Full and effective implementation of environmental laws, policies and programs continues to be a challenge. Governance issues, including corruption, are among the reasons for low compliance in these laws. The incomplete devolution of mandates to LGUs has also hampered their full implementation (see Box 10.3 for devolved functions). A DILG-commissioned study in 200528 called the state of environment and natural resource devolution "partial and at worst, minuscule and insignificant". Devolved functions were mainly peripheral, unattractive to private investors, and were costly to perform. Among these functions were watershed regulation, greenbelt and treepark development, farmer-level integrated social forestry, and small-scale mining, all of which do not attract significant investments from the private sector or are limited to certain LGUs. The control of smoke-belching vehicles, the management of solid wastes, and coastal zone regulation and protection are devolved functions requiring substantial investments from LGUs. In 2007, ADB also commissioned a study on the devolution of DENR functions, to help identify responsibilities in the Integrated Coastal Resources Management Project (ICRMP). The study pointed out the institutional weaknesses in most of the 206 Protected Area Management Boards (PAMBs) revealed by a 2003 UNDP study. Of these PAMBs, only five were fully constituted boards backed by specific laws; the rest became interim boards.29
Contributing to poor enforcement and compliance is the lack of knowledge of environmental laws, policies, and programs among LGUs, specifically in communities or barangays. There are still rural communities which depend on resource extraction for their livelihood. Relevant environmental laws, specifically those regulating the utilization of natural resources, e.g., NIPAS, Wildlife Act, etc. are poorly implemented. There is a need to intensify information and advocacy campaigns on existing environmental laws and policies among communities.
__________________________________________________________________________________
28 DILG/ADG, 2005. Local Government Financing and Budget Reform.
29 ADB, Country Environmental Analysis, 2008.