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CHRISTIAN reflection can best be observed with wholesome
action.
Environment Secretary Lito Atienza said the thousands of
Filipinos who are about to make their annual trek to the
provinces this Holy Week can help keep forests and
ecotourism sites clean and green by simply avoiding the
practice of discarding garbage anywhere. Better yet, he
encouraged pilgrims to plant trees.
Atienza
said observing an environment-friendly vacation is the
best way to spend Holy Week. The Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) issued tips on
how to do so.
“If we
are preparing for a Holy Week vacation, let us make sure
that we also include in our plan some
environment-friendly activities and practices. We can
have our family plant trees in the backyard or in the
farm, while for those who have planted trees in the
previous years, can check the survival of the trees.
Parents should teach their children the importance of
proper garbage disposal and segregation early,” Atienza
said.
Holy
Week to Filipinos is not just the official four-day
retreat from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday. In
practice, it begins during Palm Sunday where school
calendars also usually start their annual summer
vacation.
Atienza
added that tourists and vacationers are advised to mind
the disposal of their garbage properly, especially in
ecotourism spots. These ecotourism destinations become
prone to bacterial contamination if garbage is not
properly disposed, and can also ruin the aesthetic
quality of the vacation spots.
He
appealed to beachgoers to avoid throwing plastic bags
and cigarette butts on the beach and on the water. For
hikers and mountaineers, Atienza encouraged them to dig
compost pits for biodegradable waste and never to burn
their waste to avoid forest fires and other accidents.
Those who are planning to use their own vehicles in
going to their retreats should properly maintain their
cars to keep ecotourism sites pollution-free.
Here are
some of the DENR’s tips for an environment-friendly
vacation:
•
Consider taking shared transportation with a group, or
going by mass transit like buses or trains, or both.
This will save the country gasoline as well as carbon
emissions. Carbon dioxide is the most prominent
greenhouse gas, a major cause of global warming and
climate change.
•
Public-transport vehicles like buses and other
mass-transits vehicles should keep trash bins to prevent
passengers from throwing garbage on the streets.
• Love
our animal friends. Keep the serenity of the place when
you are bird-watching in ecotourism spots. Stick to laws
and limitations regarding hunting and fishing. Those
touring the zoos should avoid feeding animals anything
foreign to their system. |
