The Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved another $500-million (about ₱30-billion) policy-based loan for its host country, the Philippines, to strengthen sustainable marine management, revive coastal ecosystems, and support the development of a resilient, low-carbon blue economy.

In a statement issued Thursday, Dec. 11, the ADB said the approved Marine Ecosystems for Blue Economy Development Program (Subprogram 1) will receive cofinancing of up to €200 million (around $235 million or about ₱14 billion) each from the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and Germany’s KfW Development Bank.

The ADB emphasized that the program aims to boost the productivity and diversity of the country’s ocean-based economy while enhancing the health and resilience of coastal areas and communities.

The program also “aims to enhance the plastic and solid waste management value chain and promote investments in the country’s natural capital,” the ADB said, noting that these initiatives are intended to ensure long-term ecological and economic resilience and protect millions of Filipinos from the worsening impacts of climate change.

“More than half of the Philippine population is dependent on the country’s oceans and rich marine biodiversity for food and livelihoods, with the blue economy having great potential to be central to attaining inclusive, resilient, and low-carbon development,” said ADB country director for the Philippines Andrew Jeffries.

“This is the ADB’s first extensive cross-sector program focused on fostering national blue economy development in the region. We are committed to assisting our host country in achieving its climate resilience and low-carbon objectives,” he added.

The ADB also emphasized that the program builds on its support for climate action in the Philippines through the Climate Change Action Program, the bank’s first climate policy-based loan in the region.

It added that it also complements the Philippines Flyway Project, which focuses on conserving and sustainably managing three key wetlands—Candaba in Luzon, and Lake Mainit and Sibugay wetlands in Mindanao—to protect biodiversity, support sustainable livelihoods, and strengthen climate resilience.

“The program is aligned with the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028 and supports the implementation of the government’s National Adaptation Plan (NAP) 2023-2050 and its nationally determined contribution (NDC), with a focus on nature-based solutions, climate-resilient livelihoods, and blue carbon ecosystems,” the ADB said.

The multilateral lender cited national statistical accounts showing that the blue economy—which encompasses fisheries, manufacturing of ocean-based products, tourism-related services, shipping, and offshore energy—contributed ₱1.01 trillion to the Philippine economy in 2024, or 3.8 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

However, the ADB warned that the country’s marine ecosystems face growing threats from unsustainable practices such as plastic and solid waste pollution, as well as the intensifying impacts of extreme weather. It added that the Philippines, the world’s second-largest archipelagic nation, is hit by at least 20 typhoons each year, with recent storms becoming increasingly severe.

“Two strong typhoons struck the country within a week in November, leaving hundreds of casualties and millions of dollars in property damage due to flash floods and storm surges,” the ADB noted.

(Ricardo M. Austria)