Interview with Ms. Miss Earth 2008

Earth 2008 Karla Paula Henry was born in Philippines in 1986. She graduated in Tourism from University of Cebu in 2005. Before joining the fray in the beauty pageant, she was working with Marco Polo Plaza Hotel. I spoke to Ms Karla Paula Henry on her concerns regarding global warming and climatic change. Excerpts from the conversation:
Q: Planet earth is reeling under a number of environmental issues. What would you consider as the three most important issues that should be tackled on a priority?

-The biggest issue right now that our planet is facing is climate change. Years before, former Vice-President of the USA, Al Gore came up with "The Inconvenient Truth". A lot of movements have been done to send this message across. It has many sub-issues that should be addressed immediately by all the people in the world regardless of nation, gender, age or even social status. We are in the same planet and breathe the same air and drink the same water.
Here in the Philippines, a tropic country blessed with so many resources especially marine biodiversity, we will be badly hit if the current trends continue. Our corals are endangered to be bleached and when the temperature rises or falls, it will spell death to many species. Many areas will be inundated with even just a 1 meter rise in sea level. A lot of people will be displaced and will lose their homes and livelihood. Even the cultural minorities will be affected by this. Sadly, many of our tourist spots are our pristine beaches and marine parks. Our forest covers also declined through the years. That is why we continue to embark on tree planting activities focusing on doing it properly; planting only the right species for the selected area and making sure their growth are guarded and monitored. And I know we are not alone facing these problems. Through the pageant, I talked with other candidates and we shared our different issues. I wasn't surprised when I found out that we were sharing the same problems. It became a very good avenue for us to share and exchange ideas to solve them.
Q: How do you see your own role as Miss Earth in resolving the environmental problems?

A-We, as Miss Earth beauty queens are not the only women wearing crowns and living luxurious lives. As Miss Earth, I am an ambassador of the environment and I have the very big responsibility of properly educating people about the things they don't know yet and correct their not so eco-friendly habits. We are true to our cause which is pushing forward different environmental issues. We consider our status as our strength and use this position to draw attention not to ourselves but on the problems we are trying to find solutions for. Currently, we are having awareness and education campaigns all over the world to tell the people that yes we do have environmental issues that need to be addressed and that we can all do something in our own ways to counteract all the effects of climate change. And I believe that nothing else makes a bigger impact that being a living example yourself. Upon learning these issues, I made it a priority that I myself practice everything that I preach.


For rest of the interview-Read : Society & Environment( A Zayed Prize Publication)