MANILA, Philippines—Puerto Princesa City has been selected to receive the ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable Cities Award, which are being given for the first time to give recognition to cities in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that have “taken exemplary measures to keep their cities clean, green and liveable even as they continue to grow as centers of economic and industrial activity.”

The awards were handed out last week in Hanoi, Vietnam.

This award for Puerto Princesa was received by Councilor Miguel Cuaderno IV, according to a press statement released by the city government. The city was nominated by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environment Management Bureau in recognition of its role as the country’s foremost champion of sustainable development.

Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, ASEAN secretary general, said the awards were an initiative of the ASEAN environment ministers.

The other recipients of the awards are: Temburong District in Brunei; Phnom Penh in Cambodia; Palembang in Indonesia; Luang Prabang District in Laos; North Kucing City Hall, Malaysia; Taungyi City, Myanmar; South West Community Development Council, Singapore; Bangkok City in Thailand and Ha Long City, Vietnam.

Compelling stories

Dr. Pitsuwan said the award is significant because “each awardee-city tells a compelling story of how it has placed environment and nature at the core of city planning, the challenges it faced, and its resolve to ensure the cities remain environmentally sustainable as it develops and modernizes. Their ability to successfully focus on the sustainability of their environment provides an experiential model that other cities can emulate,” Pitsuwan said.

Pitsuwan explained that the rapid economic growth and the increase of population in cities in ASEAN pose serious pressure on the environment. Numerous studies across the region have reported the significant impact of degraded urban environment on human health. Addressing these challenges will not be an easy task. However, it is not impossible. There are already many best practices from cities in ASEAN which can be shared and learned.

In response to the ASEAN award, Puerto Princesa City Mayor Edward Hagedorn said: “We are happy and proud and grateful to have represented the Philippines in this very prestigious ASEAN search for the region’s most environmentally sustainable cities.”

“This is a very meaningful award because it recognizes and validates the correctness of our long-avowed policy of sustainable development in lieu of the destructive boom-and-bust cycles of environmental exploitation characterized by the wanton abuse and destruction of land, air and water resources – the very sources of life – as if there were infinite,” Hagedorn said.

“We thank the DENR-EMB for acknowledging our people’s efforts by nominating us to the ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable Cities (ESC) Award 2008,” he said.