WHO HAS the jurisdiction over the use of non-biodegradable materials in consumer packaging?
Is it the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), or is it the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)? Or is it neither?
I know that there is no such thing as a “packaging police”, but in the absence of that, who is watching over all manufacturers as they use too much pollutant materials in their packaging, such as plastics?
While some might say that common sense is no longer common nowadays, I think that most of us could tell with just one look that many consumer products are overpackaged, with overkill plastics, so to speak.
It really does not make sense, because the manufacturers could actually save money by decreasing the packaging overload, but why are they still doing it?
While there is possibly still a gray area as to who has the real jurisdiction between the DTI and the DENR, there is a chance that it could be a shared responsibility between the Bureau of Philippine Standards (BPS) under the DTI, and the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the DENR.
It seems that the BPS can approve the products before these are released to the market, and the EMB can check for violations.
There is really nothing wrong with overkill packaging, for as long as the materials used are biodegradable. However, there is a caveat to that, because the more overkill, the more the carbon footprint is created. Eventually, the consumers will decide what products they will buy.
NATIONAL MANGROVE MAP
Why in the world would Indonesia create a National Mangrove Map (NMM) and why in the world is the Philippines not creating its own?
The Indonesian NMM was created by their Ministry of the Environment which gives us a clue that it should be our own Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) that should be creating it too. Not that we wish to be known as copycats, but what is wrong with that, if it is for the good of Mother Earth and for the good of the environment?
And if you know what good mangrove forests could do, you will be convinced that it is also for the common good, not only for our country, but also for the whole world.
If you could take the time to check online about what is going on around the world, you will find out that most countries around us already have one form of mangrove restoration and conservation here and there.
In fairness, there are some nongovernment organizations that are planting mangroves here and there, but it is not clear what the DENR is doing anywhere.
So why does Indonesia even bother to create an NMM? Do they know something that we don’t?
Surely, it’s no top secret that mangroves are not only good for disaster risk reduction, it is also good for food production, because mangroves bring back the planktons that attract not only fish, but also crabs and shrimps.
To be clear, I am not just talking about planting a few mangrove trees. I am talking about mangrove forests./PN
