Today, we celebrate World Wildlife Conservation Day. Never in the history of our world have human beings been working together as urgently as now to avert a global catastrophe, as we try to save our wildlife, our forests, our ecosystem from the effects of climate change.

In many parts of the world, this is a real-life crisis. And the region of Asia and the Pacific bears much of the brunt as it accounts for more than 80 percent of the global loss of life, both human and animal, due to disasters that are mainly man-made.

To quote Black Elk, the Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux tribe: "One should pay attention to even the smallest crawly creature, for these too may have a valuable lesson to teach us." I absolutely agree with this wise advice of the Indian sage, as the American Indians have long been acknowledged as keepers of the land with special focus on animals.

In the Philippines, disaster risks abound as the country is an archipelagic state located in the western edge of the Pacific Ocean and directly situated within the Ring of Fire. We constantly face the risk of typhoons, drought, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. Today, because of climate change, we are also confronted with extreme weather changes.

Around the world, we realize the clear injustice for us to end up as victims and witnesses to the devastating impact of climate change being borne by the poorest groups, who have the least responsibility for having caused it and the least capacity to adapt to the wrenching changes. I strongly believe that industrialized countries must compensate for this inequality as governments around the world commit deep cuts in their greenhouse emissions and support adaptation programs in poor, vulnerable countries.

We need to challenge world leaders and decision-makers from the regional to local levels to redefine development — a kind of redevelopment that transcends traditional and economic benchmarks like GDP, the kind that values the social, cultural, and natural capital of countries; and the kind founded on sustainability and socioeconomic progress, ecosystems protection, cultural resilience, and good governance.

We can, altogether, relive, challenge, and strengthen the humanitarian spirit within us that wants to change the world and make it a livable, environmentally sound, and better place for everyone to live in.
While we are gifted with intelligence, innate goodness, practical knowledge, insight, and power of the human will, we have to work hard and be united to reverse the onslaughts to life, as we work to bring back the forested mountains, verdant hills, clean air, clean rivers, gurgling brooks, powerful waterfalls, animals frolicking in the forests, birds chirping in song, and abundant fish in oceans that we owe the next generations.

Let it be said that during our lifetime, we did our share. And maybe, just maybe, with prayers, hard work, political will, and focused determination, we will be able to make a difference.