PLANT seeds of ideas and inspiration.
This was the challenge of environmental lawyer Antonio Oposa to the students from the different schools during a forum titled “The time for talk is over: Edible landscapes and Road Sharing” at the University of the Philippines Cebu last Thursday.
“Anything that is worth doing cannot be done in a lifetime,” he said. He also said environment is life-sources of land, air and water. “The trees in the forest are the art of the lungs of the earth,” he said.
He emphasized the negative effects of development in the country that is affecting the environment.
“Kuha, gamit, ug labay (Take, use, and then throw). All for GDP – Great Disaster for Planet,” Oposa said.
Francis Jose Abayata, head of health committee of UP Cebu said traffic is one of the common problems Cebu is facing.
“Metro Cebu endures pollution and traffic congestion,” he said.
“We will be able to integrate sustainability and urban growth with the workable transportation as one of the solutions to traffic,” he said.
He also pointed out that people who want to own cars will just contribute to traffic jams in Cebu.
“Because of our insistence of individual mobility, it has resulted to serious collective immobility,” he said.
The lawyer proposed two practical ways to ease traffic in Cebu: to have an edible landscapes and road sharing.
“Wala man na moturok diri lisoha (The seed does not grow here), but you can be proud to say that what started in Cebu is now being practiced in Metro Manila,” he said.
Pasig City has now six shared roads every Sunday and now moving it to also have it on Saturdays, Oposa said.
“We should also start it here,” he said.
“Let us fix public transportation so people will want to commute. Give a road to those who only want to walk or lanes to those with bikes,” he said in Cebuano.
As per Executive Order 774 Section 9 of 2008 which says, “Those who have less in wheels must have more in road. For this purpose, the system shall favor non-motorized locomotion and collective transportation system (walking, bicycling, and the man-powered mini-train).”
“We are not after cars, motor vehicles, or anybody, we are after changing minds,” Oposa said.
He urged everyone to be cooperative and be the catalyst. Awareness without action is like a bow without an arrow. It is useless without each other, he added.