Ronald C.

Lara
II Teehankee

Assignment on Law on Natural Resources

Global warming is primarily a problem of too much carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere
which acts as a blanket, trapping heat and warming the planet. As we burn fossil fuels like
coal, oil and natural gas for energy or cut down and burn forests to create pastures and
plantations, carbon accumulates and overloads our atmosphere. Certain waste
management and agricultural practices aggravate the problem by releasing other potent
global warming gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide.
1. 5 causes and effects of global warming and what are the laws enacted by the
Congress to regulate these human activities?
a. Carbon Emissions from vehicles and factories Philippine Clean
Air Act of 1999 or RA 8749
b. Poor Waste/Garbage Disposal
Management Act of 2000 or RA 9003

Ecological

Solid

Waste

c. Environmental Contamination of Toxic Waste and Hazardous Substances REPUBLIC ACT NO. 6969, [AN ACT TO CONTROL TOXIC SUBSTANCES AND
HAZARDOUS AND NUCLEAR WASTES PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR
VIOLATIONS THEREOF, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES]
d. Wanton Environmental Destruction and Deforestation - REPUBLIC ACT NO.
7586, [AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT AND MANAGEMENT
OF NATIONAL INTEGRATED PROTECTED AREAS SYSTEM, DEFINING ITS
SCOPE AND COVERAGE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES]
e. Forest Denudation Due to Illegal Logging - REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9175
November 7, 2002, [AN ACT REGULATING THE OWNERSHIP, POSSESSION,
SALE, IMPORTATION AND USE OF CHAIN SAWS, PENALIZING VIOLATIONS
THEREOF AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES]

2. Explain the concept of sustainable development in relation to these environmental

laws.
According to the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development
(WCED), Sustainable Development is a Development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Further,
Sustainable Development is broadly defined as a systems approach to growth and
development and to manage natural, produced and social capital for the welfare of their own
and future generations. As a framework, sustainable development is so broad that it
encompasses not just resource development, but also the entire sphere of human and social
development.
Subject to various political and economic dynamics, Sustainable Development has been
central in policy debates, legislations and enactments in various platforms in all countries all
over the world, especially during the recent decades. Thus, the concept has found various

Ronald C. Lara
II Teehankee
expressions in different laws formulated by the respective governments and in international
agreements and covenants.
The Philippines, for its part has a lot of environmental laws, even before the advent of the
Climate Mitigation and Adoption Programs. These laws are enacted, among others, by the
government to synergize the concept with its national development goals. For example, the
government believes that industrialization should be vigorously pursued; however, its
citizens and the future generations right to clean and breathable air should not be
jeopardized. Hence, the passage of the Philippine Clean Air Act.