Environmental and economic sustainability implications of the major trends in the material flow accounts of the Philippines, 1981 to 2004
2008
Rapera, C.L., Philippines Univ. Los Banos, College, Laguna (Philippines). Dept. of Agricultural Economics
An economy-wide material flow account was developed for the Philippines. The total material flows from 1981 to 2004 amounted to 15.6 billion tons. Of this total, 89% was due to domestic production, eight percent was due to imports, and exports contributed three percent. Sixty-four percent of total domestic production came from mining, with sand and gravel and assorted ores being responsible for almost 54 percent of total volume. Grazing, nonfood crops (including ornamentals and landscaping materials), sugarcane, coconut oil crops, fuel wood, assorted fruits, palay and leafy/stem fresh vegetables made up 32 percent. More than half of total imports into the Philippines from 1981 to 2004 were of semi-manufactured or final products. The top groups of imported final products were special machinery for particular industries, power generating machinery and electrical machinery and electrical parts, iron and steel, and special transactions. Imports of crude fossil and energy materials had been increasing and they constituted 32 percent of the total imports to the country during the period of the study. Semi-manufactured/final products and biomass were the two groups that significantly determined export trends. Exports of the final products constituted 53 percent of total exports while 32 percent was contributed by biomass. Crude mineral material were responsible for 15 percent. The first main flow of the country was of mined materials that are produced with large amounts of hidden flows and ecosystem upheavals. The second was of fruits and vegetables that require vast tracts of land, chemicals and monoculture regimes. The third main flow which came from imports was of fossil energy material that produce pollutants upon being used in the country. The direct material intensity index (DMII) for the economy which indicates the amount of materials used per unit GDP had been increasing through time. This means that at the same time, the ability of the economy to convert direct material flows to GDP (the direct resource productivity index) had been decreasing. Because of these observations, it was concluded that the major trends in material flows of the Philippines during the period of study do not indicate strong potentials for environmental and economic sustainability. However, at this stage of its development, it is neither rational nor possible for the economy to veer away from the major components of its domestic material inputs and exports. Therefore, policies should be crafted to provide incentives to increase resource productivity and utilization efficiency. Studies aimed at improving crop yield and reducing post harvest losses should be encouraged. Recycling, in terms of volume and types of materials, has to increase significantly. Demand for everything, including the demand for land for housing, for growing of food and for infrastructure, has to decrease. This means that the government should have more realistic and rational population plans and programs.
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