Legarda calls for increased efforts toward marine conservation

Sen. Loren Legarda . RICHARD A. REYES/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Senator Loren Legarda urged the international community on Tuesday “to act in a concerted manner to halt and reverse the damage to the world’s marine habitat brought by human activity.”

Legarda made the call as she joined this year’s celebration of World Oceans Day on June 8.

“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 a statement.

This year’s World Oceans Day, she said, calls for the prevention of plastic pollution in the ocean and promotes the use of reusable bags over disposable plastic bags.

Legarda, citing a study, said, “Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean, published in the journal Science, pointed out that of the 275 million tons of plastic waste generated in 192 coastal countries worldwide in 2010, plastic debris entering the ocean was somewhere between 4.8 and 12.7 million metric tons.”

The Philippines, she said, 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,” said the senator.

“Thus, we must take this challenge seriously. The effective implementation of the Ecological Solid Waste Management (ESWM) Law is vital in this campaign,” added Legarda, principal author of the ESWM Law or Republic Act 9003.

Legarda, who chairs of the Senate committee on climate change and UNISDR Global Champion for Resilience, also highlighted the need to address the impacts of climate change on oceans and marine ecosystems.

“Studies have shown that oceans have acidified, having absorbed about a third of the carbon dioxide emitted, which has caused coral bleaching,” she said.

Carbon emissions reduction, she said, is crucial in protecting the oceans. She said regrowing mangroves, seagrass beds and marshes, which absorb up to five times more carbon than tropical forests, would also greatly help alleviate ocean acidification.

These coastal ecosystems likewise serve as buffers for storm surges and tsunamis, said the senator.

“A square kilometer of healthy coral reef can yield over 15 tons of seafood every year. But sea level rise, floods that damage fish farms, and the increased acidification of the oceans by 2050 could reduce farmed fish yield by 90%. The destruction of coral reefs would mean less fish population, which would translate to lower fish catch and lower protein for the people,” Legarda said.

“We must adopt responsible fishing practices and sustainable marine management and conservation systems not only to improve fisheries yield but also to maintain ecological balance and to ensure that future generations will continue to benefit from our oceans,” she further said. JE/rga

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