Oceana Philippines, an ocean-conservation advocacy group, is pushing for the legal and ecological protection of Philippine Rise as a marine-protected area.
The group also wants the Benham Bank, the shallowest portion of the Philippine Rise, to be declared as a “no-take” zone and ban human activities in the area.
Formerly named Benham Rise, the underwater plateau 250 kilometers off Aurora province remains unprotected against “destructive” human activities, particularly fishing.
It is also threatened by future oil and gas exploration for its potential to augment the country’s energy supply.
In a news statement, Oceana Philippines Vice President Gloria Estenzo-Ramos underscored the need to strengthen the protection for the entire territory against all threats, including overfishing.
“Where else can we find 100- percent coral cover? We must work together and exercise our sovereign rights to nurture and protect it. The first step is to declare the pristine Benham Bank as a no-take zone, immediately shielding it from any form of exploitation,” Ramos said.
In partnership with various stakeholders, including the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Biodivesity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB), and local government units (LGUs), Oceana Philippines is pushing for sustainable fishing practice and the strengthening of protection mechanism for marine- protected areas in the country.
Together with its allies in the government and private sector, the group recently held a policy dialogue called “Bayanihan Para sa Benham”, which was graced by representatives from various government agencies and other stakeholders.
During the policy dialogue, DENR-BMB Director Mundita S. Lim shared that Benham Rise was designated as an Ecologically and Biologically Significant Marine Area (Ebsa) by 196 countries during the 13th Meeting of the Convention of Parties (COP) to the Convention of Biological Diversity in Mexico in December 2016.
Ebsas are said to be “geographically or oceanographically discrete areas that provide important services to one or more species or populations of an ecosystem or to the ecosystem as a whole, compared to other surrounding areas or areas of similar ecological characteristics, or otherwise meet the following scientific criteria: 1) uniqueness or rarity; 2) special importance for life history stages of species; 3) importance for threatened, endangered or declining species and/or habitats; 4) vulnerability, fragility, sensitivity or slow recovery; 5) biological productivity; 6) biological diversity and naturalness.
Benham Rise scored high in four of the seven criteria, a global recognition of its importance, and of being pristine and unique.
The COP decision described Benham Rise as “relatively pristine…of critical ecological importance, including for offshore mesophotic coral-reef biodiversity and for the sustainability of fisheries.”
It added that, “aside from being an important source of biodiversity and contributing to the resiliency of threatened ecosystems,” Benham Rise was also cited as “forming part of the only known spawning area of the Pacific blue fin tuna, Thunnus orientalis.” Other world-famous Ebsas include the famed Galapagos Islands in Ecuador and the Rajah Ampat Park in Indonesia.
“We need to conduct more research on Benham Rise to know exactly what there is to protect,” Lim pointed out.
The Philippine government has launched several expeditions to the vast and still-largely unexplored region.
In May 2016 Oceana joined government scientists from the BFAR, plus the University of the Philippines, Philippine Coast Guard and Philippine Navy for an expedition to Benham Bank.
The expedition team reported an astounding 100-percent coral cover in the surveyed area—where corals grew atop other corals. In a country where healthy reefs are the exception rather than the rule, Benham Bank is a treasure trove for oceanic life. Scientists cited the area as a potential refuge for shallow reef fish and other marine organisms, which can be affected by climate change.