Panda Talks continue to shed light on conservation this May!
May 2020
Faithful to its aim of equipping the Filipino people with knowledge on key environmental issues, Panda Talks—World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines’ series of free live educational webisodes hosted via Facebook live—launched two new webisodes for the month of May focusing on different facets of sustainability and conservation.
Financial literacy as means of sustainability
Taking a different route from the discussions of the previous editions, the third episode of Panda Talks highlighted how one’s journey to sustainability can start by simply becoming financially literate and responsible.
The third leg, which was hosted by WWF-Philippines National Ambassador Iza Calzado, featured Atty. Claine Avelino and Joseph Eijansantos from the organization’s Sustainable Finance Team.
Atty. Avelino shared that while WWF is primarily associated with environmental conservation efforts, the organization also acknowledges the role of finance in championing environmental sustainability, citing that “awareness of how the economic system can be utilized is beneficial to furthering environmental protection.”
The duo encouraged the audience to create a way of tracking finances and personal expenses for each month, including all receivables and payables, to keep abreast of and further improve their spending habits. “Resources are very scarce, but it is not an excuse not to save and spend wisely,” Atty. Avelino quipped.
With the recently-passed Sustainable Finance Circular which now requires banks to ensure that institutions availing loans must be environmentally sustainable, viewers were also encouraged to choose greener business practices which can be mutually beneficial for both businesses and the environment; for instance, simply switching to a more environmental-friendly choice, such as using solar panels, can save one more in the long run versus traditional power supplies.
The duo wrapped up the session with an open forum where they answered viewers’ questions on sustainable finance, green investment options, and how to further maximize the internet in advertising home-based businesses.
Community Conservation: Saving the Butanding
In celebration of the International Day for Biological Diversity, WWF-Philippines National Youth Ambassador Janine Gutierrez, together with Donsol Integrated Conservation Program Project Manager Mr. Jun Narvadez, Jr. discussed the role of communities in marine conservation and saving the world’s biodiversity.
Through a partnership with the municipality of Donsol, Sorsogon’s local government, WWF-PH implements a community-based whale shark ecotourism program to sustainably manage whale shark interactions in its marine area and strengthen the conservation efforts not only for the butanding, but also for the diverse marine life in the Burias-Ticao Pass. Currently, the community-based tourism program has become one of the country’s models for sustainable tourism.
Citing the butanding’s ecological and economic significance in stabilizing coastal communities, Narvadez articulated that “responsible ecotourism practices have to be observed and whale shark interaction guidelines must strictly be adhered to, to avoid disrupting their natural behavior.” Furthermore, with plastic waste’s continuous emergence as a threat to environmental survival, he also encouraged viewers to be more aware with their plastic use and waste management as a way to contribute in marine conservation and protection of these gentle giants.
To date, Donsol has been globally recognized as a whale shark hotspot hosting one of the largest aggregations of whale sharks on the planet, with a total recorded whale shark sighting of 152 in 2019.
WWF-Philippines is set to release more episodes of Panda Talks in the months to come. For more information, log on to http://wwf.org.ph or follow WWF-Philippines in its official social media pages.
For more information, please contact:
Ms. Pam Luber
Integrated Communications Manager
pluber@wwf.org.ph
Ms. Chezka Guevarra
Public Relations, Media, and Events Assistant Manager
cguevarra@wwf.org.ph
