The coral reef colonies of the Philippines,
considered the "rainforest of the ocean" for the bio-megadiversity, could
end up dead and with them the rich marinelife. The country is blessed with
the richest coral reef in the world, said to be even richer than the
Australian Great Barrier Reef. The Philippines as part of the Coral Triangle
has the richest marine bio-diversity in the world.
The country has a coastline longer and larger
than the continental United States and its surrounding waters can feed the
most of Asia and the world if sustainable fishing practices are maintained.
Because of the live reef fish commerce the
country's megadiversity is in danger. Most of the live fish catch in the
Philippines are collected with the clandestine use of cyanide - a deadly
broad spectrum poison also used in mining - dissolved in water and squirted
into reef crevices. Stunned the fishes swim in crazy loops right into the
waiting nets of catchers.
Aside from cyanide fishing, other destructive
practices are antiquated methods of fishing such as muro ami, kayakas, trawl
fishing. These destructive fishing methods contributed to the massive
collapse of the country's coral reef colonies' vast expanse of 33,000 square
kilometers. These days, a measly six coral reef colonies remains in good
condition. The rest are either dead or in bad condition.
In the whole world, over 10 percent of coral
reef colonies have been destroyed and lost of disease, coral bleaching,
pollution and overfishing. More than 58 percent of coral reefs are
considered under threat from human activities.
Although cyanide fishing is not the only cause
of marine degradation - the others are dynamite fishing, overfishing,
pollution, siltation, erosion and debris dumping - it is the one single most
destructive factor in the whole seascape. It is not only a reef killer, it
is also a brood stock killer. The culprit is the live food fish trade -
mostly exports to Hong Kong - amounting to P66.5 million annually. Add to
that the aquarium pet fish trade to the United States, Canada and Europe.
Over the last four decades some one million
kilograms of cyanide had been squirted into the Philippines coral reef
colonies. At the latest estimate, there are now some 6,000 divers using
cyanide in the country. Live fish disgorge most of the cyanide in a few
days. A certain minute level of the poison does not harm diners.
The Ecological Society of the Philippines
(ESP) urges the Philippine government and its environment agencies to
protect and conserve this vital marine food source. Failing in that the last
bastion of natural capital and resources will be depleted and destroyed. Due
to ever increasing value of coral reef colonies and the strong possibility
they will continue to deteriorate due to man-induced and natural problems
they will continue to deteriorate.
More innovative projects should be initiated
for their protection. One such initiative is the setting up of Marine
Protected Areas (MPA) where fishing is banned. Plus education for the
fishing communities and enforcement of laws. Failing in this country will
suffer from food shortages, increased poverty and an ecological disaster.
(Antonio M. Claparols is president of the
Ecological Society of the Philippines and IUCN regional councilor)
The Society was founded
in 1979 under its original name, UESP. The Under Water Ecological Society
of the Philippines duly registered with the Security and Exchange
Commission (SEC). The name was amended in October 1983 to be known as the
Ecological Society of the Philippines (ESP). It is a non-stock,
non-profit, non-governmental Organization.
ESP was formed to provide
a formal institutional organization that will cooperate and collaborate
with both private and public sectors of the Philippine Society for the
institution, sponsorship, assistance and financing of action programs,
studies and research pertaining to the conservation, enchantment, and
protection for mankind of nature in all its forms and the natural
environment, including fauna, flora, landscape, water, soil, forest, and
other natural resources.
Immediately after its
formation, ESP became a bonafide member of the International Union for the
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and its Natural Resources. At present, we
are continuously monitoring several companies polluting the environment
and coordinating with EMB, DENR, and other NGO's to stop and or install
pollution abatement equipment. The Society together with local NGO's
actively campaigned with the Catholic Bishop of the Philippines to come
out with a pastoral letter to promote our fight for a clean and healthy
environment as imdeded in the constitution.
The Society joined the
Philippine Ecological Network (PEN), a coalition of NGOs civic groups and
Government Agencies (GA) to directly address the worsening conditions of
the environment, the continuous degradation of our remaining forest and
the wanton destruction of our marine environment by antiquated fishing
methods, such as muro-ami, kayakas, dynamite fishing and illegal trawl
fishing.
