How to save the seas without being in the sea

A guide to save the seas from your home and out of it

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has been described as the center of marine biodiversity in the world. As a marine conservationist and environmental educator, I have a mental file of facts to impress you with: we are home to over 600 species of corals, i.e., more than the Great Barrier Reef and North America; Luzon has the highest concentration of unique mammals in the world; and we rank fifth in plant biodiversity, globally.

These fun facts, of course, come with a “but” — we may be rich in biodiversity, but the Philippines could also be described as the center of bio-adversity. Just about anything illegal and destructive that could be done to our environment has either been done or is still being done. It is a biodiversity hotspot, which means that we have lost at least 70 percent of our original habitat. In 2015, the Philippines made headlines when it ranked as the third-largest polluter of plastics in the ocean, after China and Indonesia — a feat for a country much smaller than the Top 2. Though the study has been contested for its methods, there’s no denying that the Philippines has a waste management problem, where an estimated 164 million sachets and three million diapers are disposed of daily.

Legendary oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle has described every single human as a “sea creature” because we can’t live without our seas. They are crucial to food security, economics, tourism, livelihoods and, essentially, our lives. More than half of the oxygen we breathe comes from our oceans. “No blue, no green,” Dr. Earle likes to say.

As Filipinos, our relationship with the sea should be strong and deep. The Philippines has 7,641 islands, making it the second-largest archipelago in the world after Indonesia. And yet, what I’ve learned in the environmental education programs that we run is that we are extremely disconnected from our seas. We’ve learned that 50 percent to 90 percent of our participants have never been in the sea, even when our sites are in isolated island communities. People in cities, especially, don’t know or, worse, don’t care about the state of our seas. Out of sight, out of mind.

But our seas badly need our help. If we’ve been the problem, then we can be the solution. The thought of “saving the seas” can be intimidating, but you don’t need to be a marine biologist or activist to do it. Here are ways you can be a proactive Filipino “seatizen.”

How to save the seas from your gadgets

In 2018, the Philippines was identified as the social media capital of the world for the third year in a row. The Global Digital report estimates that an average Filipino spends almost four hours on social media and up to 9.5 hours online every day. This presents an opportunity to use the world wide web to learn about the different issues of our seas. There are videos, articles and infographics about every topic you can imagine. Look up online petitions standing for or against an environmental issue and add your name to the movement. Click “share” when you find an article that stirs up emotions. If you feel strongly about an issue, someone in your network could, too.

Our connectivity also enables us to reach out to non-profit organizations, companies and government institutions. Instead of adding to the noise online, write a letter or message to opinion leaders and influencers in different sectors to raise an issue and suggest a solution.

How To Save The Seas From Your Home

In January 2019, Marie Kondo’s Netflix special Tidying Up sparked a global decluttering frenzy. If you submitted to this trend, you would have realized how much stuff you’ve accumulated and probably don’t need. Work on buying fewer things that are in higher, better quality so they last longer. When we throw away things we no longer need, a lot of these end up in our landfills and seas.

Start a simple segregation system at home: clean and store your recyclables (more on this in the next section), compost food waste, and set the rest aside for proper disposal. I live in an apartment with no garden, so I compost my food waste in airtight plastic bins.

How To Save The Seas Outside Your Home

Many of the things we buy come in disposable packaging, like personal-care products and groceries. If options for minimal packaging or package-free goods are available, take it. If they’re not, purchase recyclable packaging and find out the recycling options nearest you. There are junk shops and recyclables fairs in malls nationwide. Glorietta has a recyclables fair every first Friday of the month, while all SM malls, except Makati and Cubao, hold it every first Friday-Saturday of the month. There’s also an increasing number of shops in large cities like Makati, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao offering refillable or package-free goods. A Negros Occidental-based movement called SWEEP launched a pilot project of eight zero-waste sari-sari stores. These shops need support and feedback. After all, each purchase we make is a vote for the world we want.

Before you leave the house, prep your zero-waste kit. Chances are, you already have these items in your house: a reusable bottle that you can refill instead of buying bottled water, a reusable tumbler or cup that you can offer cafés instead of disposable cups and lids, reusable utensils instead of accepting plastic ones from fast food chains, and reusable bags that you can bring instead of flimsy plastic bags.

If you’re studying or working, talk to the leaders of your school or employer about waste management practices and the possibility of decreasing wastes in daily operations. If the company you work in has a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, encourage them to look for an environmental organization to donate to or volunteer for.

Saving the seas is every Filipino’s responsibility. When we take care of the seas, they take care of us. —  Anna Oposa

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Anna Oposa is the executive director and chief mermaid of Save Philippine Seas. Learn more at @savephseas on Instagram and Twitter, Save Philippine Seas on Facebook, and visit www.savephilippineseas.org.