ENVIRONMENTTAL SCIENCE MIDTERM REVIEWER

By Devine Turcido

Module 5: Environmental Geosciences  Taiga

- is a type of biome characterized
Environmental Geosciences is concerned
as coniferous forest composed of
with the interaction between humans,
pines, spruces, and larches
natural resources or unique geographic
vegetation.
features on Earth.
- It is also referred to as boreal or
Environmental Geology is an applied snow forest which are found
science which objectively studies geologic across northern Europe, Asia,
information to address contemporary and North America in the regions
environmental problems. with long, cold winters and short,
cool summers and acidic, thin
Environmental Geologist can evaluate the soils.
risk and damage potential from natural  Temperate Forest
hazards. - are typically composed of
deciduous forest with dominant
species like beech, maple, oak,
Lesson 2: Ecological Sucession and other deciduous hardwood
trees. These species have broad
Ecological succession is the term used to
leaves that shed in fall and
describe the gradual ecosystem changes
grown again during spring.
occur in species composition and
- Rainfall is abundant, 30-80
community structure over time after a
inches/year or 75-150 cm/year,
disturbance has occurred.
and growing season is a well-
Pioneer species are the first species to defined between 140 and 300
colonize the area after the disturbance. days in this biome.
These species are often small and are very - are found south of the taiga in
good at adapting to adverse conditions. eastern North America, eastern
They are good in facilitating the recovery of Asia, and much of Europe.
the environment by creating conditions that  Tropical Rain Forests
are more favorable for larger and less - are typically found in regions
adaptable species. between 10 degrees north and
south of the equator.
After the ecosystem stabilize, the - probably the riches biome in
region will become a climax ecosystem terms of diversity and total
wherein plants and animals of the biomass.
ecosystem are in a stable relationship with - Rain forests has warm climate,
the environment and they remain relatively between 20 and 30 C, and
unchanged until another disturbance plenty rainfall of at least 190
occurs. cm/year.
 Grasslands
- are found in temperate and
Lesson 3: Terrestrial Ecosystems tropical areas with reduced
rainfall, 10-30 inches per year, or
Terrestrial ecosystem is a land-based prolonged dry seasons.
community of organisms and the - are characterized as areas
environment. almost devoid of trees.
- It can support large herds of
This ecosystem primary exists in: grazing animals and also
excellent for agriculture for areas
 Tundra with deep and rich soils. There
- is a type of biome with extensive are large areas of grasslands in
treeless plain due to low Americas, Africa, Asia, and
temperature and short growing Australia.
seasons.  Deserts
- can be found across northern - are found in latitudes of 30o N or
Europe, Asia, and North S where descending air masses
American between the taiga to are dry.
the south and the permanent ice - characterized by having dry
to the north. conditions, usually less than 10
 - inches per year or 25 cm per today, is the new picture of the Earth
year, and a wide temperature which acknowledge the essential
range. role of large-scale horizontal
- have very few vegetation which movements throughout the Earth's
are all adapted to heat and lack evolution aside from the traditional of
of abundant water like vertical movements.
succulents and cacti.
- Arthropods (especially insects
and spiders), reptiles (lizards and
snakes), running birds (the  Convergent Faults (colliding)
roadrunner of the American - creates oceanic trenches and
southwest and Warner Brothers coastal volcanoes
cartoon fame), rodents - volcanoes and earthquake
(kangaroo rat and pack rat), and commonly occur
a few larger birds and mammals - In the converging of plates,
(hawks, owls, and coyotes) are one may override the other,
animal life present in deserts, and the leading edge of the
like the Sonora desert in North
lower plate may melt as it
America.
reaches greater depths or
may produce melting in the
overlying mantle. If neither
Lesson 4: Aquatic Ecosystems
plate sinks, collision creates
Aquatic ecosystems are the communities a wrinkled mountain belt,
of organisms, the surrounding water such as the Himalaya or the
environment, and the relationship between Urals.
