DENR grants environmental compliance certificate to UPLB

The Environmental Management Bureau-Department of Environment and Natural Resources (EMB-DENR) granted UPLB an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) on April 25.

UPLB had submitted the Programmatic Environmental Performance Report and Management Plan (PEPRMP), which reported the different environmental measures it is taking to protect and mitigate adverse impacts that its activities and development projects may pose on community health, welfare and the environment.

It also serves to comply with Presidential Decree No. 1586 and DENR Administrative Order No. 2003-30, which are policies on the establishment of an environmental impact statement system among government and corporate institutions to maintain the balance between socio-economic growth and environmental protection.

Moreover, it serves as a planning tool to ensure that UPLB is strictly implementing environmental policies on its campus. It also functions as an environmental protocol to guide future development projects and programs in the University.

The ECC is a product of almost three years of environmental impact assessment conducted in the campus on the buildings constructed and renovated since 1982.

The project was started in 2013 by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs (OVCCA), through Engr. Joseph A. Pagtananan,  UPLB Pollution Control Officer, in collaboration with the School of Environmental Science and Management (SESAM) through Dr. Nicomedes D. Briones, Dr. Leonardo M. Florece, and a team of graduate students and research assistants.

Engr. Pagtananan said that securing the ECC is just the first step in ensuring UPLB’s compliance with environmental policies.

“UPLB is now working on securing its permit with the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), which requires that we first have to get an ECC,” he said.

He added that they are currently proposing the creation of an environmental unit, which is specifically tasked to monitor and evaluate UPLB’s environmental compliance.

“In our proposal, SESAM will oversee the unit, but OVCCA will also play a role in its administrative operations,” he said. (Miguel Victor T. Durian)

Originally published on the UPLB website by the Office of the Public Relations-Office of the Chancellor (OPR-OC).


Article Photo (File Photo): THE ECC TEAM. (L-R) Malvin Biguerras (Research Assistant),  Engr. Joseph A. Pagtananan (Pollution Control Officer), Dr. Nicomedes D. Briones (SESAM), Dr. Serlie Barroga-Jamias (Vice Chancellor, OVCCA), Christina Corales (Research Assistant), Remilyn Mendoza (Research Assistant).

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