Ondoy at Pepeng's Devastation: Part of a deeper disaster Bagong Alyansang Makabayan USA October 28, 2009

Outline Introduction Environmental Problems in the Philippines Climate Change Ondoy and Pepeng Conclusion

Man’s interaction with nature  Resources for the production of his needs Ffood, clothing, shelter  Tools, processes, technologies Man’s interaction with man  Relations with others  Dominance of a segment of society over others Our environment is interlinked

Advances and challenges Great and exciting advances – e.g. Information technology, automation, genetics and medicine Greatest challenges – Famine and hunger, rapid ecological destruction, breakdown of health systems, social decay and disintegration one billion people are hungry 160 million more malnourished every day world wide: 70,000 persons join hungry and starving masses

Deforestation FAO's State of the World's Forests 2007 reports world's net forest loss of 20,000 ha/day Phil. forest reduced from 70% (1909) to 18.3% (1999) Increased demand for cheap and plentiful wood in Europe, Japan and the US ¾ of world's commercial timber output is utilized by only ¼ of population

Spanish colonization (270,000 km 2 forest cover =90% of total land area) Brief history of logging in the Country

Mining Mining for export  Large scale plunder of the environment for larger profit Mine spills, acid mine drainage, no clean up of mining activities Large scale TNC plunder in mining is one of the main causes of environmental degradation in the country

8 Philippine mineral reserves 13 metallic ores  7.1 B MT 29 non-metallic  51 B MT Philippine production  Gold (2 nd )  Copper (3 rd ) COPPER4.8B MT limestone marble Non-metallic Metallic

9 State of the local mining industry Extractive Export-oriented Dominated by local and foreign mining elite Dependent on foreign capital and technologies

10 State of local mining industry Environmental Destruction  Export-oriented production lead to extract voluminous minerals to earn superprofit Liberalization of the Mining Industry  FTAA gives 100% ownership and control Trampling of People’s Rights and Welfare  Communities bear brunt of mining operations  Displacement and fear of their lives 23 Priority Mining Projects  Lafayette Mining Limited, Oxiana Mining Corp, Mining giants (BHP Billiton, Anglo American, Xstrata)‏

11 OPERATING MINES 2 Big mines: Victoria Gold Mine Padcal Copper Mine 4 Medium-scale nickel mines Rio Tuba Nickel Mine Cagdianao Nickel Mine Sigbanog Project of HMC Taganito Nickel Mine 3 Medium-scale chromite mines Masinloc Project of Benguet Corp., Omasdang Project of Crau Minerals Homonhon Project of Heritage Res. 5 medium-scale gold mines Canatuan Project of TVI Acupan SSM Operations of Benguet Diwalwal Direct State Development Project of NRDC Banahaw Gold Project of Philsaga Mining Corp. Johson Gold Mining Corp. in Panganiban 15 Cement plants and quarries

Water Only 2.53 % of world water is freshwater Asia has less than 36% of the world's water resources Almost in developing countries are exposed to polluted water sources Mega-dams, privatization

Pollution and water availability Oil spills: Petron  Guimaras, Visayas  Affected more than 10,000 fishermen and their families Rapu-rapu mine spill Drinking water  Costly, low pressure  Privatized

Pollution Large-scale factories remain top contributors of pollutants Underdeveloped countries become dumping grounds Obsolete and dirty technologies imported in the Philippines

Energy Mega-sale Expected foreign investments  P295 billion in investments  P177 billion potential investment in the renewable energy sector for EPIRA: IPPs, SPUG SPEX in Malampaya  45 % Shell, 45 % ChevronTexaco  10% to be sold

Petroleum Service Contracts: Sold/for sale Malampaya (Shell/Chevron Texaco)‏ Exxon Mobil in Mindanao, a consortium of BHP Billiton (Australia), Amerada Hess Ltd. (US), Unocal Sulu (US) Ltd. and Sandakan Oil II, LLC in the Sulu Sea Alcorn Gold Resources Corp., Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp. and PetroEnergy Resources Corp. in the East Visayan basin off Leyte island EF Durkee and Associates in the Cagayan Valley region (Piat-San Jose area) Laxmi Organic Industries Ltd. (India)‏ in the Mindoro- Cuyo basin west of Mindoro island in West Palawan (Ottoman Energy Ltd., Australasian Energy Ltd. and Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp) Nido Petroleum Philippines Ltd. off-Palawan off-Mindoro with Petronas Carigali Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp., Cagayan basin : Aragorn Power Corp., South Cebu : Phil-Mal Petroenergy Corp. Ottoman Energy Ltd. in Northewest Palawan.

