Sustainable development: Evaluation of the rhetoric and realities of Japanese economic assistance to the Philippines

Abstract

In this research, I presented my analysis on the impact of the projects funded by the so-called a??Japanese economic assistancea?? to the Philippines on the environment, society and economy. My evaluation utilized the concept of sustainable development put forward by World Commission on Environment and Development, the 1992 United Nations Commission on Environment and Development Declaration, and several scholars like Goodland (1995) and Campbell and Heck (1997). My analysis highlighted the incongruence between Japanese rhetoric on sustainable development and the realities of development assistance that had happened in the Philippines. I argued that rhetoric were evident in Japana??s development aid charter, and in commitment to the international community to enhance its image as a major player in achieving sustainable development. In 1992, Japan institutionalized its development assistance charter, which recognized that development should be achieved without causing any damage to the environment. And since the late 1980s, Japan had actively participated in initiating programs in the international arena that aimed to protect and conserve the environment. However, realities of Japanese economic assistance that happened in the Philippines revealed that Japan did not adhere to the principles of sustainable development. I argued this by presenting my evaluation of the San Roque Multi-Purpose Dam Project. I contended that this project had caused environmental destruction and societal dislocation within the project area, and is not economically sound. The inconsistency between the declared policy of the Japanese government towards the attainment of sustainable development and the realities happened in the recipient countries such as the Philippines occurred when there are policy and bureaucratic changes in the economic assistance delivery system and when there are expectations that the implementation of Japanese economic assistance will be better than that of the previous decades, the quality of which had been criticized.