Legarda, Visayan Sea Squadron, DENR ink agreement to protect Visayan Sea

Senator Loren Legarda, the Visayan Sea Squadron and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources yesterday signed a memorandum of cooperation to conserve and protect the Visayan Sea, its ecosystem and marine resources.

Under the memorandum, Legarda, who is a United Nations awardee in the field of environment, agreed to cooperate with the DENR and the Batas Kalikasan Foundation in a program to conserve, protect and restore the ecosystem of the Visayan Sea especially in the preservation and propagation of marine resources including fish resources.

The memorandum noted that the Philippine Islands is world renowned to be the center of marine biodiversity on earth, the so called Amazon of the Seas for its rich marine flora and fauna.

The Law of Nature Foundation or the Batas Kalikasan had embarked on a 10 year project to conserve, protect and rehabilitate the Visayan Sea in the hope of restoring its productivity.

During the signing, Legarda said that she will give her full support as well as that of her own Luntiang Pilipinas Foundation behind the efforts to restore the pristine environment of the Visayan Sea.

“Unless we preserve and increase the marine resources of the Visayan Sea, tens of thousands of Filipinos would fall deeper into poverty and malnourishment. In this way, we also give meaning and honor to the sacrifice of Jojo dela Victoria who gave his all for the environment,” Legarda said.

The Visayan Sea Squadron’s mission is to conserve, protect, and restore the Visayan Sea. Teams of volunteers will assess the level of compliance and enforcement of environmental laws within the country as well as try to gauge existing facilities and identify opportunities for intervention.

They will also provide information and conduct education campaigns, establish marine sanctuaries, conduct an underwater survey of coral, fish, and other marine life, and run a series of hands-on legal empowerment workshops to local law enforcement personnel, barangay officials, youth leaders and concerned citizens. One of their goals is to organize a local enforcement network that can be hooked up to regional, national and even international networks.

The Visayan Sea Squadron is a joint project of the Law of Nature Foundation and the Sail and Dive Expedition Group. It was organized by Antonio Oposa, Jr., a lawyer and the chairperson of the National Environmental Action Plan of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.

The volunteers comprising the Visayan Sea Squadron represent an assortment of specialists and experts nearly as diverse as the Visayan Sea itself. Divers, marine enforcement personnel, legal experts, teachers, architects, doctors, and others will continuously tour and monitor the Visayan Sea, covering a total area of about one million hectares. — Jasmin R. Uy/QSB