Climate change Accelerated warming of surface due to human-related releases of greenhouses gases Projections of Surface Temperature Change

Accelerated temperature change 1900’s – hottest century 2005 and 1998 – hottest years; 1995 to 2006, (except 1996) = Top 12 hottest years since 1850 Increase in temperature in the last 50 years was 0.13 degrees centigrade/decade 0.75 degrees in the past century

Greenhouse Gases Carbon dioxide CO % second most common GHG. makes up about 25% of the natural greenhouse effect. Burning of oil and gas (for heat, transportation, industry), cement manufacturing, deforestation and other land uses. Also occurs naturally through photosynthesis, volcanoes, forest fires. Methane CH 4 - third most common GHG ; Oil and gas production, coal mining, rice paddies, dams, landfills. Occurs naturally as things decompose and from livestock digestion. Nitrous oxide N 2 O - Burning of oil, gas, coal, and wood, fertilizers, coal mining. Also occurs naturally. OTHERS: Water vapor, Sulfur hexafluoride SF 6, Perfluocarbons PFCs, Hydroflurocarbons HFCs

Adverse Impacts Agriculture Productivity in tropics/subtropics; food shortage Water Resources Water availability + quality; floods and droughts; hydropower sources People's Health Vector and water borne disease, heat stress, nutrition, EWE deaths Coastal Areas and Fisheries Species and Natural Areas Biodiversity loss Forest cover loss Human Displacement

Source: Science Magazine, Sep 16, 2005 Hurricanes/Typhoons (Category 4/5)

There’s a consistent 50-year upward trend in every region except Oceania. Changes in climate are already causing harm Major floods per decade,

Estimated mortality attributable to climate change

Top CO2 emissions United States and TNCs

GHGs in RP 1999, Philippines emitted 75,998,000 metric tons of CO2 or 0.3% of world total emission. From 1990 to 1999 our CO2 emission increased by 72%.

Developing countries are most vulnerable Impacts are worse  Low capacity to adapt  Lack of financial, institutional and technological capacity and access to knowledge Impact disproportionately upon the poorest countries and the poorest persons within countries  Exacerbating inequities in health status and access to adequate food, clean water and other resources.

The poor face greatest challenges from climate change 2 billion people in developing countries affected by climate related disaster in the 1990s. The rate has doubled this decade.

Asymmetric responsibility and vulnerability Inverse relationship between climate change vulnerability and responsibility Primary emitter countries must change their production activities and consumption of energy and seek sustainable solutions. Basic human needs, economic and social development need adequate energy and infrastructure.

Free-market globalization It is free market globalization that accelerated this to dangerous levels  Unbridled (anarchic) overproduction  Rapacious greed for resources  Wars of conquest and aggression

Carbon offset/CDM Carbon offset mechanisms shift out carbon mitigation and reduction out of industrialized countries towards developing countries. Distort development activities while keeping consumption and production activities of industrialized countries. Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) and carbon trading effectively marketize carbon emissions  Shuffles around responsibility to curb emissions.

The Philippines is often visited by storms and earthquakes We can prepare even if we cannot predict l USGS data

Typhoon Ondoy September 26, kph with gustiness of 100 kph Sa isang araw halos kalahating metro ang ulan (455 mm/24 hr)

Water discharge moved through Marikina river basin From Wawa to lower Marikina river (4-6 hours) [David et.al.] Figures from G. Tabios and

Figures from Google.com and Lagmay et.al.

