(Part II)
WE ARE continuing our series on the recommendations of Kabiling Lunhaw, Rising Alliance of Youth for Transformation (formerly Angat GenC)-Bohol, Greenpeace Philippines-Bohol Volunteers Local Group, and the Holy Name University Students’ Movement for Climate Action.
Engaging with the #GenZ leaders who drafted the Position Paper was a pleasure! You never know what gems you learn from conversations with them. Rather than a mere wish list, these young minds put together a smart, practical blueprint that bridges good governance, science, and everyday life. At the end of the day, it all comes back to home: the City of Tagbilaran and its environs.
At its core, they believe that youth involvement is not a token gesture, but a true partnership. By proposing a formal mechanism that includes youth seats on the appropriate councils and an annual environmental assembly, they are rightfully asking for a permanent seat at the table.
Why not?
This viewpoint is grounded in education. They argue we must move beyond basic information campaigns and embrace hands-on, community-based learning, where young people and residents roll up their sleeves to conduct biodiversity counts, waste audits, and citizen science.
(The easiest way to understand citizen science is to think of everyday people teaming up with professional scientists to help answer real-world questions and solve problems. Instead of research being done only by scientists locked away in a laboratory or university, regular folks, like students, teachers, birdwatchers, or curious neighbors, pitch in to collect information from their own backyards and communities.)
What stands out most is how much they value real accountability and facts. Don’t I love that! By setting up a city-wide environmental database and clear yearly progress reports, leaders, everyday citizens, and advocates can track actual trends instead of guessing. This practical approach goes down to the barangay level, pushing for genuine action plans measured by actual results rather than just temporary clean-up drives.
Furthermore, their recommendations confront messy city realities. They integrate practical solutions into the rules by pushing for community-wide tracking of greenhouse gases, mandatory climate safety checks for major construction projects, and treating a clean environment as a basic health right. Most importantly, they include special protections for vulnerable communities who always take the hardest hit.
On greenhouse gases, think of it as an invisible thermal blanket wrapped around the Earth. Sunlight passes through and warms the planet, but instead of letting all that heat escape back into space, these gases trap a portion of it. A little bit keeps us warm and alive, but human activities – like burning fuel and cutting down forests and trees – have made the blanket way too thick. The result: Too much trapped heat, leading to global warming and a disrupted climate.
By invoking environmental justice, they ensure that the heavy burdens of pollution and climate risks are never unfairly dumped on marginalized neighborhoods.
Moving forward.
IV. Strengthen Citizen Science and the City’s Environmental Research Agenda
Recommendation: Add to Section 211: The TCEMO, in consultation with the concerned City offices, academic and research institutions, civil society organizations, and communities, may formulate
and periodically update a City Environmental Research Agenda that identifies priority knowledge gaps and research needs relevant to environmental policy and management.
The City shall encourage citizen science and participatory research programs that enable communities, schools, youth organizations, and trained volunteers to contribute to environmental monitoring and data generation, subject to appropriate scientific, ethical, quality-assurance, and data-management protocols.
Research findings generated through City-supported activities shall, whenever practicable, be translated into policy recommendations, management interventions, educational materials, or other forms accessible to decision-makers and communities.
V. Require Barangay Environmental Action Planning and Performance Monitoring
Recommendation: We recommend consolidating these responsibilities through a common planning mechanism.
A new section may provide: SECTION __. Barangay Environmental Action Plan. – Every barangay shall formulate, adopt, implement, and periodically update a Barangay Environmental Action Plan consistent with this Code and applicable City environmental, solid waste management, climate change, disaster risk reduction, biodiversity, land-use, and development plans.
The Plan shall identify the barangay’s priority environmental concerns, measurable objectives and indicators, programs and activities, responsible persons or bodies, partnerships, resource requirements, and monitoring arrangements.
TCEMO shall develop a common framework and provide technical assistance for the preparation and monitoring of such plans, taking into consideration the differing environmental characteristics, capacities, and vulnerabilities of coastal and inland barangays.
Barangay environmental performance shall be assessed based on measurable environmental outcomes and governance indicators and not solely on beautification or cleanliness. (To be continued)
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The author owns and manages Belinda Communications Consulting. You can reach us via email at belca.87@gmail.com. Engage with us on X @ShilohRuthie./PN
