Environment-a network of living and non-living entities

The 7 Seven Environmental Principles (Barry Commoner)

Everything is connected to everything else.
All forms of life are important
Everything must go somewhere
Ours is a finite earth
Nature knows best
Nature is beauty and we are steward of god’s creation
Everything changes
Ecosystem -is the basic functional unit of nature, interaction of the community living and the non-living
environment
Forest Ecosystems -Is a community of trees
Marginal Lands/Uplands -Public lands that are hilly to mountainous and Greater than 18% slope
Protected Areas- biologically important and are habitats or rare and endangered species. water shells,
endangered species
Freshwater and Wetlands - Areas of marsh, fen, peatland
Biological Diversity or Biodiversity - Is the variety of all life forms on Earth
Ecosystems diversity - Interdependence within species
Species diversity - Basic unit of biological classification
Genetic Diversity - Variation within specie
Natural resources- Renewable (forest), Non-renewable (minerals)
Linear change – evolution of species
Cyclical Change – influenced by time such as seasons
Random Change – eruption of Mt Pinatubo
Ecosystem - is the basic structural and functional unit of ecology
Structure - Composed of biotic and abiotic sub Components
Function - Energy exchange between living community and physical environment
Complexity – High levels of Biological integration
Interaction and interdependence – Change in one affects another
Temporal - Change overtime – Dynamic
ABIOTIC (non-living/physical) - The non-living elements such as sunlight, water, air
BIOTIC (living) - It includes three kinds of organisms such as primary producers
Primary producer – Green plants make use of sunlight
Consumers – They feed on autotrophs (plant) or other heterotrophs to obtain energy
Decomposers – Decomposers are reducer organisms such as bacteria or fungi.
Ecosystem functions -is the capacity of natural processes and components to provide goods and
services that may satisfy human needs either directly or indirectly
Primary functions of ecosystem
Regulatory functions – govern Climate, rainfall and life support systems.
Habitat functions – provide habitat for wild Plants and animals.
Production functions – supply food, fuel, fibres and fodder.
Information services – cover the beauty, inspiration and recreation that contribute to our spiritual
welfare
Philippines Is “biodiversity superstar”
ENVIRONMENT LAW -A collective term encompassing aspects of the law that provide protection to the
environment.
Air Quality- Air Quality laws protect the air from pollution and may include measures to protect the air
from things like ozone depletion.
Water Quality- They may also determine who can use water and how to handle potential problems like
treating waste water and managing surface runoff.
Waste Management- Municipal waste, hazardous substances and nuclear waste all fall in the category
of waste management.
Contaminant Cleanup- Not all environmental law focuses on preventing pollution. Laws may include
protocols for cleanup as well as civil and criminal punishment for polluters.
Chemical Safety- regulations manage things like pesticide use and chemicals in products like plastic
bottles.
Hunting and Fishing- Environmental laws may regulate and protect wildlife populations.
Polluter Pays principle - Fundamental allocation of costs but not automatically also as a principle of
allocation of responsibility
Principle of cooperation – Care of environment is a common task of both the state and citizens
Principle of prevention – The early application of measures founded on this principle is designed not
only to ward off danger and remove damage
Principle influencing environmental laws 1. Environmentalism 2. Ecology 3. Conservation 4.
Responsibility and sustainability
Areas of concern 1. Air quality and water - pesticides and hazardous chemicals. 2. Global climate change
- waste management and agriculture. 3. Agriculture - remediation of biodiversity and species
contaminated land protection. 4. biodiversity and species protection - management of public lands and
natural resources.
Pollution control - in environmental engineering, any of a variety of means employed to limit damage
done to the environment by the discharge of harmful substances and energies
Waste Management - Devoted to the presentation and discussion of information on solid waste
Contaminant Cleanup - When toxic materials like arsenic, petroleum, and dioxins get into soil and waste
Basel convention on the control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous wastes and their Disposal
(1992) 1.Generation and management 2. Trans-boundary movements 3. Disposal
UNFCCC and the Rio Convention - The UNFCCC is a “Rio Convention”, one of two opened for signature
at the “Rio Earth Summit” in 1992
Kyoto Protocol was adopted on 11 December 1997. Currently, there are 192 Parties to the Kyoto
Protocol.
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) - IUCN is a membership Union composed of both
government and civil society organizations
International Organization for Standards (ISO) - ISO is a private sector non-governmental organization
founded in Switzerland in 1847
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change? The UNFCCC entered Into force on 21
March 1994. Today, it has near-universal membership. The 197 countries that have ratified the
Convention are called Parties to the Convention. Preventing “dangerous” human interference with the
climate system is the ultimate aim of the UNFCCC.
RA. 7586 - An Act Providing for The Establishment and Management of National Integrated Protected
Areas System, Defining Its Scope and Coverage, And for Other Purposes. National Integrated Protected
Areas System (NIPAS)
RA. 11038 An Act Declaring Protected Areas and Providing for Their Management Also known as
“Expanded National Integrated protected Areas System Act of 2018”
GREEN LAWS- Laws specifically geared towards environmental conservation
PD. 705 Revised Forestry Code (1975)
EO. 23 Declaring A Moratorium on The Cutting and Harvesting of Timber in The Natural and Residual
Forests and Creating the Anti-Illegal Logging Task Force”
RA. 7586 National Integrated (NIPAS) Act (1992) – Protected Areas System It is hereby recognized that
these areas, although distinct in features, possess common ecological values that may be incorporated
into a holistic plan Representative of our natural heritage.
RA. 11038 Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System- Cognizant of the profound impact of
human activities on all components of the natural environment particularly the effect of increasing
population,
BLUE LAWS- Laws that enforced religious standards
RA. 8550 An act providing for the development, management and conservation of the fisheries and
aquatic resources, integrating all laws pertinent thereto, and for other purposes. Also known as the
Philippine fisheries Code of 1998
PD NO.1067 A decree instituting a water code
RA. 9275 An act providing for a comprehensive water quality management and for other purposes.
BROWN LAWS- legislation or regulations related to land use
RA. 9003 An Act providing for an ecological solid waste management program
RA. 6969 An Act to control toxic substances and hazardous and nuclear wastes
RA. 8749 An Act providing for a comprehensive air pollution control policy and for other purposes