In the meantime, the Philippines has one of the highest population growth rates in the Southeast Asia. Approximately 84 million people live there. Demographers predict the country’s population will reach 147 million by 2050.  Rapid population growth is linked to many of the country’s top environmental concerns, which include illegal logging and mining, deforestation, dynamite fishing, diesel air pollution and destruction of mangrove forests.

After fish populations plummeted, a Population, Health & Environment project on the Philippine Island of Gilutongan helped to create a successful seaweed farming project. Islanders dry the seaweed and sell it through their cooperative to companies that process it into carageenan, a thickener used in food and cosmetics. Seaweed farming is more environmentally friendly and more profitable than selling fish.

I discovered a country of stark contrasts. I was jarred by the juxtaposition of natural beauty next to heartbreaking poverty. Images such as a five-star hotel with 3 outdoor swimming pools situated near communities that have no running water or sanitation are indelibly etched in my memory.  

I regained a sense of hope when visiting field sites implementing what are called Population, and Environment programs.  These projects work at the local level to solve interrelated challenges such as poverty, health care, population stabilization, and natural resource conservation.  By addressing multiple issues concurrently, these projects enable communities to enjoy multiple benefits of improved human and environmental well-being.

The Philippines is a living laboratory for these innovative strategies. Local organizations and international aid organizations are working together to implement the projects. 

This holistic approach has attracted attention around the globe. I was a Sierra Club volunteer in a 12-member American study group. We joined representatives from 18 other nations who traveled to the Philippines to learn what projects are most successful and what initiatives might be replicated in other parts of the world.            

As we approached the 37 acre island of Gilutongan, it appeared to be a tropical paradise: crystal blue water, towering coconut trees and sandy beaches adjacent to a beautiful coral reef. 

Life has not always been paradise for the 1,365 island residents.  Destructive fishing methods and a doubling of the island’s population in the last 15 years had strained the food supply.  Meanwhile, the island residents lack potable water, health services, electricity and basic sanitation.

With help from nongovernmental aid organizations, locally-led projects which integrate family planning and coastal resource management are making tremendous progress.  Islanders previously had to go to the mainland to seek medical treatment for common ailments.  The construction of a new health clinic now provides a place for medical check-ups and prenatal care.  Affordable contraceptives are now available through sari-sari (general) stores, while trained peer educators conduct outreach and counseling throughout the community on family planning issues. 

Now islanders have a steady, clean and affordable supply of potable water—a necessity during the dry season—brought by boat and distributed in five-gallon containers. Previously they had relied almost exclusively on rainwater.

These initiatives, combined with environmentally-friendly enterprise developments such as seaweed farming, community based water distribution, and volunteer monitors of the 14 hectare Gilutongan Marine Sanctuary, have improved life on the island while allowing the coral reef and fish populations to recover.

 “This project does something for the people, not just for protecting the resource,” gushed Nong Toti, the passionate and charismatic manager of the sanctuary.  His commitment has helped make this Population, Health & Environment project a model.  Reader’s Digest’s recognized Toti as an “everyday hero.”

I was touched by the kind, generous, hopeful spirit of the Filipinos like Toti that I met.  My hope is that important decision-makers and funders will likewise be inspired by these stories and support these critical projects, as they hold great promise for the future health our planet and its people.

Susan Studer King will be our program speaker on June 14.