Rizal Memorial Colleges- School of Law

Environmental and Natural Resources Law

Dean Antonio La Viña

Reflection Paper On:

“HOW LAW CAN HELP ADDRESS ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS, ESPECIALLY
CLIMATE CHANGE:

Submitted by:
Johayr, Salman M.

July 2021
 Environment has been and will always be part of human lives. Whether we
like it or not, it will affect us in many ways that is why no wonder, laws for
environmental protection are proliferating not only domestically but across the
globe. As mentioned by Pope Francis in his encyclical, the protection of the
environment is in fact “an integral part of the development process and cannot be
considered in isolation from it”. We urgently need a humanism capable of bringing
together the different fields of knowledge, including economics, in the service of a
more integral and integrating vision. Today, the analysis of environmental
problems cannot be separated from the analysis of human, family, work-related
and urban contexts, nor from how individuals relate to themselves, which leads in
turn to how they relate to others and to the environment. There is an interrelation
between ecosystems and between the various spheres of social interaction,
demonstrating yet again that “the whole is greater than the part”.

We have to remember that laws are important in general. A society without

laws would have no way to solve the issues which arrive within their collective
arrangement. That is because such a society would neither have a legislative branch
nor a judiciary branch. The purpose of legislation is to either restrict or promote a
set of habits within society. We accept an official body to determine our standards
of acceptability. As a result, we have a sovereign body or a set of rules to appeal to,
of which can manifest in either procedural, remedial, or protective regulations. This
allows for us to assign legally ordained interpreters of the law, known as judges and
lawyers. In addition, the purpose of the judiciary is to interpret law and resolve
issues amongst citizenry, especially in cases which require an administration of
punishment or allocation of resources. Typically a judicial system would hold trial
and appellate courts. Hence, life without laws would have a great deal of
uncertainty around social issues. The law would not be around to authoritatively
end contentious issues which arise from the relativity of social customs. That is
why, laws are important for the progress of society. The laws of society progress
society by solving the problem of stasis; when a social-ill arises, we can bring it to
the attention of the courts, who have been delegated the responsibility of
maintaining social order. We would not have to wait for cultural beliefs to change.
Now, one of the issues being faced by the world now is environmental problems
such as but not limited to global warming and climate change. Thus, it should be
noted that Environmental issues are a matter of concern these days. With the rise
of pollution levels and depletion of the ozone layer, all the countries in the world
are concerned about the environment. This is mainly because environmental
degradation threatens the existence of humankind. Previously, no one even
bothered to care about the environment. People were careless about their
surroundings. But now, with rising awareness, some of them have become more
cautious. Before or years before, environmental issues were not a matter of
concern. People were not aware of the grave implications of environmental
degradation. Lack of awareness leads to more damage to the environment. With
the rise of the internet, everyone is aware of environmental issues today. Not all of
them understand the deeper meaning of each one of those issues. However, given
the state of the earth, people realize that all is not well.

There is a way in which every person cares for the environment. Some people
respect it. Some try to nurture it. The crucial issues related to the situation today
are mainly global warming, greenhouse effect, and climate change. Global warming
is the increase in temperature of the earth due to the overconsumption of
resources. It leads to other environmental issues like changes in temperature, soil
erosion, and abnormal rainfall. Global warming can be tackled through control of
pollution levels, lower vehicular emissions, and a person’s carbon footprint. On the
other hand, the green-house effect is named after the greenhouse arrangement.
Such an arrangement is usually made for the growth of plants. It consists of a non-
permanent structure with sturdy enclosures. The green-house effect refers to the
rise in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We all know that human beings take in
oxygen and give out carbon dioxide. Similarly, plants take in carbon dioxide and
give out oxygen. Rapid deforestation leads to a reduction in the number of trees
and plants in the environment. Therefore there are very few plants to take in the
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We must remember that humans are not the
only source of carbon dioxide. In addition, climate change is the global
phenomenon of climate transformation characterized by the changes in the usual
climate of the planet (regarding temperature, precipitation, and wind) that are
especially caused by human activities. As a result of unbalancing the weather of
Earth, the sustainability of the planet’s ecosystems is under threat, as well as the
future of humankind and the estability of the global economy. Thus, The definition
of climate change makes it clear that climate change affects human lives slowly.
This includes a change in climatic patterns and behavior that can affect the human
settlement. Climate change is a problem that has both the elements of global
warming and the greenhouse effect. It is expected to cause massive scale
displacement in the coming years.

