Malaysia and Southeast Asia at the heart of massive wildlife trade The numbers are startling — some 900,000 pangolins are trafficked globally from 2000-2019 with significant proportions linked to Southeast Asia; over 225 tonnes of African Elephant ivory seized in Southeast Asia from 2008-2018 and 100,000 Pig-nosed Turtles seized in Indonesia from 2003-2019, and so much more. Waste trade and the Philippines: How local and global policy instruments can stop the tide of foreign waste dumping in the country A review of waste trade-related policies in the Philippines PHL ships on foreign routes compliant with IMO rules on emissions, Marina…

Fast action needed to fight plastic pollution A report by the Ocean Conservancy in 2017 named four ASEAN countries among the top plastic polluters in the world –namely Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines ‘Reducing demand for pangolins nips trade in the bud’ The Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) commended the rescue of pangolins, and other threatened species, in Palawan and South Cotabato in the Philippines, citing the role of communities in combatting wildlife trafficking. EPEB to put more teeth to environmental laws National and field officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) gathered recently here for…

COP25: ‘Signals of hope’ multiplying in face of global climate crisis, insists UN chief Guterres The UN Secretary-General has outlined the “increased ambition and commitment” that the world needs from governments during the coming days of the COP25 UN climate change conference which opens in Madrid on Monday, calling for “accountability, responsibility and leadership” to end the global climate crisis. Nationwide ban on single-use plastic out soon–DENR exec The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is finalizing an order that will impose a nationwide ban on single-use plastics to help address the problem brought about by plastic pollution, officials…

US, Philippine troops conduct second installation of artificial habitat reefs US and Philippine military personnel, local government representatives, non-governmental organizations, and local residents partnered together for a second time to install artificial habitat reefs in Maragondon, Cavite, on October 8, 2019. Southeast Asian countries need tougher plastic policies to curb pollution -UN Southeast Asian countries, among the world’s worst ocean polluters, need tougher regulations for plastic packaging to curb leakage, a United Nations report said on Wednesday. EU supports ASEAN in sustainable use of peatland, haze mitigation The European Union (EU) has launched the civil society component of a 24…