Marcos urged to safeguard marine protected areas from plastic pollution
MANILA, Philippines — An ocean advocacy organization called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to address plastic pollution and prevent the country’s marine ecosystems from becoming rubbish dumps.
In a release Tuesday, Oceana urged the Marcos administration to “do what previous administrations failed to do”—implement Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, and ban single-use plastics.
Marcos, in his inaugural speech, said the Philippines has to play its part in tackling the plastic problem. How he plans to do that remains unclear.
“Our marine ecosystems hold immense potential in the efforts to curb the impact of the global food crisis, but the threat of destruction and losses is becoming more pronounced as plastic wastes make its way to marine protected areas in different parts of the country,” said Gloria Estenzo Ramos, vice president of Oceana Philippines.
A 2021 study by the Coastal Resources and Ecotourism Research, Development and Extension Center of the environment department’s Ecosystem Research and Development Bureau found the presence of microplastics in at least 20 marine study sites in the country. The highest concentration of microplastics was found in the largest marine protected area in the archipelago: the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape.
Oceana’s Ramos also said their team found coral reefs in Southern Leyte’s Panaon Island wrapped in plastics.
“Though marine pollution in Panaon is less prevalent than in other parts of the Philippines, it serves as a stark reminder that even seemingly pristine and remote habitats cannot escape the scourge of plastics,” Ramos said.
“Make no mistake, the scourge of plastic affects us all. Right now, it is slowly but surely creeping into our marine protected areas and in no time, it will suffocate not only our environment but our very own bodies,” she added.
The United Nations Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, which ended on July 1, called on governments to scale up action to prevent, reduce, and eliminate marine plastic litter.
Last week, groups called for a plastic-free Philippines urged Marcos to veto the proposed measure on extended producer responsibility in waste management, saying it will not fully address the plastic pollution problem in the Philippines.
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