them.  Divergent Faults (moving
The aquatic ecosystem can either be a away/apart)
- creates new land forms
 Freshwater  Transform Faults (sliding)
- are found in ponds, lakes, - the boundary shears laterally,
reservoirs, rivers, and streams as happens along
- cover only 0.78% of the Earth’s California's San Andreas
surface
Fault.
- There are three basic types of
freshwater ecosystem. The first Geomorphic Hazards
is called Lentic which are
characterized as having slow - A process or event in the physical
moving water like pools, ponds, environment that has the potential to
and lakes. The second type is negatively affect humans, their
called Lotic which are faster activities or the environmen
moving water like streams and
rivers. The third type are As the population increases, the
wetlands which are areas where threat of these geomorphic hazards
the soil is saturated or inundated also increases.
for at least part of the time
 Marine ecosystem Types of Geomorphic Hazards:
- seas and oceans  Land Slides is a mass movement
- is the largest of all ecosystem
occurring on steep slopes under the
covering approximately 71% of
the Earth’s surface action of gravity.
- It is different from freshwater  Debris Flow is a mass movement
ecosystem because of the commonly triggered by intense
dissolved compounds, especially rainfall on a steep slope.
salts, in the water  Land Subsidence
- gradual settling or sudden
sinking of the Earth's surface
Lesson 5: Plate Tectonics due to removal or
displacement of subsurface
Plate Tectonics earth materials. It is also
- A scientific theory that explains how associated with flooding.
landforms are created from the - In the Philippines, the
movement of the Earth. excessive extraction of
- A conceptual revolution in geological groundwater is one of the
sciences that begins in the 1960s, causes of land subsidence
that continues to affect the field until which is also true in East
Asian countries.
  Flooding amplitude as they move into
- is an overflowing of water shallower water, depending on the
onto land that is normally dry; nature of the local submarine
low-lying areas are most topography.
vulnerable to floods.
- may occur during heavy In many coastal areas, tsunamis
rains, typhoons, tidal surges, are far greater than is often
or when dams or levees appreciated like what happened
break. during the great Alaskan earthquake
- the most common and of 1964.
widespread weather-related
natural disaster.  Volcanic
Volcanic hazard is from major
While floods impacts are mostly
volcanic eruption that is well beyond
negative, there are also positive impacts
what can reasonably be controlled
associated to flooding. Floods can facilitate
by engineering. Volcanic
access to transportation, fresh water, and
phenomena can be best adapted to
rich alluvial soils after the event.
by accurately predicting the
occurrence and the likely results of
an eruption. Modern instrumentation
Lesson 7: Tectonic Hazards and techniques are used to detect
Tectonic Hazards or hazard events precursory phenomena associated
caused by tectonic plates colliding into each with volcanic eruptions.
other, moving against each other, moving
apart or subduction between a less dense
plate and a denser plate. Tectonic hazards Lesson 8: Extraterrestrial Impact
like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions
Lesson 9: Weather and Climate
represent abrupt changes and landforms.
Most of the times, at great scale, these Weather is the temporary conditions of the
hazards can bring catastrophic events that atmosphere or the layer of air that
greatly affects humans lives and properties. surrounds the Earth. Weather moves and
changes from hour to hour or day to day.
Assessment of earthquake, volcano,
and tsunami hazard potential can help 6 Main Weather components:
planners predict dangers from the
 Temperature
associated landslides and floods.
 Atmospheric pressure
Types of Tectonic Hazards:  Wind
 Humidity
 Earthquakes
 Precipitation
 Cloudiness
Earthquake hazard evaluation
involves determinations of the
specific location, frequency of
Climate is the average weather in a specific
occurrence, and intensity of energy
region, as well as its variations and
release. It requires characterization
extremes over many years. Climate
of the space, time, and size
changes, just like weather but it can take
distribution of the earthquakes that
hundreds or even thousands of years.
give rise to the hazard

