#MINDANAO
By JOHN TRIA
John Tria
Whether we like it or not, the Boracay rehabilitation has created a greater awareness of pollution in our waters and has forced many to pay more attention to ensuring the health of these vital pillars of our ecosystem and economy.
Recent discussions drew attention to protecting new tourist hubs like El Nido, Samal, and Siargao. We now talk about the health of the Mactan channel and call for the long overdue cleanup of Manila Bay.
Truth be told, Manila Bay rehabilitation proposals have been put forward and money spent on studies since the 1990s, with little effect on improving it.
We still see floating trash from time to time and are still warned against bathing there. Better results have been achieved on the Pasig river, though much still needs to be done.
Guarding our water bodies from harm is not only our civic duty, but a smart move to ensure our economic future. Note how many of our cities and cultures were founded on their being near water bodies. Imagine how much income can be generated from clean rivers and beaches.
To elaborate, the availability of both fresh water sources like rivers and streams supply the needs for drinking and irrigation water for our crops while living near the seashore allows us access to readily available protein sources like fish.
In recent years, that beautiful interplay if sand and water in our beaches have become engines of growth. We have been clocking almost 7 million foreign tourist arrivals in recent years.
Tourism generated about 19.7% of our almost 3 billion US dollar GDP, and 5.5% of employment in 2016 (World Travel and Tourism Council, March 2017).
Of this income, I estimate about half of this comes from our beaches. While these figures may need further study, it’s not a stretch to imagine that our beaches alone have the potential to generate almost 10 billion dollars a year when you include all the costs that go with receiving and hosting tourists, and employing thousands. Boracay itself draws almost 3 million local and foreign tourists a year.
Remember that it is the pristine waters that draw this tourist wealth and generate the employment. Every other business is leveraged on the beach. Lose the beach to pollution and income is lost.
Imagine how much more wealth and livelihood we can generate over time by using these resources responsibly.
These discussions on our waters, and the programs to rehabilitate and protect them, are the first time we have seen political will bring brought to bear on what were dismissed as hopeless situations.
The good news is that the apparatus to better ensure the health of our waters is in place. The various Water Quality Management Boards that were created as a result of RA 9275 or the Clean Water Act of 2003 have been organized.
These are multisectoral, interagency bodies tasked with monitoring the health of specific water bodies and providing programs for continuing orotection or rehabilitation as the case may be.
They are convened and guided by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources through its Environmental Management Bureau regularly monitors our rivers and coasts. You can see regular test results on www.emb.gov.ph or visit the various pollutionregional offices for details.
It would be good to know who composes these boards in your areas and what they are doing for your local water bodies. It would be better for you to be involved.
John Tria
Whether we like it or not, the Boracay rehabilitation has created a greater awareness of pollution in our waters and has forced many to pay more attention to ensuring the health of these vital pillars of our ecosystem and economy.
Recent discussions drew attention to protecting new tourist hubs like El Nido, Samal, and Siargao. We now talk about the health of the Mactan channel and call for the long overdue cleanup of Manila Bay.
Truth be told, Manila Bay rehabilitation proposals have been put forward and money spent on studies since the 1990s, with little effect on improving it.
We still see floating trash from time to time and are still warned against bathing there. Better results have been achieved on the Pasig river, though much still needs to be done.
Guarding our water bodies from harm is not only our civic duty, but a smart move to ensure our economic future. Note how many of our cities and cultures were founded on their being near water bodies. Imagine how much income can be generated from clean rivers and beaches.
To elaborate, the availability of both fresh water sources like rivers and streams supply the needs for drinking and irrigation water for our crops while living near the seashore allows us access to readily available protein sources like fish.
In recent years, that beautiful interplay if sand and water in our beaches have become engines of growth. We have been clocking almost 7 million foreign tourist arrivals in recent years.
Tourism generated about 19.7% of our almost 3 billion US dollar GDP, and 5.5% of employment in 2016 (World Travel and Tourism Council, March 2017).
Of this income, I estimate about half of this comes from our beaches. While these figures may need further study, it’s not a stretch to imagine that our beaches alone have the potential to generate almost 10 billion dollars a year when you include all the costs that go with receiving and hosting tourists, and employing thousands. Boracay itself draws almost 3 million local and foreign tourists a year.
Remember that it is the pristine waters that draw this tourist wealth and generate the employment. Every other business is leveraged on the beach. Lose the beach to pollution and income is lost.
Imagine how much more wealth and livelihood we can generate over time by using these resources responsibly.
These discussions on our waters, and the programs to rehabilitate and protect them, are the first time we have seen political will bring brought to bear on what were dismissed as hopeless situations.
The good news is that the apparatus to better ensure the health of our waters is in place. The various Water Quality Management Boards that were created as a result of RA 9275 or the Clean Water Act of 2003 have been organized.
These are multisectoral, interagency bodies tasked with monitoring the health of specific water bodies and providing programs for continuing orotection or rehabilitation as the case may be.
They are convened and guided by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources through its Environmental Management Bureau regularly monitors our rivers and coasts. You can see regular test results on www.emb.gov.ph or visit the various pollutionregional offices for details.
It would be good to know who composes these boards in your areas and what they are doing for your local water bodies. It would be better for you to be involved.
***
The exhibit of our friend former CNN Beijing Bureau chief Jamie Flor Cruz at the Kaisa Center in Intramuros is one which I regret being unable to visit since I am based in Mindanao. It must be a fascinating set of memorabilia for those belonging to the Chinese diaspora and students of Chinese history, and 21st century current events. To see all these and reflect upon them as a Filipino seeing them first-hand is such a treat. It runs until February 17. It’s worth a visit. For reactions: facebook.com/johntriapage