DENR, Steel Asia tie up for environment, communities

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has forged partnership with a steel manufacturing company to implement a program that will help protect the environment and support local communities.

Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu and Steel Asia Manufacturing Corp. chairman and CEO Ben Yao formalized the agreement by signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU).

The MOU states that the DENR and Steel Asia will collaborate on establishing “mini ecological economic zones” in areas where plants of the country’s largest steel producer are located. It also commits both organizations to using a framework called sustainable integrated area development (SAID), which incorporates environmental considerations with social justice and human development. In this setup, local communities are provided with sustainable livelihood and trained to conserve the environment.

Moreover, Cimatu said that the MOU aims to “harness human and physical resources, promote best practices, and implement programs for the environment, as well as strengthen the DENR’s partnership with the private sector.”

Yao, on the other hand, shared his vision of the Philippines to become the world’s most modern steel industry that doesn’t harm the environment.

via Philippine Star / Rhodina Villanueva