Oceana: Declare Panaon Island a protected area

UNDERWATER VIEW A diver from Oceana Philippines swims by a table coral (Acropora) off Panaon Island in Southern Leyte in 2020. Oceana, a marine preservation advocacy group, is backing moves in Congress to declare Panaon Island a protected area. —PHOTO COURTESY OF DANNY OCAMPO OF OCEANA.

TACLOBAN CITY—An international organization dedicated to protecting the world’s oceans has called on Congress to declare Panaon Island in Southern Leyte a protected seascape amid reports of overfishing and potential destruction of its resources.

Lawyer Liza Osorio, acting vice president of Oceana Philippines, said it is urgent for Congress to pass the proposed measure to protect all marine resources on Panaon Island.

“We call for the urgency of the measure as we race against time in achieving the targets and more importantly, in preserving the integrity of the natural life support system that our coral reefs, mangroves, seagrasses and wetlands provide,” she said in a statement released on May 18.

She added: “The destruction of these invaluable havens for the people and wildlife persists, and will get worse if we will continue to lay back and take our own sweet time taking action.” Panaon Island is part of the 50 priority reefs in the world that will likely withstand the devastating impacts of climate change, hence, the urgent need for protection and conservation, said Oceana Philippines.

The island also has coral reefs with up to 60 percent of “very good coral cover,” which is way above the national average of 20 percent, the organization added.

According to environmentalists, potential causes of large-scale habitat deterioration, such as the crown-of-thorns starfish, trash and illegal fishing activities, could dramatically change the island’s coral reef condition.

Pending bills

Panaon Island is composed of the towns of Liloan, San Francisco, Pintuyan and San Ricardo.Home to 56,000 people, Panaon Island forms part of the “Coral Triangle,” an area of high biodiversity that sprawls across multiple countries in the western Pacific Ocean, according to Oceana.

In June 2022, Southern Leyte Representatives Luz Mercado and Christopherson Yap filed separate bills for the declaration of Panaon Island as a protected seascape.

A similar bill was also filed by Sen. Cynthia Villar in the Senate in January 2023.

Osorio said environmentalists are committed to support the initiatives of ensuring that at least 30 percent of the ocean, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, are effectively conserved and managed by 2030.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that as of 2022, only about 3.14 million hectares of the country’s waters are designated as marine protected areas, a mere 1.42 percent of the country’s total marine areas.

“Meeting the target will help in curbing marine biodiversity loss while providing economic benefits, food and water security, climate change adaptation and mitigation for coastal communities that depend on these ecosystems,” Osorio said.

“We call for the immediate passage of the bill declaring Panaon Island as a protected seascape because it will move us closer to achieving the set target,” she added.

As of January 2023, there are 114 protected areas in the country that have been declared through legislation.

Yap said he was pushing for the declaration of Panaon Island as a protected seascape for the benefit of the future generations.

“The declaration of the Panaon Island as a marine protected area is very important to me as it will ensure that our future generation would be able to experience the island as we experience today, with its diverse marine flora and fauna,” he said.

“The formation of a body especially created for its protection would deter commercial vessels from encroaching in municipal waters to do their illegal acts with impunity and keep our most prized reefs from destruction,” he added.

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