Typhoon Pepeng (PARMA)

Pepeng made a turnaround

Large amount of rainfall over Pangasinan and Cordilleras

reliefweb.int pagasa.dost.gov.ph

Ambuklao Reservoir Oct San Roque Oct Binga Source: Rom Beltran, NPC

Bumalik na si Pepeng Dito pa lang naglabas ng tubig

AGNO RIVER IS ONE OF THE MAJOR RIVERS IN THE CORDILLERA REGION, which is very important to the life and culture of the ibalois and kankanaey indigenous peoples AMBUKLAO DAM WAS BUILT IN THE 50’s BINGA DAM WAS BUILT 60’s San Roque Dam is the 3 rd dam along the Agno river Construction begun in 1998 Impoundment of reservoir started in August 2002 Construction completed and became operational in May 2003 SAN ROQUE DAM Height: 220 meters Length: 1.13 km Reservoir capacity: 850 million cu,m. Surface area of reservoir: 12.8 km2

Purposes: Power generation: 345 megawatt: present level of power generation Irrigation: 7,800 hec Flood control Water quality improvement

Magkano? Sino may ari? Cost: US $1.2 billion  $ 800 loan ng may proyekto na may garatiya ng gobyerno  $ 400 loan ng gobyerno para subsidya  MAINLY FUNDED BY EXPORT CREDIT AGENCY (ECA) Ownership: Pribadong kumpanya (Marubeni/Kansai Electric)-100% foreign company

SRPC CONTRACT Power Purchase Agreement (PPA): BOT for 25 years National Power Corporation-NPC(government) needs to pay $9 to $10 mil / month to SRPC regardless of whether there is sufficient water available to generate power for 10 years No accountability of project proponents to environmental and social impacts Project proponent can pull out of the project if deem not commercially viable ** the contract guarantees return of investment and big profit, while environmental and social adverse impacts are not accounted for

Conclusions Hindi gumana ang San Roque Multipurpose Dam para pigilan ang baha  Magkaibang interes ng paggawa ng kuryente at labanan ang baha  Tama ang mga komunidad na para lamang sa tubo ang SRMP Questions: Mali ba ang pagpapalabas ng San Roque Multipurpose Dam noong Oct 6/7? Oo. Dapat mas maaga pa Palpak ang sistema sa evacuation at babala ng baha Pinapalala ng malalaking pagmimina sa itaas ng San Roque Multipurpose Dam na nagdulot naman ng mga landslides sa Benguet/Cordillera

People's Initiatives Community based disaster response Capacity building for vulnerable communities Work for social change – structural and systematic; towards a society where human rights, national patrimony, genuine land reform, and national industrialization is pursued

People's Initiatives Popularize and implement proper and sustainable use of our natural resources – in line with people's welfare and interests, proper technology, and mitigation measures Popularize correct perspective towards environmental issues – pro- people, patriotic, and scientific orientation Help communities cope and respond to environment

Alternatives to development Development for people's good not for profit Development not for the local partners of globalization but for grassroots benefit

Conclusions San Roque Multipurpose Dam failed as a flood management program  Opposing interest of power generation and flood management  Communities were right all along in saying that SRMP was a for-profit project Questions: Did San Roque Multipurpose Dam management failed to release water when they saw increasing water levels? Failure of flood warning and evacuation systems Situation is aggravated by siltation due to mining extraction activities in the catchbasin and the upstream dams which were old

Social vulnerability = Climate vulnerability Main environmental effects of imperialist plunder  Deforestation  Mining  Water  Pollution  Energy Poverty and underdevelopment  Lack of capacity to meet challenges of disasters  Lack of planning to mitigate disaster effects

Asymmetric responsibility and vulnerability Inverse relationship between climate change vulnerability and responsibility Primary emitter countries must change their production activities and consumption of energy and seek sustainable solutions. Basic human needs, economic and social development need adequate energy and infrastructure.

Imperialist plunder and climate change effects It is imperialist globalization that accelerated the rise of GHGs to dangerous levels  Unbridled (anarchic) overproduction  Rapacious greed for resources especially in neocolonies  Wars of conquest and aggression

Developing countries are most vulnerable Impacts are worse  Low capacity to adapt  Lack of financial, institutional and technological capacity and access to knowledge Impact disproportionately upon the poorest countries and the poorest persons within countries  Exacerbating inequities in health status and access to adequate food, clean water and other resources.

Environmental crisis The rapid destruction of the environment is a direct result of the rapid, unchecked appropriation of the world's resources for the benefit of a few. environmental plunder environmental destruction

Sakunang pinalala ng isang malakolonyal at malapyudal na lipunan

Bulnerabilidad dahil sa imperyalistang pandarambong at burukratang kapitalista

Ang pandarambong ng dayuhan ang may sala kasama ang kakuntsabang kumprador at PML