By: Melchi Pagdanganan
With gloved hands holding empty sacks, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), private organizations, and individuals joined hands in cleaning up Manila Bay on September 17 in celebration of International Coastal Cleanup Day (ICC).
Volunteers pick up trash in Manila Bay for Intenational Coastal Cleanup Day, September 17, 2022 | Photo from Eloisa Lopez via Reuters
Roughly 4,000 volunteers collected over 4,500 sacks of garbage consisting mostly of plastic wastes, marine debris, and dried water hyacinth according to DENR-Metropolitan Environmental Office (MEO) West OIC Director Rodelina de Villa.
This year's theme "Fighting for Trash Free Seas-Pilipinas: Ending the Flow of Trash at the Source" sparked cleanup activities not only in the eight-DENR led cleanup drives in Manila, but also in Abucay, Bataan and Allen, Northern Samar.
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Manila Bay, known for its majestic sunset view, is surrounded by the city's nearby ports and residential areas, heavily polluting its waters with oil, grease, and trash.
“However big and daunting the task is, we can make a difference by bringing communities and people together to clean up beaches. Proof of this are organizations and individuals coming together at the Baywalk Dolomite Beach,” de Villa said.
She added that 3,000 of the 4,500 sacks were provided by the DENR Central Office through the Manila Bay Coordinating Office (MBCO), while 1,500 trash bags came from the DENR-National Capital Region, which includes the DENR-MEO West.
Aside from the collected 4,500 sacks of garbage, DENR-MEO-West, that was tasked in the maintenance of the 500-meter beach walk, reported that 147,939 sacks of solid waste, 83,109 sacks of water hyacinth, and 2,224 sacks of marine debris were yielded in cleanup drives held from July 12 to September 14.
Philippine Coast Guard, Maynilad Water Services Inc., Manila Water Company Inc., and the Dragon Boat Federation of the Philippines were also seen at the event.
The ICC is held annually every third Saturday of September to raise environmental awareness, especially in removing trash from water bodies, locating and ending the source of litter, and encouraging everyone to change habits that further corrupt the waters.
Since joining the ICC in 1994, the Philippines continued to deliver massive volunteer turnout, thereby recognizing the country as “the cleanup capital of the world”.
DOLOMITE CONTROVERSIES
Dolomite dumping on Manila Bay coastline. | Photo from Erwin Dizon, CNN Philippines
In 2020, critics slammed DENR for dumping dolomite sand which posed risk in Manila Bay's waters.
However, DENR Undersecretary Benny Antiporda said that they have studied the dolomite before continuing the project.
“In the first place ’yung mga ginamit diyan, especially ’yung sand, ’yung dolomite boulders na ’yan it contains calcium carbonate and if you will look sa corals, calcium carbonate din. So it will not disrupt the coastal ecosystem,” he added.
[In the first place, everything that we have used, especially the sand and the dolomite boulders, contain calcium carbonate that can be found in corals, too, so it will not disrupt the coastal system.]
But Marine Scientist Diovanie De Jesus warned that the dolomite is “stressful” for sardines, mackerel, anchovies, and other fish’s bodies.
“If they really want to rehabilitate Manila Bay, they should first solve the problem [because the beach] is only a cosmetic solution. The problem really lies below and [the beach] is not helping solve the problem,” Mae Chatto, Oceana Philippines campaign specialist said in an interview with Inquirer.
Von Hernandez, global coordinator of the group Break Free From Plastic, advised that it would be better for the government to compel producers and companies to reduce and stop the production of single-use plastics and invest in proven reusable and refilling systems.
MANGROVES OVER DOLOMITE
Environmental groups and marine scientists clamored for a cheaper alternative to dolomite sand.
In a statement from the UP Institute of Biology, rehabilitating mangroves is an example of a nature-based solution (NbS) that is more cheaper and more cost-effective than the dolomite dumping project.
“Having ecologically healthy mangroves will also help lessen heavy metal contamination, a condition that beset Manila Bay for a long time,” they added.
Mangroves, as the most preferred alternative by netizens and scientists, were supported by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as “one of the most effective NbS programs that can contribute biodiversity conservation and in climate change adaptation strategy”.
Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), a small group of fisherfolk, lamented over the P389 million budget for the rehabilitation of Manila Bay that could have been used to plant 13,000 hectares of mangrove forests that would restore marine ecosystem and biodiversity.
“Its amenities include community defense against strong waves, storm surges, flood regulation, sediment trapping, marine wildlife habitat, and nurseries,” Pamalakaya national chairperson Fernando Hicap said.
“Instead of a transformative and sustainable environmental intervention, the DENR is more invested in cosmetic surgery,” he added.
When asked if the proposed 2022 DENR budget would include funding for the Manila Bay rehabilitation project, house appropriations committee vice chairman and Aklan Rep. Teodorico Haresco Jr. confirmed that there would be “no allocation for the dolomite anymore.”
KEYWORDS:
Manila Bay
Dolomite beach
Cleanup drive
Sacks of trash
International Coastal Cleanup
DENR
Volunteers
Mangroves
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