DENR rolls out system to boost accounting of natural resources
THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) yesterday said it will undertake the formulation of a much-needed system for the accounting of the country’s natural resources and environmental assets.
According to Secretary Maria Antoniya Yulo Loyzaga, DENR will be joined by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in creating the natural capital accounting system.
Loyzaga said the creation will significantly support the development of strategies for a science-based, risk-informed, ethical and equitable stewardship of the environment, which she strongly espouses in the Department.
Loyzaga pointed out that the system will provide an enabling platform for the DENR and other government agencies to come up with specific policies and programs that integrate climate change adaptation in various economic, fiscal, social, political and environment decisions.
“What we need to do is apply a climate-risk lens to the work of the DENR, which means that climate and disaster-risk assessments will become part of the processes that we will undertake,” Loyzaga stressed.
In a 2022 report by the World Risk Index, the Philippines was ranked first out of 193 countries on the list of global disaster risk hotspots.
Loyzaga explained that the country’s vulnerability to natural hazards is due to its physical exposure as well as its inability and lack of capacity in adopting climate change tools and technologies.
