By Cai U. Ordinario
THE country’s coastal environment, including coral reefs, are under threat from “development pressures,” according to a study conducted by four local and international universities.
Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) said that among the key findings is that, of the 27,000-square-kilometer coral reef area in the Philippines, only 5 percent are in excellent condition.
“Coastal development pressures have threatened 40 percent of the country’s coral reefs, while some 35 percent of the reefs are under pressure from sedimentation and pollution,” Jica said.
“An estimated 98 percent of the Philippines’s reefs are at risk from human activities, while seagrass and mangroves are similarly under severe pressure,” it added.
Jica said that in the Philippines, the coral reefs contribute some 8 percent to 20 percent of total fishery production, and about a million fishermen directly rely on them for livelihood.
The study was done under the project titled “Integrated Coastal Ecosystem Conservation and Adaptive Management Under Local and Global Environmental Impacts in the Philippines [Cecam].”
The five-year study, which began in 2010, was conducted by the University of the Philippines Diliman, University of the Philippines in the Visayas, Mindanao State University in Naawan and the Tokyo Institute of Technology.
Cecam recently launched a guidebook which principally promoted the Cecam approach as an innovation to existing coastal-resources conservation and management frameworks in the Philippines and Southeast Asia.
The guidebook also contained case studies undertaken at the project’s six sites along the Philippine coasts.
These sites include Banate in Iloilo, Bolinao in Pangasinan, Boracay in Aklan, Puerto Galera in Mindoro Oriental, Laguindingan in Misamis Oriental and the Laguna Lake.
“We aim to support the Philippines’s ongoing conservation efforts of its coasts using science as basis. The guidebook recommends a strategy that integrates land, water and living-resources management based on the results of the research collaboration of Japanese and Filipino scientists,” Jica Senior Representative Takahiro Morita said.
The Jica project outlined new conservation schemes, like an Integrated Decision Support System (IDSS), to help maintain the high biodiversity of coastal ecosystems and sustainable development of local communities.
The IDSS allows local government units to access data and computer-simulated models developed by Cecam scientists to guide them in identifying solutions to current coastal problems like fish kills.
Most of the data were collected through the sensors contained by the Continuous and Comprehensive Monitoring System (CCMS) platforms and close circuit television cameras installed at the project sites.
“There is a need to bridge the gap in crafting a comprehensive conservation policy, where scientists and decision-makers can work together to prevent further erosion of the Philippines’s coastal environment,” said Dr. Miguel Fortes, Cecam project manager.
The Cecam guidebook will be distributed to policy-makers, local government units, central government sectors dealing with the sustainability of the coasts, communities, non-governmental organizations and academe.
The Japanese government through Jica recently extended a P500-million-worth grant for community development in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao.
The grant will be used to facilitate the rehabilitation and construction of farm-to-market roads in Mindanao, particularly in Bumbaran in Lanao del Sur, Datu Paglas in Maguindanao, and Alamada in North Cotabato.
The grant assistance was made possible through the Japan-Bangsamoro Initiatives for Reconstruction and Development.
In 2013 the Japanese government extended $74.13 million worth of official development assistance (ODA) grants to the Philippines.
Japan’s ODA to the Philippines accounted for 2.5 percent of the total ODA grants received by the country in that year worth $2.97 billion.