally say that it is the use of compost and
animal manure as organic fertilizers. However, the essence of OA is best
described by a farmer who has already established a real organic farm. For him,
organic farming focuses on process rather than product. Hence, an organic farm
is an outcome of several years of operating a farm plan designed to pursue
economic benefits while nurturing the farm’s natural resources (soil, water,
plants, animals, microorganisms) (UNESCAP, 2000).
SA / OA practitioners attest to experiencing various types of benefits from their
practice which include reduced cost of production with the decrease in the
volume of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides being used.
Environmental benefits include improvement of soil fertility, better soil quality,
conservation of soil and water, and enhanced biodiversity on the farm. These are
some of the benefits of operating an economically viable farm without being
dependent on synthetic agrochemicals. Health benefits from organic products
are also the reason why hospitals, medical practitioners, and health experts
recommend organic food.
Executive Order 481 or the "Promotion and Development of Organic Agriculture
in the Philippines was issued by Malacañang in December 2005, providing a
policy environment conducive for the implementation of organic agriculture
programs. In September 2006, the Department of Agriculture approved and
released the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) for this law.
Another approach to address pollution problems is the introduction of “pollution
prevention” and “waste minimization” practices. Traditionally, effluents and
emissions discharged by most manufacturing firms in the country into the air,
waterways, ground water and land are given end-of-pipe treatment characterized
by the collection of waste material, and applying treatments such as dilution,
detoxification, solidification, and in many cases, containment of the pollutants in
barrels and placing them in landfills (USAID, 2000). Projects such as the IEMP
or Industrial Environmental Management Project are designed to reduce pollution
at its source by improving “industrial housekeeping”, or changing industrial
production processes, and reducing and reclaiming industrial waste. These also
promote the adoption of cost-effective pollution abatement technologies.
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