Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS) Inc.

Affected communities asked the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to divest from Davao’s Waste-to-Energy (WtE)
facility during the People’s Forum on January 9, 2023, at the Big House, Juna Subdivision, Davao City

We, the undersigned alliances and organizations, are deeply concerned about the integrity of the
statements recently released by the Japan International Cooperation Agency for its lack of accountability
on past and present efforts in promoting and investing in false solutions to waste management and
the climate in Davao City. In the articles, it has disclaimed its support for the WTE incinerator project as it
impedes the rights of affected communities to receive adequate information, to be heard, to seek
redress and file complaints to accountable institutions.


Since 2010, JICA has been instrumental in the entry of Waste-to-Energy (WTE) incinerators in Davao City.
The development assistance began as a Collaboration Program with the Private Sector for
Disseminating Japanese Technology commenced in March 2018 with the signing of the Japanese
Government and the Republic of the Philippines of a grant agreement worth PhP 2.052 billion to fund
the construction and operation of a PhP 5.23 billion WtE incinerator in the City. The remaining project
cost of around PhP 3 billion will be covered by the Philippine Government, which was already requested
for release through a resolution by the Davao City Council in August 2022 — an amount equivalent to
more than 60 percent of the entire annual budget of the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources.


The feasibility report of the WTE project in Davao stressed that the absence of prior experience in
managing and operating WTE facilities is a big hurdle in the Philippines, and the limited capacity of the
municipality to cover the cost of waste treatment with WTE technology. It also added that proper legal
and regulatory scheme are all required to implement the first project of full-scale WTE facility.


These statements indicate a recognition of the legal barriers put in place by the Filipino people through
our Congress to safeguard our health and the environment as stated in the Clean Air Act and the Solid
Waste Management Act. Yet, JICA has continued promoting its Japanese technology despite a standing legal ban on incinerators now being defended by environmental advocates in the Supreme Court and the midst of City-wide opposition to the project. JICA’s assistance flowed to undermine the policy barriers for the systematic entry of this Japanese technology in our waste management system. JICA has directly engaged in the development of waste management guidelines, supported interagency meetings to discuss implementation arrangements for its project, and facilitated learning tours of government officials and waste regulators to WTE incinerator sites in Kitakyushu City, Japan. This cooperation continued without access to information and meaningful consultations, and city residents have opposed it.


As rightly identified in the feasibility study, 50% of the area is afforested or tropical forest, of which 43% is
used for agriculture, where bananas, pineapples, coffee, and coconuts cover most of these agricultural
areas. When operationalized, the WTE incinerator will produce globally known harmful byproducts, such
as dioxins, furans, and mercury that will have dire implications to crop and soil health, air quality, the
ecosystems, health and food security.

The WTE incinerator is not the answer to our City’s limited capacity for collection and segregation that
was identified in the project feasibility. We would hope that development institutions like JICA see their
support to capacitate our local governments to implement the Ecological Solid Waste Management fully
Act and the provision of financing for existing Zero Waste systems and innovations that are deemed to
be a just and more appropriate option for managing our waste.


We respectfully urge JICA to withdraw its support for Waste-to-Energy in Davao City and elsewhere in
the country regarding our ban on incinerators. We also encourage JICA to ensure transparency and
accountability in their development projects to ensure that the benefits of the development vision are
equitably shared with and for disadvantaged groups. ###


Signed by:
National Groups
Philippines

  1. Buklod Tao
  2. Cavite Green Coalition
  3. Consumer Rights for Safe Food
  4. Developing the Youth with Environmentally Sustainable Advocacies to Build and Empower Lives
    (DYESABEL) Philippines
  5. Ecowaste Coalition
  6. Ecoteneo
  7. EGIP Foundation, Inc.
  8. Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS), Inc.
  9. Institute for the Development of Educational and Ecological Alternatives Inc. (IDEAS – Cavite)
  10. Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Pag-unlad (MASIPAG–Mindanao)
  11. Mintal Resource Collectors Association
  12. Mother Earth Foundation
  13. Panalipdan Youth – Davao
  14. Pangasinan People’s Strike for the Environment (Eco Dangla)
  15. Partnership for Clean Air
  16. Pag-asa Youth Association of the Philippines – Mintal Chapter
  17. Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ) Davao Chapter
  18. Pundok Sagop Kalikupan
  19. Sanlakas
  20. Save Sierra Madre Network Alliance, Inc. (SSMNAI)
  21. Sustainable Davao Movement
  22. United Cycling Adventure Society Inc.
  23. War on Waste – Negros Oriental
  24. Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (YACAP) — Visayas
  25. Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (YACAP) — Mindanao
  26. Youth for Climate Justice (Y4CJ)
  27. Zero Waste Baguio, Inc.
  28. Indonesia
  29. Bali Waste Platform
  30. Ecoton Foundation
  31. Nexus3 Foundation
  32. Komunitas Nol Sampah Surabaya / Surabaya Zero Waste Community
  33. Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia (WALHI) / Friends of the Earth Indonesia
  34. India
  35. Centre for Financial Accountability
  36. Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group
  37. Eco Circular India Foundation
  38. Stree Mukti Sanghatana
  39. Bangladesh
  40. ASD-Bangladesh
  41. Women & Child Development Organization (APARAJITA)
  42. Malaysia
  43. Sahabat Alam Malaysia
  44. Viet Nam
  45. No-Burn Vietnam Network (NBV)
  46. The People’s Republic of China
  47. Blue Dalian
  48. The United Kingdom
  49. Derby & South Derbyshire Unfriends the Burning Earth
  50. The United States of America
  51. Zero Waste Ithaca
  52. Mongolia
  53. Ecosoum NGO
  54. South Africa
  55. Zero Waste Association of South Africa (ZWASA)
  56. Tanzania
  57. Innovation for Life group
  58. IRTECO
  59. Argentina
  60. Taller Ecologista
  61. Regional Groups
  62. Centre de Recherche et d’Education pour le Développement (CREPD)
  63. Greenpeace Southeast Asia
  64. Health Care Without Harm Southeast Asia
  65. NGO Forum on ADB
  66. International Groups
  67. American Environmental Health Studies Project (AEHSP)
  68. Break Free From Plastic
  69. Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives
  70. International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN)
  71. Oceana