PROTECTING THE VERDE ISLAND PASSAGE WHILE THERE'S STILL TIME

I HAD the pleasure of having a taped, long conversation with Dr. Sylvia Earle, world-renowned marine biologist, oceanographer, explorer and the first woman chief scientist of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in her recent visit to the Philippines. She was a guest of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) upon the invitation of Secretary Toni Yulo-Loyzaga. She was one of the pioneers to use the modern self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (scuba) and helped develop deep-sea submersibles for explorations in uncharted seas. Dr. Earle plays a leading role in establishing marine protected areas (MPA) by declaring them as "Hope Spots."

Dr. Earle, 88, was in the Philippines to dive in and explore the Verde Island Passage (VIP) with the DENR's Biodiversity Management Bureau, Coastal and Marine Division. The VIP is one of the most biologically diverse waters on Earth, serving as a habitat for over 1,700 marine species, including 60 percent of the world's shore fish and 300 coral species. The VIP is considered by scientists to be the center of marine shorefish biodiversity in the world. As important as it is to the marine ecological balance, it also serves as a passage for commercial vessels and passenger ferries, hosting other important activities such as fishing and ecotourism. The VIP is a major source of livelihood, a lifeline to many residents nearby.

Recently, the DENR brought together Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and San Miguel Corp. — or the Big Three — to assume joint stewardship of the critical waterway. This partnership between government and big business conglomerates is a breakthrough collaboration that can help ensure the protection of the VIP. Dr. Earle has said, "We must protect our oceans as if our lives depended on it because they do." The ocean is everybody's business.

In July 2023, the international marine conservation nonprofit Mission Blue named the VIP a Hope Spot in recognition of the need to protect and maintain the ecological balance of VIP within the Philippines and on a global scale. According to Mission Blue, 12 percent of land around the world is under some form of protection, but only 8.2 percent of the ocean is protected, and 2.9 percent is fully protected from fishing impacts. The DENR has declared the VIP a marine protected area, but there is still a need to legislate a measure declaring VIP a "legally protected area" to deter and punish violators under the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (Nipas Act).

Dr. Earle has been diving in the deep sea since the 1950s. She has seen the oceans change for the worse and has shared her stories in her numerous documentaries and talks. She remains hopeful, though, because we know more about the science now than we did in the 1950s. I asked her if all the interests could co-exist in the Verde Island Passage. She replied, "We have to protect those natural systems on the land and the sea that generate oxygen and capture carbon. The diversity of life here in the Philippines is exceptional. And diversity leads to stability to provide the assets, the ingredients, that make life possible. So, I really applaud this country. The people here. The leadership. The actions that have been taken by the government to look around and say that we have the power and authority to be leaders in protecting nature."

The Philippines is made up of 82 percent water (counting the exclusive economic zones) and 12 percent land. We are a Blue nation. We are also one of the most climate change-vulnerable countries in the world. President Bongbong Marcos has stated numerous times that our economic agenda will not ever be incompatible with our climate change agenda. To that, Dr. Earle says, "I say bravo, President Marcos, for the ethical caring. It's the right thing to do and the right time to do it. Thank you, President Marcos, for doing what you have the power to do to move to the right place at the right time. And inspire leadership in others all over the world. That is what will take us to a safe place in a universe that is pretty unfriendly. The right time. The right leadership."

According to Secretary Yulo-Loyzaga, "President Marcos values and protects the inextricable linkages between climate, the ocean, biodiversity and sustainable development." She administers the same brand of leadership that is collaborative and centered on research and data. "The visit of Dr. Sylvia Earle, the establishing of six new marine research stations all over the country, and the cooperation between major stakeholders in the protection and biodiversity conservation of the Verde Island Passage are testaments to the Philippines' commitment to doing our share in local, regional and global climate resilience."

At 88, Dr. Earle has seen it all. And yet she dove the Verde Island Passage with enthusiasm like it was her first exploration as an aquanaut. "I hope that I can be around long enough to see this trajectory of planetary decline — the air, the water, the fabric of life, the habitability of Earth itself — stabilize. We have the power to do that. Armed with knowledge, armed with the ability to respect the natural systems that make Earth habitable in the first place to safeguard what remains and restore what we can while there's still time."

2024-07-02T16:13:28Z dg43tfdfdgfd