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6th National PHE Conference: Government Urged to Take Synergized PHE Approach to achieve SD Goals

Posted on November 8, 2016

Manila, Philippines (November 8, 2016) --- How many planet earths do we need to sustain the current world population?  Will there be enough water to drink? Food to eat? Or even land to cultivate and build communities on?

These are perhaps among the nagging questions that brought the 198 members of the United Nations (UN) to unanimously adopt the 15-year development agenda called, Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,   or simply the Sustainable Development Goals (SGD)

On Tuesday, the 6^th National Conference on Population, Health and Environment convenes to explore ways and means on how local development efforts can contribute to this transformation on this part of the world.

Anchored on the theme “Engaging the Government in Mainstreaming the PHE Approach Towards the Achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)” the conference re-introduces the synergized approach to Population, Health and Environment  (PHE) as a strategy in Philippine development efforts and calls on government to look at said strategy in translating such goals in the context of Philippine SDG Commitments.

Participants of the 6th PHE National Conference

FPE Executive Director Mr. Oliver Agoncillo welcomes participants and guests to the conference. 

Making the link in PHE for resiliency

“Much work had been done to address population, health and environment issues in the Philippines but still, there is much more to be done for a conscious effort at making the link and synergizing these efforts,” says FPE Executive Director Oliver Agoncillo, lead convener for said conference.

“Today, we go further, as we move from the agenda of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) to that of the SDG.  We aim for resiliency and inclusive development. But to achieve this, we need just as much to synchronize our own steps and advocate for policies in this direction to mainstream the PHE approach.”

Echoing an oft repeated line, PLCPD Executive Director Rom Dongeto reiterates, “Our problems are inter-connected and so should our solutions be.”

In stressing the need to make the synergize approach, Dr. Jeepy Perez, Executive Director of Commission on Population pointed out that even as the growth rate declined at 1.58 %, the world population is still so large at 102.2B and the increasing poverty level is also increasing pressures on the fisheries, forests, fresh water, and other natural resources that people depend upon for their livelihoods.

He also said that “High levels of consumption, waste, and environmental mismanagement can degrade the Earth’s natural systems and strain its ability to provide crucial environmental services—such as clean air and water—to the world’s population.”  This he said more than emphasize the interdependence of people and environment and their respective roles as driver and receptor.

Worth noting too are the other data gathered for the conference:  

• 7.5 billion – world population where over 25% is less than 15 years old (Population Reference Bureau, World Population Data Sheet)
• There is an average of 526 people per square kilometer of arable land. The number is 238 in more developed countries and 697 in less developed countries.
• Fertility rates in the Philippines remain above the ASEAN regional average.  Total fertility rate (national level) is currently 3.5, higher than most of the country's Southeast Asian neighbors.
• High rate is due in part to an unmet need for family planning: Approximately 17 percent of the country's married women either would like to wait before having more children or would prefer to have no more children, but aren't using traditional or modern methods of family planning.
• Almost one-half of the population of the Philippines now live in urban areas confronting serious urban issues—such as the management of waste, water and air quality, and access to adequate housing—has become a significant challenge in the National Capital Region (NCR)
• The most highly urbanized region in the country which is the National Capital Region has 18T persons/ sq km population density and 16 % of families lack access to safe water sources. 
• Human vulnerability to natural disasters is growing.
• Increasing population density and environmental degradation are accelerating vulnerability to disasters in the Philippines, as settlements encroach into disaster-prone areas.
• Nearly 90 percent of the country's mangroves have been cleared, eliminating natural barriers to coastal storms and flooding.
• The dramatic reduction in forest cover (only about 7 percent of the Philippines' original lowland forest cover remains, though reforestation efforts have increased forest cover in some provinces) contributes to the severity of flash floods and mudslides.
• 60 percent increase in annual carbon emissions between 1992 and 2013, to 9.8 billion metric tons. China posted the largest increase by volume over this period, from 735 million metric tons to 2.8 billion metric tons—which was eaths of newborns and under-fiealso the largest amount of any country in 2013.  Only 43 countries reduced their carbon emissions over the same period
• Only 18% of the world’s energy comes from renewable sources, which include hydroelectric power.

Government, development and CSO partners discuss the state of PHE from their sector's perspective. 

FPE Permanent Member, Dr. Paciencia P. Milan, shares to the media FPE's initiatives in mainstreaming PHE into its projects and programs.

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PHE Advocacy: Backgrounder

PHE advocacy in the Philippines started early 2000 when development organizations pioneered projects in coastal areas using the integrated PHE approach in addressing community issues that ranged from maternal and child health care, teen-age pregnancies, overfishing and degradation of marine resource, lack of alternative livelihood and lack of information on the whys and hows of coastal management, responsible parenting and health care, among others.

From these projects were drawn both best practices and hard learnings such that in 2004, PHE advocates convened for the 1^st PHE National Conference to share these experiences and to encourage both government and non-government organizations to look at the synergized PHE strategy as a framework in their development programs.

• This 1^st conference held in Antipolo City came out with a statement, the “Antipolo Declaration” which called for all sectors to include the academe, local and international government agencies, program managers and practitioners to make the PHE linkages and to recognize the interrelation of the natural resources, overall health and well-being to the pressures from the growing population.  Save the Children and the Philippine Legislators' Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD) were the lead organizers of this first national PHE Conference.
• The 2nd conference took place in 2006 in Cebu City and culminated with the issuance of the “Cebu Accord” and an Action Plan to implement PHE programs and policies through policy development, information, education and communication and research. The PHE Network was also formed constituting chapters from the National Capital Region, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Lead convener was the PLCPD supported with funds from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation (DLPF) and the Population Reference Bureau (PRB). Conference activities included an analysis of how indicators, trends and other forms of data can be used in policy and decision-making to achieve PHE goals and objectives. 
• The 3rd conference convened in 2008 in Tagaytay City spearheaded by Conservation International along with the PRB, DLPF David, Venture Strategies and Health Development, Philippine Tropical Forest Conservation Foundation, Inc. and the First Generation. The conference produced a document called the “Tagaytay Challenge” which urged the participants to scale up the integration of PHE as an approach to development through shared experiences, best practices and showcasing successful models. In this conference, skills building on climate change and sustainable financing tools were introduced.
• The 4th PHE Conference was convened by the Family Planning Organization of the Philippines in General Santos City in 2012 and aligned with the national priority thrust on climate change guided by the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) which has focused on the development at the community level through the local government units. In a recent Summit among local government units, climate change adaptation was acknowledged to be of utmost priority. Further, the Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016 also highlighted the country’s response to address climate change issues.  The GenSAn Kapamagayon was issued during the conference.
• The 5^th PHE Conference was held in Baguio City in 2014 and focused on mainstreaming PHE integrated programming as a strategy towards the achievement of inclusive growth.  The activity served to explore possible approaches that could be adopted by the national and local governments in minimizing the risks among communities and households from the impacts of climate change and the grave economic consequences of disasters on specific development goals of the country and how various stakeholders can efficiently address these challenges.  The Baguio Tulagan was the name of the PHE document issued in this conference.

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For the 6^th PHE National Conference, some 200 participants from all over the country are expected to attend coming from both government and non-government organizations.  This year’s convener is the Foundation for Philippine Environment.
 

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Conference photos and presentations may be downloaded through this link: 6^th PHE National Conference