The Lopez Group of Companies has kicked off its series of events in celebration of Philippine Environment Month this whole month of June, with the theme “Pathways to Uniting Ecosystems and Society” that highlights the efforts of the organizations under its arm to address current environmental challenges and how they all strive to achieve a regenerative and decarbonized future.
Recognizing the short-term positive effects to the environment of the COVID-19 pandemic, First Gen Corporation (First Gen), Energy Development Corporation (EDC), Oscar M. Lopez Center (OMLC), and SEA-Institute with ABS-CBN’s Bantay Kalikasan (BK) worked together to bring activities that will remind everyone the importance of societal responsibility in keeping and restoring the world we have today.
The series of activities are placed to show the interconnectedness of human beings to the environment to highlight the companies’ efforts towards environment protection and conservation. The month-long celebration has started with OMLC’s webinar on June 7 that aims to present the findings of the Coastal Sea Level Rise Philippines Project (CSLR-Phil) and discuss its implications for future coastal management and disaster mitigation brought by rising sea level.
CSLR-Phil is a DOST-funded project by UP TCAGP and NAMRIA that aims to determine the rate of relative sea level change and vertical land movement in Philippine coastal areas using different space-based geodetic measuring techniques.
This will be immediately followed by First Gen’s SEAtizen Story: The Ocean and the Community webinar on June 8, in celebration of the World Oceans Day. The webinar will highlight the value and importance of marine ecosystems to communities and their livelihoods, featuring SEAtizens from Lobo, Batangas as they share their current state and how they become more resilient to disasters and pandemics
On June 11, ABS-CBN’s Bantay Kalikasan will host a webinar that will answer the Mystery of Corals and let the audience explore the interconnectedness of life surrounding these irreplaceable marine ecosystems.
Despite the mobility restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the virus, First Gen will e-bring participants on June 18 to a sponsored close-up mangrove forest exploration in Lobo, Batangas Lagadlarin Mangrove Forest. The proceeds of the virtual tickets will benefit the partner communities in Brgy Lagadlarin whose livelihoods on ecotourism have been greatly affected by the pandemic.
In celebration of the National Arbor Day on June 25, meanwhile, EDC’s “Forest Restoration: The Key to a Decarbonized Future”webinar will bring together speakers from partner organizations like PH Parks and Biodiversity and Masungi Georeserve Foundation to tackle the role of reforestation in conserving and restoring the environment. The largest geothermal power producer will also host simultaneous e-planting activities for its employees and will launch five BINHI Arboreta, which are collections of Philippine threatened tree species in all its sites across the country.
To cap the environment month celebration on June 26 is a virtual tour to La Mesa Ecopark, the last remaining forest of its size in Metro Manila. ABS-CBN Foundation’s Bantay Kalikasan will walk through participants in the forest floors and fly them through the canopies of La Mesa Ecopark and learn about the lush greenery within the ecopark and the links among the life that call La Mesa a home.
For more information on the events, click here.