 Tsunami
are large ocean waves most Lesson 10;;Global Climate Change
commonly generated by the uplift or Global Climate Change is considered
depression of sizable areas of the to be one of the major global environmental
ocean floor during large subduction- issues. Recorded history shows a brief
zone earthquakes, volcanic glimpse of environmental change. It shows
eruptions, and large landslides or that global climates may soon be warmer
submarine slides. than at any time during the past 1 million
years and sea level may stand higher than
Tsunamis are hardly noticed in at any time during the past 100,000 years.
Open Ocean but as they approach
the shore the waves increase in
Nature is a vast laboratory that we can never manipulate or duplicate artificially on the scale
necessary to test theories of global change, we just rely on observations of nature itself and try
to adapt to these changes.

Change is universal throughout the earth system. It is continuously occurring since the origin
of the Earth. But the term ''global change" is more specifically used to refer to human induced
changes affecting the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. Human activities, especially for
development, have accelerated rate of change that is affecting the whole earth system.

The varying concern and interest of the general public does not change the fact that the
climate is changing and that us humans has a responsibility to mitigate the negative impacts of
these changes to our environment.

MODULE 6
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT, MANAGEMENT, AND LEGISLATION

1987 Philippine Constitution – the quality standards, control of toxic

ultimate responsibility to protect and substances and hazardous wastes, solid
preserve the environment and natural waste management, and assessments
resources of the Philippines environmental impacts for private and
government projects (Bunye, 2019).
Article II Section 16 – a policy, that the
State must safeguard and advance the right
of the Filipino people to a balanced and
Lesson 1: Strategies of Government
healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm
and harmony of nature.” This policy is what Environmental Management - a
guides the Philippine Congress to enact government strategy aimed at regulating the
environmental laws with the overall goal of impacts of people's activities and managing the
protecting the environment. consequences of generating goods and services
The natural resources of the country to the environment.
have been put under pressure by resource
4 basic requirements of environmental
utilization and economic activities combined
management:
with the steady growth of population. This
leads to a host of environmental issues.  Human activities
These problems are aggravated by the lack  Value systems
of pertinent environmental laws and  Designs and plans for sustainable
exacerbated even more by the synergistic development
effects of poor law implementation and the  Environmental education
catastrophic threats of external factors such
as the global climate change (NEDA, 2011).
As a response to the disastrous impacts of In a purely human-centered sense,
human activities on natural ecosystems, environmental management deals with the
solutions to environmental problems are basic issue of how to continuously
sought through environmental management modernize the technology while ensuring
and legislation (National Environment that the process does not have a huge
Commission, 2011). impact in the natural environment.
The legislation on safeguarding the Environmental management seeks to find
environment in the Philippines is diversified the best possible balance between pursuing
and extensive. These include major economic growth, ensuring the equitable
environmental laws pertaining to mining and distribution of resources for the present
extraction activities regulation, forest generation, and conserving the natural
protection, air pollution ordinances, water resources for the generations to come

1.2 The Department of Environment and Natural Resources

 In the Philippines, the country’s main environmental regulator” is the Department of Environment
and Natural Resources (DENR). It used to be called the Department of Environment, Energy and Natural
Resources (DEENR) and was later renamed and reorganized as the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources (DENR) by virtue of Executive Order 192 series of 1987.

The DENR is the main executive agency tasked with the implementation of environmental laws and
policies. The main responsibilities of the agency are:

1) the development and management of the country’s environment; conservation and proper use
of the country’s natural resources, including forest and watershed areas and grazing lands,
mineral resources, and lands of the public domain (DENR, 2016);
2) the regulation of activities through issuances of licenses and permits on all natural resources’
utilization, consistent with the national laws, to ensure that benefits derived therefrom are
shared equitably for the present and future generations of Filipinos (DENR, 2016).

