Latest in mines and geosciences bureauManila City and other parts of Metro Manila are sinking by a few millimeters every year from natural geological processes, but human activities including excessive groundwater extraction, heavy construction, and the proliferation of concrete roads are accelerating the rate of land subsidence and…
The Marikina Valley is prone to both severe flooding and destructive earthquakes because it sits in a basin created when a block of earth dropped between the East and West Valley Fault systems, making it a natural collection point for water from Sierra Madre while simultaneously sitting in one of…
The western coastal cities of Metro Manila, including Manila, Navotas, Malabon, and Valenzuela experience flooding faster than other parts of the capital region because they sit on unconsolidated materials, loose sand, silt, and mud that water penetrates easily and moves through quickly. Mines and…
A closer look at why the rainfall warning came late, and why classes couldn’t have been suspended sooner There were no rainfall warnings hanging over Metro Manila in the early hours of Wednesday, September 9, even as clouds gathered thick and low across the region overnight. Then, without a single…
Rising international prices for gold and copper are driving significant gains in the Philippine mining sector, pushing the industry’s contribution to gross domestic product past 1% in the first quarter of 2024, even without the opening of major new mining operations under the Marcos…
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has launched a mobile one-stop shop that brings permitting and registration services directly to small-scale mining communities, as part of a push to formalize a sector that remains largely outside the regulated economy despite its…
Mining companies in the Philippines must now set aside a dedicated rehabilitation fund from the very start of their operations—not just submit a plan—before they are granted a permit to begin digging, Environment Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna said Saturday. Cuna made the statement in an interview on…
The City of Manila will be under water should sea levels rise by two meters, and if society fails to act quickly to mitigate the impact of climate change. Vast portions of the capital, already prone to flooding, could disappear beneath the waves along with other coastal and low-lying communities…
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