The Society is a member
of the Philippine Council for Sustainable Development Subcommittee and
Biodiversity, Atmosphere and Climate change.
Sugar Farming Agriculture is effected due to
Destruction of environment
Deforestation
Is there hope in Saving
our environment and conserving the little natural resources we have left?
Many ask? Yes, there is, but we have to act now and fast with vigilance
and determined will to protect and conserve our fragile environment.
We have no choice but to
act and the time is little for the ecological balance has tilted to the
irreversible. So much must be done in so short time.
Already heat waves in the
US, Russia, India, hit records highs. Droughts in Southeast Asia and other
parts. Floods never experience before in Norway, weather patterns have
never been worse. In our country after a prolonged drought, our planting
season has dismal rainfall.
We are running out of
water, our dams are still not filled. Our crops cannot be irrigated. Our
agricultural produce has and will continue to decline.
The country is importing
rice, corn, wheat and sugar, all traditional export. Our air is 300 times
over the tolerable health limits. Poverty is on the rise. Food and mouth
disease has struck not to mention red tide.
Our rivers run dry, our
forest continue to de denuded. DENR and the government must address these
environmental issues quickly.
We do not have the luxury
of time. Sure, we must stop France from nuclear testing in the Pacific.
Don't they knowby know that we have only one ocean and one earth? Sure, we
mush save Calauit, save Tubbattha and Apo reefs and save the Philippine
Eagle, but let us save the Eagles home, the forest.
As we experience the
impacts of what may prove to be the strongest El Niño year this century,
attention has been drawn to the possibility that behavior of El Niño may
be changing under the influence of human-induced climate change. The El
Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events are a semi-regular climatic
phenomenon involving regional interactions between the ocean and the
atmosphere.
The resulting climatic
fluctuations alter the tracks of cyclones, cause droughts and floods, and
on inter-annual basis, increase global temperatures. The 1982/83 ENSO
event was the strongest of this century and one of the most costly,
affecting more than two billion people. The 1997/98 ENSO event may probe
to be stronger still.
The unusual behavior of
El Niño in recent time has prompted considerable speculation over what
lies behind recent events, and in particular, over the possible role of
human induced climate change.
The is considerable
concern that climate change and global warning will increase the severity
and frequency of ENSO events. Studies at the Macquarie University
Climate Impact Centre in Australia show that ENSO could get struck in a
permanent warn phase if climate change warms the Equatorial Pacific.
"Here it stands,
seemingly unshakable, a mighty mountain. One hour it is there, the next
nowhere -- lost in the cloud world. Then there it is, safely back again at
the first streak of day: that wonder lost twelve hours before, as the wet
cold night clamped down across the most forest. It is back, that
incredible backdrop of teeth and fangs, gulley, precipice, cliff, plateau,
gorge, peak, projectile point -- you name it, Kinabalu has it, up there
above you, black and tense looking as if forged in iron and dropped into
place as a vast casting."
Surely this is the most
complete statement of "I am a Mountain made anywhere on this Earth."
Tom Harrison
Sabah, in the Island of
Borneo, is the fifth largest Island in the world. Also know as The Land
Below the Wind, it is the home of the highest Mountain between the
Himalayans and the peaks of New Guinea. Mt. Kinabalu stands at 4101 meters
or 13,455 feet and has been described as the most wonderful mountain in
the world.
It was our first time to
visit Kota Kinabalu, capital of Sabah, one of the two provinces of
Malaysia in the Island of Borneo, the other being Sarawak.
Mt. Kinabalu is host to
one of the richest biological diversity in the world. It is home to over
12,5000 species of flora and over 100,000 species of invertebrates. Mt.
Kinabalu is soon to be declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and is
protected strictly by Law.
Sabah is fortunate enough
to had the rate opportunity of starting development properly. They have
put a premium on their natural resources, particularly their forest
biodiversity and marine ecosystems.
