The Answer to the Fresh Water Crisis:

Policy Legislation and Enforcement

Proposal
Environmental Law
Submitted to: Ambassador Tolentino
Submitted by: John Kristian Lalas
February 28, 2017
ABSTRACT
Fresh water is crucial to human society -- not just for drinking, but
also for farming, washing and many other activities. It is expected to become
increasingly scarce in the future, and this is partly due to climate change." This
paper is motivated upon developing a deeper understanding and awareness
of the worlds predicament on freshwater scarcity, and ways on how to
address it through policy legislation and enforcement, as well as
international cooperation and global responsibility.

To be able develop a deeper understanding of our problem, which is the scarcity of

fresh water, not only in our own country, but on a global scale, we must be well-equipped
with fundamental knowledge on what were dealing with. We should know how much of
Earths surface is covered by water, how much freshwater we have, and the sources
thereof. We must also know its importance, not only in driving and facilitating different
industries, professions and enterprises, but more importantly protecting our survival.

Earth, may also be referred to as Planet Ocean, as 71% of its surface is covered
by water. Oceans hold about 96.5% of all Earths water. The other sources of water are
rivers, lakes, icecaps, glaciers, even on the ground as soil moisture, and in the air as water
vapor. Even our body composition has significant amount of water. 1 Over 68% of the
fresh water on Earth is found in icecaps and glaciers, and the remaining 32% is found in
ground water. Only 0.3% of fresh water are from lakes, rivers and swamps. Thus, 99% of
all water on Earth is unusable by humans and other living things. It is an astounding
number, considering that water supports all terrestrial, as well as aquatic life on our
planet. 2

It is clearly established how scarce freshwater is and its becoming even worse.
Based on numerous studies, including those done by the Japan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA) and confirmed by a UNICEF-WHO report, 8.4 million Filipinos have no
access to clean drinking water. The major reason for freshwater scarcity in the Philippines
is pollution from industries, households, tourism sites and agricultural areas. 3
Philippines is one of the most polluted countries in the world.

Freshwater is important not only for human consumption and utilization, as it is

also serves a pivotal role in the survival of all living things such as plants and animals. It
flushes out toxins, maintains cell function and keeps us, and them, hydrated. Food is
1 https://water.usgs.gov/edu/earthhowmuch.html Earths composition of water, and
the sources thereof
2 http://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/earths-fresh-water/ How much
Freshwater do we have on Earth
3 http://www.manilatimes.net/seeking-fresh-water-in-times-of-climate-change-
crisis/259220/ Fresh water in the Philippines
often mistakenly seen as the most vital source of sustenance for our pets, yet animals can
actually survive a lot longer without food than they can when deprived of water. 4 It is
also serves as the natural habitat of some animals. Freshwater animals, the creatures of
rivers and lakes, such as Amazon Dolphins and American Alligators depend on fresh
water to survive. 5 We can take a look at the Philippine Jurisprudence of Marine
Mammals of Taon Strait vs. Sec. Almanza, where the petitioners, in representation of
animals such as Toothed Wales, and Dolphins, found in the body of water between
Negros and Cebu, filed a petition to enjoin a Japanese Corporation from conducting an
exploration drilling on the said body of water, as it would detriment the sea creatures
found therein.

We could point to different causes, authors and triggers, whether natural or artificial
which bring about the scarcity of fresh water. It can be attributed to natural causes such as
climate change, which is also to a great extent impacted by human behavior. We can also
look at wastage and lack of responsibility of individuals, and lack of prioritization,
ineffective and inefficient policy legislation and enforcement of States, and their
government.

Climate change can impact numerous aspects of life as we can imagine. One of
which is the availability and use of water. How can climate change affect the freshwater?
One is that global warming causes polar ice to melt into the sea, which turns fresh water
into sea water. Another is that it increases the amount of water that the atmosphere can
hold, which in turn can lead to more and heavier rainfall when the air cools.

Although more rainfall can add to fresh water resources, heavier rainfall leads to
more rapid movement of water from the atmosphere back to the oceans, reducing our
ability to store and use it. Another is the melting of inland glaciers. This will increase
water supply to rivers and lakes in the short to medium term, but this will cease once
these glaciers have melted. 6

Now that we have a better understanding of the freshwater crisis, we can now
construct and design a framework or approach that would best resolve the problem. We
will focus on two avenues: a.) an effective and efficient policy legislation and its
enforcement,; b.) international cooperation and global responsibility.

As established earlier in this paper, climate change significantly detriments the

availability and use of fresh water. Pursuant to United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, we should acknowledge that climate change is a common concern of
humankind. The convention stressed the Principle of Common, but Differentiated
Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities, which means that each State which is a
party to the said convention, assumes responsibility in protecting the Earth from climate
change, but to different degrees depending on their means, resources, and circumstances

4 https://www.animalfriends.co.uk/blog/fresh-water/ Importance of Freshwater

5 http://www.nature.org/newsfeatures/specialfeatures/animals/freshwater-
animals.xml Freshwater animals
6 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/nov/30/climate-change-water
surrounding such responsibility. Such responsibility is vested to all levels of government,
but respecting the national legislations of Parties. 7Thus, the Philippines, being one of the
countries who are significantly effected by climate change should be highly active and
engaged with respect to the fulfillment of their role as assigned by this Convention. To be
able to do so, the responsibility we assume must be facilitated and governed by a
legislative policy.

As to the proposal of a policy legislation, I suggest a law which would not

absolutely repeal the Clean Water Act, but one which would enhance it by: filling in its
gaps, consolidating various provisions, and coming up with better enforcement
mechanisms. I believe that our environmental laws are one of the best in the world, which
is only fitting because we are one of the richest countries in natural resources. The
problem lies with the inability to fully implement such laws, or enforce them effectively.
I propose that it be enforced a lot stricter. We should be less open to foreign investments,
which directly or indirectly detriment our guaranteed constitutional right to a balanced
and healthful ecology. Another way to improve enforcement of laws is adequate
budgeting. The national budget shall be appropriated to various government agencies
adequately to insure their effective performance, otherwise, theyre not really prioritized,
and should not be expected to function up to its full potential.

Over the last decade, the heightened globalization has taken over the world
immensely, and though it has accelerated and facilitated the success of various fields,
industries, professions and enterprises, it has taken a toll on our environment. Building,
and manufacturing infrastructures and machineries for enormous profit have become the
primary priority in a global scale that we fail to realize how much it is destroying our
planet. To conclude my paper, I believe our constitutionally guaranteed right to a
balanced and healthful ecology, as the foundation of our environmental law, shall be the
primary concern of our State. We shall continue designing and improving our policies to
protect our environment, and we shall be more religious in undertaking our international
responsibilities and more active in cooperating with other States in addressing
environmental problems.

7 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

List of Sources

https://water.usgs.gov/edu/earthhowmuch.html Earths composition of

water, and the sources thereof
http://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/earths-fresh-water/ How much
Freshwater do we have on Earth
http://www.manilatimes.net/seeking-fresh-water-in-times-of-climate-
change-crisis/259220/
Fresh water in the Philippines
https://www.animalfriends.co.uk/blog/fresh-water/ Importance of
Freshwater
http://www.nature.org/newsfeatures/specialfeatures/animals/freshwater-
animals.xml Freshwater animals
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/nov/30/climate-change-
water
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change