Pollutants are destroying the ocean economy

With the theme “Dare to Bare”, the recently concluded 11th PICPA Cebu Summit at the Waterfront Hotel & Casino of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) Cebu Chapter, singled out, among many equally important topics, the ESG (economic, social and governance) reporting. 

Also referred to as sustainability reporting, it is the “disclosure of environmental, social and corporate governance data.” As with all disclosures, “its purpose is to shed light on a company's ESG activities while improving investor transparency and inspiring other organizations to do the same.”

The main objective of which is to make people aware that whatever developments companies may undertake, sustainability should be the concern that they must adequately address. Simply put, it is useless if you gain in one but lose in another. The result is still zero, or worse, a negative if the disadvantages are way higher than the projects’ benefits.

For example, when a factory is built and indiscriminately throw its wastes (solid and liquid), the end result is, these will go down to the earth’s lowest level. Simply put, our oceans, seas and shorelines will be polluted. Consequently, it will lead to food insecurity. 

Undeniably, the ocean, due to its vastness will always remain a mystery. However, its potential is a certainty. Its resources are now viewed as central in our efforts to address the multitude of challenges that humanity is expected to face in the coming decades. For one, pundits projected that by 2050, “the world’s population shall be at least 9 billion.” With such size, the demands for food, jobs, energy, raw materials and economic growth will be enormous.  Certainly, the massiveness of the ocean (both the surface as well as its resources down deep) has the potential to help meet these requirements. Collectively, these potentials and those that we’ve already enjoyed now is called the ocean economy.  

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) defines ocean economy as the “the sum of the economic activities of ocean-based industries, together with the assets, goods and services of marine ecosystems.” This includes among others, “marine fishing and aquaculture, coastal and marine tourism, extractive industries (e.g. oil and gas, sea-bed mining), transport and logistics industries (freight and passenger transport), shipbuilding industries, renewable energy and marine biotechnologies.”

OECD projected that the “value added generated by ocean-based industry globally could double in size from US$ 1.5 trillion in global value added in 2010 (the base year) to US$ 3 trillion in 2030.” As observed, there is a noticeable increase in economic activity in the ocean.  It is a combination of the “briskly expanding ocean industries and expectations of moderate growth in already large industries like maritime and coastal tourism, offshore oil and gas, shipbuilding and maritime equipment.” 

Some ocean industries though are expected to grow faster than the world economy.  OECD singled out “marine aquaculture, capture fisheries, fish processing, offshore wind, and port activities.” Consequently, “employment in ocean-based industries as a whole is also set to more than double by 2030 (over 40 million).” Notably, “above-average job growth is expected in almost all the sectors included in the study, with especially rapid employment growth occurring for example in marine aquaculture, fish processing, offshore wind and port activities.”

In us, as an island nation, the ocean’s potential is unlimited.  However, one of our biggest hindrances is pollution. We need not go that far. Tañon Strait (supposedly, a protected area) has huge potential. Sadly though, the City of Bais and the Municipality of Manjuyod have a deleterious concern to address. An ethanol plant right at the boundary of the City of Bais and the Municipality of Manjuyod is freely releasing its black and muddy liquid waste into the Bais North Bay. This pollutant has turned the sand a tad brown and the seawater a bit murky along the shoreline and in several islets in the area. Consequently, all these years, the poor fishermen are badly affected. Their livelihoods are severely diminished.  

Agreeably though, factories like this ethanol plant (subsidiary of a publicly listed company) in the countryside are providing livelihood to the rural folks.  Obviously, it prevents rural exodus. However, we can’t just simply provide wages to a few and kill the livelihood of the rest.