Sorsogon SK declares commitment to save the environmentIRONMENT

SK Prov'l Federation President

SORSOGON CITY, Oct 26 – Participating Sangguniang Kabataan members of the recently concluded Youth Eco-Summit 2012 placed their thumb marks on an emblematic covenant in a significant declaration of commitment to save the environment.

Preceded by Sangguniang Kabataan Provincial Federation President Patrick Francis Lee Rodrigueza, the biggest appearance of its members got together to recognize and affirm their concerns so as to address Climate Change and ecological issues in the Province of Sorsogon.

The Youth Eco-Summit 2012 (October 13-14) was under the initiative of the Sangguniang Kabataan Provincial Federation, supported accordingly by the Provincial Government of Sorsogon and the Vice-Mayors’ League of the Philippines (VMLP-Luzon) to bring together some of the country’s most respected minds in ecological science to discuss on the subject of restoring the ecosystems and explore pioneering science-based approaches which are socially and culturally suitable to create, manage, and restore the ecosystems.

Under the theme: Going Green! Protecting the Ecosystem for Sustainable Development, this gathering was set not only to empower the youth and oblige frontrunners to address the challenges of ecological development but, encourage young adults as well to be leaders who will make a difference.

The inscription on the symbolic covenant reads as follows:

 

WE, REPRESENTATIVES OF THE SANGGUNIANG KABATAAN FEDERATION, ACADEME, NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION, CIVIL SOCIETY, RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS ON THE EVENT OF YOUTH ECOLOGICAL SUMMIT 2012 WITH A THEME,” PROTECTING ECOSYSTEM FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT” AT THE PROVINCIAL GMNASIUM, CAPITOL COMPOUND, SORSOGON CITY ON OCTOBER 13 -14, 2012,

Recognize our concern with the recent findings of the global scientific community and the conclusions of the 2007 Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that the “warming on earth’s climate system is unequivocal.”

Affirming our commitment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Republic Act Number 9729, or the “Climate Change Act,” as the core mechanism for addressing Climate Change mitigation and adaptation at the local level; also to promote innovative partnership with scientific communities and academic institutions to enhance scientifically informed national policies for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation; and to further encourage cost-effective and widely accessible technologies in support to early warning multi-hazard risk assessment and Disaster Risk Reduction efforts.

 

Concerned about the adverse impact of rapid urban development and Climate Change on socio-economic development, health, the environment, social and cultural equity of rural and urban areas in the country; 

Recognizing the importance of achieving greater synergy between local actions and national strategies and programmes, and the importance of strengthening cooperation among SK Federation of every municipality in the Province of Sorsogon, Academe, Civil Society, Non-Government Organizations and other stakeholders in achieving the Millennium Development Goal and the goals of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 for building communities through the promotion of innovative approaches to reduce disaster risk;

Recognizing further that the youth comprises a huge population in the province that can make a massive stand through its collective effort in protecting the environment hence, it hereby declares the following:

1. Acknowledge that Climate Change Adaptation is a critical issue in the Province of Sorsogon, that involvement of every Municipality and City SK Federation and other Youth Organizations in integrating Disaster Risk Reduction and adaptation into their plans and programmes must be highlighted and made effective through decentralization and capacity building;
2. Strengthen the implementation and inclusion of Green Brigade Programmes under the SK Provincial Federation’s Development Plan for the period of 2010-2013 and reintegration of the same during the drafting for the period 2013-2016.
3. Empower each youth to be an active participant in every activity related to Climate Change Adaptation.
4. Monitor and mobilize school participation and encourage each Supreme Student Government to draft long term environmental activities which are not dependent on the transition of each set of officials elected each year.
5. Promote information dissemination in the Province of Sorsogon by conducting series of seminars, workshops and trainings for every youth sector in harnessing Climate Change and other ecological problems.
6. Deepen the understanding of climate risks by requesting the inclusion of the Green Brigade Topic to be adapted by Primary as well as Secondary Schools in the Province of Sorsogon into their Lesson Plan subject to the approval of the Department of Education, Sorsogon.
7. Allocate funds in accordance with the provisions of the 2001 SK Constitution and By-Laws and if insufficient, conduct fund-raising activities to sustain the programs implemented and to be implemented relative to the Green Brigade Movement.
8. Support local as well as national innovative policies implemented by the National and Local Government in addressing Climate Change and other ecological issues.
9. Recommend that copy of this declaration be distributed to different Youth Organizations in the Province of Sorsogon and further establish a unified effort in monitoring the compliance therewith.
   
   

Done this October 13, 2012 at the Provincial Gymnasium, Capitol Park, Sorsogon City. (VAELabalan P.I.O. Sorsogon/ PIA)