MANILA: The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) together with the First Gen Corporation and ABS CBN Foundation of the Lopez Group, has committed to the conservation, protection, and enhancement of biodiversity and coastal marine resources of the Verde Island Passage (VIP).
During the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Thursday in Makati City, Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said the agreement not only strengthens public-private partnerships but protects “the center of the center” of marine biodiversity and the globally recognized “Hope Spot” which is the VIP.
‘Among the commitments under this agreement is to really begin to scale up our monitoring capability of the passage in order for us to actually determine what is going on,’ Loyzaga said.
Salient provisions of the MOU include the establishment of a Marine Science Research Station in partnership with higher education institutions such as the University of the Philippines System, De La Salle University,
and the California Academy of Sciences; the application of sustainable practice in the overall project design and support programs, projects, and activities that will include the areas of conservation biology, waste management, safe and sustainable water supply, sustainable transportation and community resilience, and the establishment of a comprehensive knowledge management structure for the conservation and protection of the coastal and marine resources in the VIP.
Managing Director of the ABS-CBN Foundation Roberta Lopez-Feliciano emphasized that the most affected and invested in the issues surrounding the passage are the residents and communities along its coastline.
‘The most important people involved in all of this are those who live by the coastlines of the VIP. They’re the ones who are most invested in protecting it, they are the ones most affected because their main source of livelihood is from it. We need to show these coastline communities what is beneath the surface so they see how rich they tru
ly are, and they understand this is as much theirs to have but also to protect,’ she said.
Loyzaga said that the DENR has already engaged with the local government units that have taken steps to ensure that there is environmental protection in place and that there are opportunities for both social and economic development.
‘Some of the fishermen that in fact engaged in destructive fishing practices, they are now possibly in fact already involved in the eco-tourism sector, and their alternative livelihood have actually played a big role in the protection of the area,’ she said.
Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla, meanwhile, said that by collaborating with all stakeholders, mutually beneficial solutions may come up, that safeguard the VIP while ensuring reliable and resilient energy access for the people as the country transitions to clean, sustainable energy.
The Verde Island Passage is the center of the Coral Triangle, the epicenter world’s marine life diversity.
Dubbed the ‘center of the center,’ the
critical waterway between the Luzon mainland and Mindoro Island covers the provinces of Batangas, Marinduque, Romblon, and Occidental and Oriental Mindoro.
The strait, spanning 1.4 million hectares, is home to more than 1,700 fish species and 300 coral species, forming a biodiversity zone that marine experts cited as the ‘center of the center of marine shore fish biodiversity.’
It also serves as a busy channel for commercial vessels and ferries, a source of livelihood for fishing and ecotourism, on top of thousands of other businesses along its shoreline.
Source: Philippines News Agency
