LEGASPI ROLAND MARI O. COB 2nd YEAR A NEW DAWN Urbanization has been a clear sign that a country is progressing in terms of development. A country which have finished the process of urbanization means that it is climbing the ranks of mega power nations in terms of power, economic status, political influence and other aspects which can help the country globalize. For third-world countries such as the Philippines, it is of great advantage for us to urbanize and develop. The million-dollar question is, what do we sacrifice to urbanize? Exploiting natural resources and of course changing the landscape of environments in which these said resources can be found is the ultimate price. For conservationists and environmentalists, these would disrupt the balance of nature and ruin existing ecosystems in these areas and would create more harm than good. Obviously, capitalists see profit in these areas because of the untapped resources that they have. And smack at center of it is our government whom had to balance these two. Take into account that DENR sec. is an unqualified buffoon who says that he’d rather believe in himself than the advice of experts who have done their researches and are more qualified in this specific field, and we have a “SNAFU” in our hands. Globally speaking, uncontrolled urbanization is a major cause for climate change and resource depletion. Research by WHO and WEF(World Economic Forum) has shown that resource demand in ratio to projected growth of population would skyrocket by the year 2050 and scarcity would become a major problem for us all. If we look at these facts, if our country desires for more progress without keeping our natural resources in check, we would definitely deplete it and cause more problems. So how do we keep these two hand-in-hand? Simple. First step to that is to coordination and cooperation. By coordinating two sectors such as DENR and private business sectors, we can discern how to handle the progress without touching much of the environment. Let’s give a bad example of this. The dolomite sand used in Manila Bay project was taken from Pugalo, Cebu which caused a rapture to not only to the mountain environment but also the marine environment of the area. This a clear bad example of coordination and cooperation because the government here decided without consulting. Next step is making sure that the natural environment is not harmed in the urbanization process by giving specific nogo area or safety areas which would be restricted for urbanization with the sole purpose of preserving natural life. With this process, it can be safe to assume that despite urbanization, we still have natural environments and resources preserve especially the ecosystem living the area. Also, controlled urbanization can be implemented in this case so that it cannot harm the environment but still help in progressing our country. Lastly, for God’s sake appoint someone suitable for the job when comes to positions in the cabinet members. Appoint someone who are expert in these fields such as environment and natural resources so that in that way they can be proficient with their jobs. Don’t appoint a general or whatever job description they had before to a field they are not related to. In that way, we can get better grasp on how to handle situations such as the environment and urbanization problem. It is simple, but it is not easy. But with proper coordination and cooperation, I firmly believe that urbanization and preservation can go hand-in-hand with proper guidance and analysis. For us living in the third world, this is could give a glimmer of hope that we can push forward to new heights as country if we can handle it properly. REFERENCES: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/10/can-we-balance-conservation-anddevelopment-science-says-yes/ https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/09/20/preventing-another-tragedy-why-cebuprovince-banned-dolomite-mining https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/42817/philippines-national-urbanassessment.pdf https://ptvnews.ph/denr-defends-dolomite-project-in-manila-bay-anew/
