Editor’s Desk
Hello, {{First Name | reader}},
We spend a lot of time in our workshops trying to convince Filipinos that sustainability is not just about the environment—that it’s also about social impact, financial resilience, and sustaining the work long-term. But today, for our Philippine Environment Month special, we’re making an exception.
🇵🇭 Here’s the big picture: the Philippines' second NDC is still "awaiting scheduling," even after the International Court of Justice’s climate ruling raised the legal stakes for every government's climate targets. In an email to Sustina Earth, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources confirmed that the new NDC remains pending.
🪧 On the ground, the stakes are more than just legal. In a personal essay, Ma. Jaya Ariola writes about why environmental defenders in the deadliest country in Asia refuse to stop.
❓ In a Missing Context piece, a question Manila has been arguing about all month: Can 50,000 seedlings really "offset" the mass-cutting of trees along Quirino Avenue? Experts walk us through what replanting actually costs, and what gets lost in the math.
🌊 For World Oceans Day, we sat down with a water expert to understand how the blue planet ended up in danger of running dry—and what can still be done about it.
Happy Environment Month! Thanks for being here.
— The Editors
The most dangerous place in Asia for environmental defenders, and why we refuse to stop
In the Philippines, defending life can lead to death. According to a 2024 report from Global Witness, my home country has been the most dangerous in Asia for land and environmental defenders for 12 consecutive years—I have been an environmental defender for 10 of those years.
Because of my hometown, I learned early that violence does not always arrive as murder. Sometimes it is simply hunger.
Can 50,000 seedlings ‘offset’ mass-cutting trees along Quirino Avenue?
Over 200 narra trees around Quirino Avenue were cut down to make way for elevated roads. DENR and San Miguel Corporation Infrastructure promise 50,000 new seedlings, or 100 trees planted for each one cut down.
Is the math for tree-planting really that simple? Here's what we still don't know.
The Philippines’ second NDC is ‘awaiting scheduling’ as ICJ climate ruling raises the stakes
As one of the world's most climate-vulnerable nations, the Philippines helped push for the ICJ ruling. But its own updated climate targets are still unsubmitted.
When the blue planet runs dry
Water—the very thing that makes life possible on Earth—is in danger of running out. We asked a water expert how we got here, and what we can still do to save it.
Open call: Inviting organizations in the Philippines to join Sustina’s Circular Solutions Map
Are you leading an organization that tries to design out waste and create more sustainable supply chains? Sustina is opening applications for its Circular Solutions Map, in the areas of textile and fashion, food, plastics, electronic waste, and more.
More at a glance
For World Environment Day, here are other stories from Sustina Earth on the Places We Protect :