KK! will feature” Women, Water and Waste” on April 23 @ DZRH AM radio. 7:30 pm (Manila Time)

Women, Water and Waste are the three Ws that significantly affect the sustainable development of the Philippines and the rest of the world. But one man asked, "Why the emphasis on women? What about us, men?"  Well, women take on the task of child-bearing and most of the work on childcare. They often do most, if not all, of the household chores. They tend to crops in their backyards and in the fields. "Women are responsible for half of the world's food production and, in most developing countries, rural women produce between 60-80 % of the food." Water is essential in these tasks. Hence, the global water crisis now increases the burden on women.

On the other hand, waste, which arises from those tasks of women, can be both a burden and an opportunity for them. Good waste management gives women opportunities for livelihood and, thus, it can contribute to gender equality.

WWW shall be the focus of an international symposium in Manila that the Philippine Women's University is organizing in the last week of June 2008.  It will feature outstanding women achievers in the environment and resource persons from Asia, Africa, Latin America, North America and the European Union.

The return trip of Howard Belton from UK to the Philippines unfortunately will be delayed. So we cannot have him on time for our episode on Wednesday. Mr. Belton is the president of the Philippine Business for the Environment and former Unilever Philippines chair/CEO. As a policy, we do not do substitution of a guest. But Ms. Odette Alcantara, Country Coordinator of Earth Day Network, Founding Trustee of GREEN Army and a well-recognized environment leader, agreed to share her time with us on Wednesday, a day after Earth Day. So she will be our third panelist, thus completing our WWW panel of outstanding women in the environment field.

In preparation for the symposium and to enable you and others to understand the topic and its importance to you, Kalikasan, Kaunlaran! (KK!) will feature WWW on April 23, 2008, 7:30-8:30 PM, at DZRH AM radio. Guest panelists are Lilia Casanova (Overall co-chair of the international symposium and EARTH Institute Asia Trustee), Dr. Olivia la'O-Castillo (UN Secretary General Advisory Board Member on Water and Sanitation and Chair/President, Asia-Pacific Roundtable for Sustainable Consumption and Production) and Howard Belton (president, Philippine Business for the Environment and Former Chair/CEO, Unilever Philippines). They will discuss the main issues on WWW, the initiatives now being taken in the Philippines and elsewhere that are relevant to Filipinos, and the additional measures that you and others can take. Dr. Cora Claudio, president, EARTH Institute Asia, directs/hosts the weekly radio program.

Guest panelists are Ms. Lilia Casanova, Dr. Olivia la'O-Castillo and Ms. Odette Alcantara, with Dr. Cora Claudio as the talk-show host. They will discuss the main issues on WWW, the initiatives now being taken in the Philippines and elsewhere that are relevant to Filipinos, and the additional measures that you and others can take.

You will also hear more about the Malunggay Para sa KK, 2M Puno Para sa KK and other projects of EARTH/KK! in partnership with various public and private organizations. The contests offer cash prizes and the projects provide livelihood while protecting and enhancing the environment. You may join all of them by being a registered KK! listener. To register, text 2299: earth<space>REG < name, age, sex, address, email address, and name of who invited you to tune in>.

KK! is co-produced by EARTH Institute Asia, Inc. and DZRH, with the cooperation of MAP, GREEN Army, PFST, TOWNS, PBE, AIJC, PEIA, DENR, and others. It is at 666 kHz in Metro Manila and at other kHz in other areas nationwide.  It is globally accessible thru www.eradioportal.com, http://www.mabuhayradio.com/content/view/2806/51/ or simply click on DZRH

and http://dzrh.prepys.com.

You and your contacts are also invited to join KK!'s roster of partners-sponsors. The ones who have already committed for the 2nd quarter are Unilever, Unilab, and Toby's Sports. Providing in-kind support are Delbros Supply Chain Solutions, Management Association of the Philippines,  Figaro Coffee, Brahma Kumaris, and Arch. Paulo Alcazaren.

Inquiries: 671-3266, 0917-829-1718, or email earthinstitute@gmail.com.