Philippines Trains Eco-Warriors

Student teachers of twenty colleges and universities in the Philippines are being trained as eco-warriors. “Eco-warriors are ordinary men and women who stand up for the environment. They take action and do work to ensure a healthy environment for all,” says Baboo Mondoñedo, executive director of the MTKISD. The Maximo T. Kalaw Institute for Sustainable Development is providing the training, based on the work of Maximo T. Kalaw, an environmentalist who campaigned for the preservation of the rapidly disappearing Philippine wilderness. They plan to convert the National Service Training Program (NSTP), a civic welfare training course required to be taken by all students, into a course on environmental advocacy, expanding the concept of security beyond mere border protection. “When teachers impart to students the concept of human and ecological security [HES] and arm them with the knowledge and skills to work for a better world, they are investing in the future,” added Mondoñedo. Subjects will include compost-making, recycling, “journaling” biodiversity and community organising, among others. ::MTKISD, via INQ7.