CLIMATE CHANGE AND WATER DEGRADATION and

POLLUTION: The Impact to Human Rights in the Philippines

Photo: Left, erosion path of the deluge. Right, clearing all things and humans along its
path. Alan lost almost all things but not the important, surviving with family the
Sendong Davastation on Dec. 16, 2011.

Place : Tibasak, Macasandig, Cagayan de Oro city

Melgen Sarra and Alan Gultia

Block C, Law1, XU Law School

Subject : Human Rights 1A, Judge Trugillo

Contents

Introduction...................................................................... 1

1) Issues : The Situation at hand

1.1 Climate Change and Impact............................................. 3
1.2 Water Degradation and Pollution:Impact to Human Rights .

2) Philippines : 2-3 sectors affected

2.1 Sector 1 ................................................................... 5
2.2 Sector 2.......................................................................... 6

3) Case Study from the Philippines

3.1 Sendong .................................................................... 8

4) Discussion and Conclusion :

4.1 Laws covered and application.............................................. 9
4.2 JURISPRUDENCE................................................ 10
4.3 Laws covered and application.............................................. 11

References ...................................................................... 12
Introduction :

Climate change is being felt not only by rising temperature and rising
water elevation but by its impact to lives posing a potential threat to
human rights across the world, including the rights to health, food and
an adequate standard of living.

We are just reaping the consequence of our decisions and choices made
in the past and since time immemorial we are dipping into this vicious
cycle which can only be decelerated its seriousness of the impact and
abated if each one and everyone chooses to live today differently than
yesterday. Being cautious of our own actions to others and aware of
such actions to its impact to the environment. Corporately, which we
cannot depend entirely, but, we only hope for the resolve to implement
existing laws in the basic policy of waste segregation and disposal to
local ordinances and regulation to UN Global Compact to protect the
environment and guarantee genuine human rights - the rights to food,
water, sanitation, adequate housing, and health for one and millions
of people.

"Human rights law imposes affirmative legal obligations to protect

human rights from climate harms, particularly the rights of persons in
vulnerable situations, and to ensure accountability, including redress,
where harms are suffered. We are living in an age of widespread
breach of these obligations." Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights.

Equally important, is the human right to clean water which has been
violated. Unless, you are fortunate to be still living in an area with free
access to abundant clean water in Balingasag or in Iligan, with an
exchange to be isolated, free access to living water is available in
stores. Water scarsity is only a symptom of the obvious human right
violation which is caused by degradation and pollution of water.

Causes of pollution is so varied but let us just focus on local

contamination source. Lately, we are gaining more awareness of gold
mining through local reports. The situation is complex as mining is the
main source of income of the people living in the mining areas 1.
Gango, Libona, Bukidnon, 2. Barangay Tumpagon and 3. Barangay
Pigsag-an in Cagayan de Oro City and 4. Nangcaon, Opol, Misamis
Oriental. In a specific mining site of Gango, drift mining with tunneling
system or underground mining is more appropriate. Besides, the risk to
health and hazards associated with mining, environmental impacts are
not spared - landslide, flash floods, soil erosion, biodiversity loss, loss
of organic fertility and soil-water contamination. Snowball impact of
water source degradation is impacting to lowland or to downstream
areas where concentration of people living is increasing.
This will then be partnered with another potent source of contamination
through human waste. Water contaminated with human waste is a
huge contributor to diseases. Human waste can also enter the water
supply through leaking tanks of waste into the groundwater supply.

These issues of climate change impact and water pollution are usually
human caused. We simply need acceptable policies put in to minimize
the occurrences. So the question now that we have seen several ways
that this rights to health, food and an adequate standard of living and
right to water have been violated. What do we then do about it?. In
many of these cases, it is not clear who is responsible for the right
violation. For polluted water bodies, who needs to clean up the mess?
Is it the people who want to use the water, or those who polluted it?.
There are no concrete answers for now but this is a topic that should be
looked at in depth and researched for possible solutions. The current
situation is not acceptable and we need to restore to the basic condition
that people have the opportunity to access clean environment and
clear, clean and safe water.

Safe drinking water and adequate sanitation are crucial for poverty
reduction, crucial for sustainable development and crucial for achieving
any and every one of the Millennium Development Goals. Ban Ki-
moon, UN Secretary General
CLIMATE CHANGE links to Human Rights :

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director

Achim Steiner said, "Climate change is already having direct impact on
humans and settlements through the degradation of ecosystems and
resources, upon which so many depend for survival and livelihoods. We
will see its impacts continue to affect the human rights of millions of
people as conditions worsen.

UNEP's 2015 Emissions Gap research, the report says that full
implementation of the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions is
projected to reduce emissions in 2030 by up to 6 gigatonnes of carbon
dioxide equivalent, and will leave the world 12 gigatonnes short of the
level required by 2030 to give a chance of staying below the "safe"
level of 2C global temperature rise this century.

This means that the projected level of global warming might result in
climatic and environmental impacts, with potential impacts on human
rights.

John H. Knox, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the

Environment, said, "This report arrives at a critical moment, as the
Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change meet in
Paris to begin a new chapter in our generational effort to defeat climate
change. The report provides an indispensable basis for climate policy
going forward, helping us see in detail how climate change threatens
our ability to enjoy our human rights, and also how the exercise of
human rights can inform and guide our climate policies."