Davao is country's first: LGUs, civil society, private sector form airshed board.

Davao City leads the country as the first local government unit (LGUs) to form the airshed governing board as mandated by the Clean Air Act.

The governing board is made up of representatives from the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) with regional representatives from the departments of Transportation, Energy, Trade, Health, Science and Technology, Agriculture, Education, and the Philippine Information Agency (PIA).

Members also include representatives from the private sector, non-government and civic organizations such as the Pollution Control Association of the Philippines, Inc., South Eastern Mindanao Diversified Drivers-Operators Cooperative, Kinaiyahan Foundation, Inc., and the Bus Operators' Association of the Philippines.

"While air quality in Davao may still be more manageable than Metro Manila, a multi-sectoral coordinating body must still be established to ensure that air quality standards specified in the law are maintained and met," said DENR Secretary Heherson Alvarez, who chairs the board.

The Board is tasked to formulate policies and set standards within its jurisdiction to coordinate the activities of all sectors for the effective implementation of the Clean Air Act. Among its important tasks is an intensified anti-smoke belching program.

The Clean Air Act mandates the establishments of airsheds in all regions nationwide as part of the air quality management plan. Airsheds are defined as areas with common weather or meteorological conditions and sources of ari pollution which affect the interchange and diffusion of pollutants in the surrounding atmosphere.

The DENR Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) is tasked to designate airshed boundaries, and determine attainment and non-attainment areas. Regional offices are currently working on the definition of airsheds nationwide.

Taken from Hangin.org [http://hangin.org/archive/0013/prDavao.htm]

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