SOS: Save our seas

The first time I went scuba diving, I almost drowned. I took one of those introduction dives at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, where they give you five minutes of instruction, strap a tank on your back, then push you overboard. I forgot to breathe and promptly sank, taking my dive instructor with me.

It was a shock. I had never imagined the beauty that lay beneath the waves. The sight of hundreds of fish and the swirling cacophony of unimaginable colors were literally breathtaking.

Thankfully, I remembered what that cylinder of compressed air on my back was for and I enjoyed the rest of the tour. A few months later, this time armed with proper training, I began rediscovering another side of our own backyard, Southeast Asia. The seas are blessed with such fecundity and unfathomable treasures that they sometimes seem invulnerable to the devastation that the surface suffers. Sadly, this invulnerability is an illusion.

Freund Of The Seas

I’ve not been down in the deep for a while because of my busy schedule. So it was wonderful to find a book that allows the closest thing to taking a dive in the magical waters of our tropics. Sulu-Sulawesi Seas (published by Bookmark and WWF Philippines-Kabang Kalikasan ng Pilipinas) was recently launched. The hefty, large-format book is a well-built vessel that takes its readers on a journey that confirms we do live in the midst of bountiful beauty. The book also opens our eyes to the reality that this bounty is threatened by terrorism and devastation so great that it may change our lives more drastically than recent events.

The book is built around the compelling photography of Jurgen Freund. Above and below the water, Freund’s pictures express the almost unbearable richness of color, texture and diversity that pulsates in the fauna and flora of the ecoregion known as the Sulu-Sulawesi Seas. Freund, a mechanical engineer who answered the siren call of underwater photography, took the plunge 20 years ago and hardly comes back up except to receive his numerous photographic awards. His pictures have landed in numerous publications including the National Geographic, BBC Wildlife Magazine and Geo Germany.

Oceanic Treasures And Cultures

Woven with Freund’s images in the four major sections of this book are essays by the region’s foremost natural scientists and conservation advocates. Romeo Trono, vice president for conservation and field operations of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Philippines chapter, briefs us on "An Ocean of Treasures" in the first section. Trono underscores the need to protect the biodiversity of this ecoregion (which falls within three countries – Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia). The ecoregion also lies within what is known as the Coral Triangle, which is the most biodiverse in the world in terms of coral and tropical reef fish. (With close to twice more species than the Great Barrier Reef!)

The following section by Raoul Cola, Lida Pet-Soade, Wendy Ames and Patricia Regis shows us that this diversity also extends to the people and cultures that thrive in the ecoregion. The writers point to the fact that there are 35 million people, 50 indigenous cultural groups (25 of which are in the Philippines) in the Sulu-Sulawesi Seas. Outlined in the section is the evolution of these cultures and their material and socio-economic expressions.

An example is the barter trade that exists to this day. This originated centuries ago when the different ethnic groups – Bajau, Manobo, Bagobo, T’boli, Tagbanua and others – traded with each other. The economy of the region was based on this and it further developed the technology of building boats, one of the most visual and romantic of all above-water images of the region. Boats served as housing, aided migration, trade, and fishing, and were vessels of artistic and cultural expression. Other areas explored by the writers are eco-friendly resources extraction methods that these cultures have developed (sustainable catch fishery), art and food and folklore. The writers emphasize that this kaleidoscope of cultures is just as endangered as the natural habitats of the ecoregion.

Ecological Terrorism

The third section of the book, written by the indefatigable conservationist-photographer-writer-publisher Lory Tan, deals with the unceasing assault on just these life-sustaining habitats. The terror is wrought by the onslaught of commercial trawlers and destructive fishing methods. Recent movies have dramatized both the natural and human price being paid for muro ami, dynamite fishing and the use of cyanide. Although numerous laws are present, Tan observes, "...enforcement is spotty due to lack of planning, organization, funds and political will."

Damage is also wrought, Tan reports, by the discharges of inter-island vessels as well as silt and rubbish coming from the similarly traumatized coastal areas. Unchecked industrial, residential and agricultural development in these areas discharges all sorts of nasty gunk that lead to even nastier consequences like red tide, fishkill and a slew of other hazards that make anthrax attacks look harmless in comparison. Also cited are related problems like disappearing mangroves, El Niño, coastal reconfiguration due to aquaculture, unsustainable tourism practices and the ever-expanding pressure of human settlement patterns.

The Water – Breath Of Life

Tan reports, thankfully, that counter-eco-terrorism measures are being implemented at the grassroots level by the fishing communities themselves and a number of enlightened local governments. NGOs, both local and international (like the WWF), have also become instrumental partners in this coalition. With programs led by these groups, there is hope. Nevertheless, it can only be sustainable if we acknowledge the problem and take measures now. This is the message of the last section (also by Tan) and of the book itself. Tan reminds us that it is our "collective global responsibility" to protect nature and nurture this biological and cultural diversity.

Acting globally is good but we must also act locally. Procuring a copy of the book will help as it gives all who take in its enthralling images and engrossing essays a sense of the seas and its impact on our continuing existence. (Procuring the book also addresses matters pecuniary and not merely pelagic – a portion of the profit goes to WWF Phil.-KKP.)

Most of us now live in cities. Of what importance is saving the seas to us when we can hardly breathe where we stand now? Well, Lory Tan reminds us that the seas produce 80 percent of the air we breathe. If we continue to treat the seas as our toxic dump and toilet, then we will eventually choke ourselves to kingdom come.

Like my first lesson in diving, we all must learn to breathe once again, to see again and appreciate nature once again. The danger is that if we do not, then we will surely drown in our ignorance, indifference and infidelity to our seas, our source of life.

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Sulu-Sulawesi Seas is available at all Bookmark and Filipino Bookstores. Feedback is welcome. Please e-mail the writer at citysensephilstar@hotmail.com.