Saving maritime habitats from decades of abuse, pollution

ENVIRONMENT MONITOR

Freddie G. Lazaro

LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte  — Sen. Loren Legarda urged the international community to act in unison to halt and reverse the damage to the world’s marine habitat brought by human activity.

“We have relied so much on the oceans for our existence – for food, for employment, for energy and for recreation. However, rapid population growth along with unsustainable marine practices such as overfishing, waste dumping, oil spills, among others, have seriously damaged marine habitats and life in the sea over the years,” she said.

In celebration of World Oceans Day recently, Legarda called for the prevention of plastic pollution in the ocean and promoted the use of reusable bags in lieu of disposable plastic bags.

Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean, plastic debris dumped into oceans reached between 4.8 and 12.7 million metric tons.

The Philippines is the third top contributor with around 0.28-0.75 million metric tons of plastic marine waste annually, next only to China and Indonesia.

“Plastic can choke and poison marine species and damage marine ecosystems. Ultimately, it can affect us humans through the seafood that we eat. Thus, we must take this challenge seriously. The effective implementation of the Ecological Solid Waste Management (ESWM) Law is vital in this campaign,” said Legarda, principal author of the ESWM Law or Republic Act 9003.

The Senator also highlighted the need to address the impact of climate change on oceans and marine ecosystems.

Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Climate Change and UNISDR Global Champion for Resilience, said, “Studies have shown that oceans have acidified, having absorbed about a third of the carbon dioxide emitted, which has caused coral bleaching.”

A strong advocate of marine conservation, Legarda said carbon emissions reduction is crucial in protecting our oceans.

Re-growing mangroves, seagrass beds and marshes, which absorb up to five times more carbon than tropical forests, will greatly help alleviate ocean acidification.

These coastal ecosystems likewise serve as buffers for storm surges and tsunamis.