Virgin Forest, Infanta, Quezon
Soil erosion due to deforestation
We had the rare
opportunity to do the canopy walk above their forest in Mt. Kinabalu. A
unusual treat indeed where one feels in communion with nature. You are on
top of the world with some of the most diverse flora and fauna.
As a Mangyan elder once
said when asked, "Have you seen the Wild Tamaraws?" He replied, "Yes,"
but that was long ago, when the forest was filled with deer.
They value a tree so
greatly, that it is considered the tree of life. Malaysia has contributed
Carbon Sequestration to the world by protecting their forest thereby
absorbing carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas depletes the ozone layer and
contributes to global warming and climate change, and secreting oxygen
back to the atmosphere. Sabah has learned from the experiences of many
countries and has put in place a National Biodiversity Programme that will
conserve the future of its beautiful and healthy environment.
The First Regional
Meeting was recently held in Sabah by IUCN - The World Conservation Union,
which was attended by over 140 participants from over twenty countries.
With the theme, "Securing Our Future in Asia's Changing Environment," The
forum was a success and the participants were impressed by how the
government of Sabah is managing their natural resources. There are over
thirty (30) tribes surrounded by an abundance of biological diversity.
Let us learn from this
experience so we may replicate it, protect and conserve our own
environment for our generation and for those still unborn.
Clown Fish and Sea Anemone in a Symbiotic
Relationship
Seven months ago the
Animal Welfare Institute of Washington D.C. and the Underwater Ecological
Society of the Philippines (UESP) embarked on a program to stop the
continuous exportation of our already depleted coral reefs.
Coral Harvesting has been
banned by a Presidential Decree, yet corals continue to get gathered in
various provinces in the Philippines, notably the provinces of Batangas
and Cebu, not to mention the many isolated islands of the achipelago.
As most of us know, the
seas, rivers and streams are our major sources of protein food. But it is
only because of the high diversity and productivity of our reefs that the
offshore fishes are as rich as they are. And now, we are plagued with the
fast degradation of this rich marine ecosystem.
How much longer will this
situation prevail? Is it only the bureaucratic red tape that delays the
implementation considerably?
With the kind assistance
of Dr. E. Gomez of the U.P. Marine Science Center supplying the
much-needed scientific information on the sad condition of our coral
resources, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Agriculture and
the Ministry of Natural Resources have now express official concern.
Meanwhile, armed with an
arsenal of documents and letters of concern, our Washington counterpart
was able to hold hearings with the representatives of the US House of
Representative and the Senate. Senator Warren Magnuson and Honorable John
Breaux of the House will always remain by-words to us for the support and
concern they have extended to the environmental and ecological problems
plaguing small, developing countries, particularly the Philippines with
regards to corals.
The final report and
findings of an extensive study conducted under the auspices for the UP
Marine Science Center indicated that the US continues to be the largest
imported of our coral resources, taking at least 56 percent, estimated at
107,525 cubic meter from the total export volume. Europe takes 33 percent
and Japan, 18 percent. In 1977, Italy took the No.2 position, overtaking,
It is our dream that if we succeed in stopping coral importation in the
United States, the other countries will follow suit, and thus eliminate
the market. The gathering of coral has long been prohibited, yet the
practice has intensified due to obvious economic reasons. There will
always be pirates as long as there remains a feasible market.
At the rate our coral
reefs and other natural resources are being depleted, it is feared that
someday our fish supply will no longer be sufficient for the rapidly
increasing population.
The latest communication
from Washington indicated that the banning of Philippine coral had
received no opposition in both the House of Representative and the U.S.
Senate. The enactment of the Environmental Bill in two to three months is
95 percent. Whatever the good news may be, we in Asia have not learned to
jump with joy, unless the fruits of our labor are seen.
We only hope that the
state officials from the "coral states," Florida and Hawaii, will not
complain that the banning of Philippine corals will increase pressure on
U.S. corals, and thus delay, if not shelve the bill. Let us hope that
selfish individuals will not be obstacles to Ecology... and our own
future.