Environmental issues are not given much importance in most countries. A few
exceptions are countries like Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, which gives equal
importance to environmental problems. The present state of the earth requires
each one of us to take the environment and issues related to it seriously. Most of
us, however, do not do so. This is because the results of environmental damage are
often not felt by us. These results are usually small in magnitude. That is why, laws
should be made and implemented in the world to resolve problems in relation to
the environment. The effects of environmental degradation can be harmful and
longstanding after a point of time. The negligence of the environment can be traced
through our practices. Even with rising levels of pollution, erratic rainfall, and
erosion of the topsoil, none of us are bothered. The efficacy of a country’s
environmental protection law reflects that country’s attitude towards the
environment. For instance, in most African countries, laws related to the
environment are feeble. In comparison to that in most Scandinavian countries have
robust environmental laws. The major environmental issues of the world today are
global warming, green-house effect, and climate change. The reasons behind the
problems are mostly related to the grave amount of neglect and intolerance of
humans towards the environment. In the Philippines, it is undergoing much
environmental degradation—mainly in the form of deforestation, soil erosion,
disruption of hydrological systems, over-exploitation of fisheries, destruction of
coral reefs, and extinction of species. That is why, According to Cali (2010), Laws on
Environmental Protection are important since it has a significant effect on human
health, well-being of humans, and to the ecosystem. Due to the importance of
environmental protection to human lives, it is expected that even at the smallest
unit of the government of every state has policy implementation when it comes to
the protection of the environment.
 International Environmental Law (IEL) is concerned with the attempt to
control pollution and the depletion of natural resources within a framework of
sustainable development. It is a branch of public international law - a body of law
created by states for states to govern problems that arise between states. IEL
covers topics such as population, biodiversity, climate change, ozone depletion,
toxic and hazardous substances, air, land, sea and transboundary water pollution,
conservation of marine resources, desertification, and nuclear damage. There are
two major declarations on international environmental law, to wit: The Declaration
of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, wherein,this
declaration represented a first major attempt at considering the global human
impact on the environment, and an international attempt to address the challenge
of preserving and enhancing the human environment. The Stockholm Declaration
espouses mostly broad environmental policy goals and objectives rather than
detailed normative positions. The UN website provides introductory information,
procedural history and preparatory documents associated with the Declaration, as
well as the full text of the Declaration. And second, The Rio Declaration on
Environment and Development which was a short document produced at the 1992
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), known as
the Rio Earth Summit. The Rio Declaration consists of 27 principles intended to
guide future sustainable development around the world.

In the Philippines, the Philippine Government has upheld numerous laws for
environmental protection not only to follow the international law but as well as for
the country’s own benefit. The major environmental laws in the Philippines are the
following but not limited to: (1) Republic Act of 9003 Ecological Solid Waste
Management Act of 2000 which ensures the protection of public health and
environment through the proper segregation and disposal of the wastes; (2)
Republic Act 9275 Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 which ensures the protection
of the water bodies in the Philippines from pollution.; (3) Republic Act 8749
Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999 which ensures the maintenance of clean air within
the standards of the National Air Quality while minimizing the impact to the
Philippine economy; (4) REPUBLIC ACT 6969 TOXIC SUBSTANCES, HAZARDOUS AND
NUCLEAR WASTE CONTROL ACT OF 1990 aims to regulate restrict or prohibit the
importation, manufacture, processing, sale, distribution, use and disposal of
chemical substances and mixtures the present unreasonable risk to human health.
It likewise prohibits the entry, even in transit, of hazardous and nuclear wastes and
their disposal into the Philippine territorial limits for whatever purpose; and to
provide advancement and facilitate research and studies on toxic chemicals; (5)
PRESIDENTIAL DECREE 1586 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (EIS)
STATEMENT OF 1978 which facilitates the attainment and maintenance of rational
and orderly balance between socio-economic development and environmental
protection.

However, laws should not only be made but also strictly implement or
enforced and whoever violates such must be penalized accordingly. Laws always
been necessities within the society, especially in the environmental aspect. We
have to take note that, environment is important for human existence. To protect
the environment, it is important to have some legislation in place. The
environmental laws provide a guideline so that we can take care of the
environment in an effective manner. We have different legal organizations and
charitable institutions that take care of the environment and implement the rules.
The two basic factors that come under environmental law is conservation and
management. This is a common law that includes conventions, treaties, regulations
and statutes to preserve and protect the environment. It also required to be
ensured that the law is followed when it comes to taking care of the environment
and maintaining a balance between humanity and nature. Negligence of these laws
results in various punishments. First, to protect human health and environment,
the main job of environmental law is to protect human health as well as the
environment. It is all about making balance. The role of the environment is to
ensure that the practices used in the environment do not cause harm to the
environment, human or animal health. The areas like air quality, water quality,
waste management, contaminant cleanup, chemical safety, resource sustainability
come under this law. Therefore, environmental laws play a huge part in protecting
humans, animals, habitats, and resources. There are some practices that interfere
with the safety of human health and the environment, and the work of the law is
to protect people in such instances. For instance, the use of harmful pesticides in
agriculture that makes a really bad impact on human and animal health is one of
the areas where environmental law is concerned. Without these laws, there would
be no regulations concerning pollution, contamination, hunting, or even response
to disasters. Second, waste management in a proper way, Waste management is
one of the biggest problems that the world is facing today. It is a very serious
problem, and finding efficient and environmentally friendly waste management
procedures is very important. With proper waste management, it will be easy to
protect the environment. The environmental law is to make sure that the process
of waste management does not impact the environment or human health badly
and also that waste materials are disposed of according to the set standards and
procedures. For example-Sweden even made it to the level of importing waste from
other countries by developing perfect waste managing and recycling machinery.
Third, govern industries and manufacturing, The setting up industries and
manufacturing plants are not possible without the environmental law. The
environmental law will make sure that industries meet all the legal obligations that
are required to respect and save our environment. It is the duty of an
environmental lawyer to make sure that industries meet all the laws, and they are
also concerned about the protection of the surroundings and environment. Fourth,
protect environment officers, Protecting the environment is a very crucial job. The
people like the officers and enforcers who make sure that these regulations are
met and respected also need to be protected by the law and should be given the
power to do their job in the most efficient way without interference from outside.
Therefore, the environment officers and enforcers need to be protected by the law
so that they can be able to do the job in the best way possible. Enforcers and
officers have to be protected to implement and control without any illegal
interference.

