MANDAUE officials yesterday showed Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) delegates the city’s different initiatives to conserve the environment.
City Administrator James Abadia explained in his presentation the Takakura composting project which involves mixing rice, Lacto-Pafi drink and Yakult with biodegradable waste.
He also showed the materials recovery facility in barangay Umapad and the proposed Green Loop urban development plan.
“Definitely, this is not for Mandaue City, but (for) the entire Cebu because we presented not only the problems of Mandaue but those affecting the larger Metropolitan Cebu such as transportation, traffic, even drainage and flooding,” Abadia said.
Mandaue and a city in Russia are being considered as beneficiary of technical support under APEC’s Low-Carbon Town Project, a program that aims to help cities reduce carbon emissions and energy use.
The winner of the competition will be announced in October in Cebu.
BEST PRACTICES
Around 45 delegates to the APEC Experts Group on Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EGEE&C) visited Mandaue yesterday to observe the local government’s best practices as a highlight of their meeting in Cebu from Aug. 31 to Sept. 2.
Engineer Antonio Labios, Department of Energy (DOE) regional director in Central Visayas, said the delegates were briefed about Mandaue’s “green building” program, which seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the use of environment-friendly materials in construction and non-toxic technologies in offices, among others.
“The highlight of the tour is learning about sustainable energy programs and best practices,” he told Cebu Daily News in a phone interview yesterday.
Li Pengcheng, group chairman, said Mandaue’s projects and plans were feasible and may be applied in other APEC economies.
“Yes, yes, very feasible and we saw the best practice for developing economies (on) how to keep the balance (between) the city’s economic development and environment,” he said.
NEXT STEP
“I think, for the next step, we have to convince other experts. Maybe we can ask for support from the US or other countries who would like to provide some support to improve the human (resource) management, reduce emission and reduce (the effects of) climate change,” Li added.
He suggested that Mandaue “pay more attention to energy efficiency and transportation.”
Li, who is visiting Cebu for the first time, was also impressed by what he saw.
“It’s very beautiful and it’s very impressive as to economic growth. You keep the traditional culture,” he said.
Aside from visiting the Mandaue City Hall, Labios said the delegates also went to the San Miguel Brewery in Barangay Tipolo.
“There, they observed best practices on what the company did to reduce power and water consumption,” he added.
He said these measures eventually lead to savings, making production cost-efficient.
“Less cost during production translates to a lower price for the final product,” said Labios.
Although he is not privy to the details, he said the delegates joined a larger group in the afternoon to tour heritage sites in Cebu City.
The EGEE&C is a biannual forum of APEC member-economies that promotes energy conservation and application of energy efficiency practices and technologies as the group’s contribution to international efforts in reducing the adverse impacts of increasing energy production and consumption.
This year’s meeting discussed developments in smart grids, energy management systems, standards and labelling, energy intensity reduction and transport fuel efficiency, among others.