1.3 The Bureaus of the DENR

The bureaus of the DENR which are involved in the implementation of environmental laws
and regulations are the following:
a) The Environmental Management Bureau (EMB)
- Is responsible for setting environmental quality standards for air, water, land,
noise (emb.gov.ph). It also lays down the implementing rules and regulations for
the environmental impact assessments, management of solid wastes and
hazardous substances (EO 192 Section 16, 1987).
b) The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB)
- is responsible for the conservation, management, development, and proper use
of the country’s mineral resources (EO 192 Section 15, 1987).
c) The Land Management Bureau (LMB)
- is responsible for the surveys, administration, management, and disposition of
the public lands (alienable and disposable lands) and other lands not within the
jurisdiction of any government agencies (lmb.gov.ph). The LMB issues
guidelines, standards, orders, regulations, and implementation of policies for land
use development and maximization (EO 192 Section 14, 1987).
d) The Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB)
- formerly known as the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB), is
responsible for the formulation and recommendation of guidelines, policies, rules
and regulations for the establishment and management of protected areas
(www.bmb.gov.ph) (EO 192 Section 18, 1987).
e) The Forest Management Bureau (FMB)
- is responsible for the matters concerning protection, occupancy, management,
development, and conservation of forest lands and watersheds, forest
plantations, non-timber 131 forest products, wood-based industries, regulation of
the utilization and exploitation of forest resources including wildlife, to ensure
continued supply of forest goods and services (forestry.denr.gov.ph) (EO 192
Section 13, 1987).
1.4 Attached DENR Agencies
a) The Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA)
The LLDA, as an attached agency to the DENR, is responsible for the development and
management of the Laguna Lake and the 21 major rivers draining into it. The agency was
created through RA 4850 in 1966. PD 813 of 1975 and EO 927 series of 1983 provided LLDA
with powers of environmental protection and jurisdiction over the Laguna de Bay. The powers to
supervise and align policies was then transferred to the DENR from the Office of the President
by virtue of EO 149 series of 1993 (LLDA, 2020)
b) The Palawan Council for Sustainable Developmet (PCSD)
RA 7611 of 1992 (“Strategic Environmental Plan [SEP] for Palawan Act”) transfers the
administrative jurisdiction of the DENR to the local government of Palawan, beginning
December 31, 1993. The environmental management of the province has been since then
under the responsibility of the Palawan Council of Sustainable Development (PCSD). The
PCSD is tasked with the implementation and policy directions of the SEP. It is an
interdisciplinary and multi-sectoral body which is directly under the Office of the Philippine
President (Republic Act 7611, 1992),
c) The National Water Resources Board (NWRB)
The NWRB is a government agency responsible for the management and regulation of
all water resources and water-related services in the country. Its mandated functions include: (1)
formulating and coordinating policies within the framework of Integrated Water Resources
Management; (2) regulation of water resources through water permit issuances; (3) Resolution
of conflicts on water use; and (4) regulation of water service providers by issuing Certificate of
Public Convenience, Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, and water tariffs (NWRB,
2020). The following are some of the laws and policies related to the NWRB, water
management, and water regulation:
• PD 424 – created the National Water Resources Council (NWRC).
• PD 1067 – enacts the Water Code of the Philippines
• PD 1206 – assigns the residual functions of the Public Service Commission and
the Board of Waterworks to the NWRC.
• EO 124-A – renames the NWRC to NWRB and transfers the technical functions
of the DPWH Bureau of Research and Standards.
• EO 123 – reconstitutes the NWRB Board
• EO 860 – redefines the NWRB Board, transfers NWRB to DENR
d) The Natural Resources Development Corporation (NRDC)
Created through EO 7862 , the NRDC is tasked to develop and promote the use of
systems and technologies that complement the utilization of natural resources. The agency’s
functions was further enhanced by the EO 192 (1988). Its functions and objectives include, but
not limited to, the following:
• Conduct research and development on natural resources-based products;
• Provide support and assistance to natural resources-based industries (financial,
technical, management);
• Engage private sector in reforestation and industrial forestry operations;
• Ensure stable market for natural resources-based products; and,
• Engage in production/marketing of minor products (forest, aquatic, marine).