In conclusion, it is understood that Environmental law is a collective term

encompassing aspects of the law that provide protection to the environment. A
related but distinct set of regulatory regimes, now strongly influenced by
environmental legal principles, focus on the management of specific natural
resources, such as forests, minerals, or fisheries. Other areas, such as
environmental impact assessment, may not fit neatly into either category, but are
nonetheless important components of environmental law. Environmental law is
necessary to combat issues related to the environment and conservation of natural
resources. For instance – environmental laws pertain to issues like global warming,
climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, acid rain, hunting of endangered
species, deforestation, depletion of natural resources, pollution of water, air and
soil. And that, the main function of the environmental law is the protection of
human health as well as the environment. Some practices might interfere with the
safety of human health and environment, and the work of the law is to protect
people in such instances. For instance, the use of harmful pesticides is one of the
areas where the environmental law is concerned about. The role of the
environment is to make sure that the practices used in the environment do not
cause harm to the environment, human or animal health. Some of these
environmental laws are a product of the state’s responsibility towards ensuring an
equal standard of living for all. Some of them yet are out of concern for the helpless
creatures that are left at our mercy. The others are mainly the result of the kind of
effect that our activities have on our home planet and the atmosphere we are
protected with. Time and again how we choose to utilize Earth’s resources and
manage the affairs of our daily lives have exposed the planet to the most
devastating of scenarios where the atmosphere it uses to sustain the life on the
planet has been tampered with. The obsession with mining has over the years
handed out to us a list of adverse environmental affects including erosion,
sinkholes, reduced biodiversity, earthquakes etc. Steps have also been taken to
preserve the biodiversity of the planet as in our pursuit of constantly dreaming of
an empire we have successfully encroached upon, land, sea, small water bodies,
forest, rivers, and the habitats of various species. We might choose to not care for
the variety of animal inhabiting the planet with us if they do not immediately affect
our present or future but you do have to care for the ecosystem and how it works.
The ecosystem being one of the most pathetic examples you can uphold in front of
people in order to make them care but this is what it has come down to. This is the
appalling description of why need environmental laws on environment protection,
public liability, biomedical waste, hazardous waste, biological diversity, protected
areas, rivers, fisheries, factories, atomic energy, motor vehicles etc., knowing well
that there is still very little we can do to save or pacify the already worsened
situation.
You may be aware of being born into a family, a system, a social and political order
but have you ever given a serious thought to how you are born into an
environment? Yes, we all inherit an environment by virtue of our life on the planet
and the state in which it is available to us is ensured by the collaborated activities
of our ancestors. We too are burdened with a similar kind of onus as how we
choose to treat our environment will determine the quality of life for our
descendants. Now we can all afford to act selfish giving minimal thought to how we
shape our environment, given this is too trivial to be part of our daily concerns and
it is also a matter of individual preference. It is then that it inevitably becomes the
job of the civil society to take upon the responsibility of ensuring a healthy
environment and thus we are provided with a range of environmental laws, some
resulting from protests and some out of necessity.

Lastly, law has a central importance in our lives. Whether it’s the matter of
society, education, politics, or business. We need to abide by the law if we want to
progress in our life. We are all humans and we are all equal. No one is greater or
lower than anyone, based on color, caste, or creed. The only thing that separates
us how we treat each other. We can do good by understanding each other and
following what the law tells us. As to the environment, taking care of the
environment is important for human existence. For proper environmental care, it
is important to have some legislation in place. The laws that we have regarding the
environment provide a guideline so that we can take care of the environment in an
effective manner. We have a different legal organization and eco charities that take
care of environment and champion for implementation of the rules. Environmental
laws are also in the front line to make sure that the law is followed when it comes
to taking care of the environment.