Boracay residents take steps to protect environment

Residents and establishment owners of Boracay Island are taking action on Boracay Island’s pressing environmental concerns to ensure it remains one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations.

President Arroyo witnessed recently the signing of two memoranda of agreements (MOA) between the Boracay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and the Department of Tourism (DOT) which will implement two major environmental projects.

"The hotel and resort owners, including the residents of Boracay are aware of the challenges on the environment brought about by continuing developments in the island. There are so many new establishments being built but we hope that through these projects, we are doing something concrete that would allow us to keep the balance and not destroy the lure that bring tourists here in the first place," said Philippe Bartholomi, BCCI executive committee chairman and general manager of Fridays resort hotel.

BCCI is implementing a two-year, P4-million project called "Eco-Campaign and Material Recovery Facility (MRF) for the residents and tourism related establishments which will be partially funded by a P2-million grant under Pearl 2 or Private Enterprise Accelerated Resources Linkages of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

Bartholomi said the MRF project aims to increase the environmental consciousness of various island stakeholders and implement a sound solid waste management, reduce solid waste and increase the volume of recycled waste materials.

"Boracay today hosts a staggering statistics of tourist establishments. This makes the island vulnerable to environmental degradation that poses long-term risks not only to its natural endowments, but also to enterprises capitalizing on these endowments. Clearly, the problem is how to reduce the volume of solid waste generated," Bartholomi said.

A long-term key strategy in ensuring the sustainability of development in Boracay is to hold annual events promoting environmental awareness among Boracay students.

"The idea is simple. Many of these students will likely end up working for establishments in the island. With proper education and orientation on the environment, they would be the best advocates of environmental protection as a sound business practice," explained Bartholomi.

In the near term, BCCI will spearhead the construction of an MRF that will bolster the no-waste segregation, no collection rule. At the MRF, recyclables such as plastic, glass, aluminum and paper will be collected and sold while biodegradable waste recovered will be turned into compost.

"Revenues from recyclable and compost materials will be used to sustain the MRF while excess profit will be reinvested to eventually expand the capability of the facility. We are optimistic that the MRF project will, aside from preserving the island, create micro and small enterprises through the use of recycled materials."

Complementing the MRF is a P10-million project called "Environment -Friendly Garbage Disposal System" that aims to eliminate landfills and traditional means of garbage disposal by converting garbage to usable end products like building materials, fertilizers and coral free growing materials.

Under the project, a crusher unit that is globally patented will process all kinds of garbage. The machine consists of a strainer/separator that segregates the different sizes of garbage as well as inorganic and organic waste. Costing P5 million, one crusher can process at least 10 metric tons of garbage daily.

The project also includes the installation of infrastructure such as a tooling component that could transform the crushed garbage into byproducts like hollow blocks and marine reef habitat restoration; an unloading area or a ramp for garbage trucks to unload garbage into the crusher unit; a processing area that receives and contains storage tanks for chemicals (neutralizing agents) and shredded waste, and a fabrication area where molds could be constructed initially for specific byproducts.

Bartholomi said these two projects are designed to stir awareness among residents and tourists alike on the urgency of preserving and even enhancing the ecology of Boracay.