STRATEGIES TOWARDS WISE AND SUSTAINABLE USE OF NATURE

Our resources are constantly depleting—and it’s happening faster.

But you can do something about it.

Environmental Sustainability

Environmental sustainability has been defined by the Brundtland Commission as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Sustainability requires that we use our natural resources only at a rate that can be replenished naturally.

This means that even if trees are dying because we allow ourselves to meet our needs, (like building houses and making paper), we also have to consider that it takes time for newer ones to replace them. If we don’t do this, we allow for environmental degradation, which may lead to more future harms that may not only affect you, but also the people around you.

We Can Do Something

            Though a lot of government and non-government organizations are already trying their best to address this with their high-end technology and with all other things that only grown-ups with degrees can do, you still have to power to allow for more change.

So, what can you do to help? Here are some helpful tips and strategies we’ve gathered for you to be able to help the environment in your own simple way. Get your checklists at the ready!

• SKIP THE STRAW AND THE STIRRER
  • Each year, Americans throw away 138 billion straws and stirrers. But skipping the stirrer doesn’t mean drinking your coffee or chocolate raw and all. A professor from our college advises rolling the pack of your 3-in-1 coffee or chocolate milk drink and using it as substitute stirrer! As for straws, simply telling your friend from the restaurant counter to skip it is fine as it is. Be brave to skip the norm and be one of the heroes of the environment.

• AVOID USING PLASTIC BAGS
  • Plastics are not biodegradable. Use ecobags instead. They are not only inexpensive, but environment-friendly also.
• PICNIC WITH A MARKER
  • During outings with friends, you bring a lot of plastic or paper cups for our sodas and fruit juices. The problem is, you lose track of them or your cup gets mixed up with your friends’ cups. So, instead of finding yours easily, you get a new one, adding up to your bulk of trash, harming the environment more. Next time, mark your cups so everyone will only use one.
• TURN OFF THE LIGHTS
  • Save more energy!
• PLANT A TREE
  • Instead of celebrating your birthday party with flashy, colorful poppers, plant a tree! There is no trash to dispose of and you get to do something good for the air, the land, and add some shade to your house.
• ATTEND ENVIRONMENTAL SEMINARS
  • Most schools nowadays conduct environmental seminars to inform and motivate students to help the environment. Join one and know how you can do more for Mother Earth.
• SPREAD AWARENESS
  • Simply telling your friends that they can also help contribute a lot! Share your knowledge through social networking, or even during your tiny talks on the table with your family and friends.

Yes, wanting to help the environment doesn’t have to be a high-end, adult-only task. All these simple acts for the environment can make a huge difference.

Pocket your checklists now and start to take action. Don’t forget to come back to share your environment-friendly stories to us! Good luck!

-Aya Baltazar, Jerikka Cebanico

PSSN: When did it all start?

The Philippine Society for the Study of Nature or PSSN is a national organization that was organized and founded by Dr Inocencio E. Buot Jr. last April, 2000 in a national conference on networking for the wise and sustainable use of nature at the University of the Philippines Baguio.

Before this organization came to be; with 12 journals published, active participation with government agencies, award-winning members and studies, organizational activities in cooperation with Elementary and High schools, promoting environmental awareness in communities… there was a person who orchestrated all this.

Dr Buot said that he always had an organization like PSSN in mind, an organization that addresses nature and environmental concerns through further research and studies. He also focused on making PSSN possible because he said that there are “no academic society to address nature concerns” at that time. The idea became concrete when he discussed it with his graduate Systematics students in UPLB. The students help in operational aspect wherein they dealt with the documentations and helped in writing and formulating the constitutions and bylaws of PSSN. They are also in charged of the recruitment of members.

After that, present senior members of PSSN Drs Teodora Balangkod and Zenaida Baoanan coordinated the Baguio conference where they finally organized the national society, PSSN with Dr Buot as the first president. They had lots of of conferences to advance their advocacies and to share with other professionals and students alike the research outputs of one member with the rest of national membership.

Dr Buot also said that PSSN is a way of grouping like-minded people and easily contact them online. Their mode of communication is set on the web as this is a national level organization meaning, members maybe situated at different parts of the country. Because of this, PSSN has developed a website called pssonline.org. The website is active and regularly maintained. People can also download the latest published journals of PSSN which is called “Journal of Nature’s Studies.” The website also served as publicity for the organization. If one wishes to join the organization then one can find the contact details of PSSN on the website.

 

-Michiko Buot