THE Metro Pacific Investments Foundation will embark on uncharted territories throughout the year in a bid to rescue, restore and revive the seas in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.
The foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., recently signed memoranda of agreement with the local government units of Mabini, Batangas, Medina, Misamis Oriental; and Cordova, Cebu, for the conduct of the rehabilitation of the coastal real estates in the said provinces.
“As our parent firm, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. rapidly grew its business and significantly expanded its presence throughout the country, it was but natural for us to do business in a manner that allowed us to contribute to the well-being of our communities,” Metro Pacific Investments Foundation Executive Director Melody M. del Rosario said.
Under its agreement with the local government of Medina, Metro Pacific will conduct several Shore It Up activities in the area, including the underwater assessment of the marine-protected area (MPA) in the province, underwater and coastal cleanups and tawike (whale shark) monitoring.
These activities will start today, April 7, and will conclude on Sunday.
Metro Pacific’s partnership with Mabini involves the establishment of coral restoration field laboratory in Barangay Solo, the deployment of marker buoys to four MPAs and the provision of monitoring station for the maritime police. It also involves the conduct of Shore It Up activities, such as underwater and coastal cleanups.
The foundation’s agreement with Cordova involves the construction of a Mangrove Propagation and Information Center, which shall undertake the development of mangrove nurseries, the multiplication and planting of mangrove trees in coastal estuarine areas, and the rehabilitation of degraded mangrove ecosystem, among others.
“We stand ready to see our partnership through. Ten years into our foundation work, we remain committed to the task of nation-building by fully embracing our responsibility to society,” del Rosario said.
Being an archipelago, the Philippines boasts of a rich marine biodiversity. It sits at the apex of the Coral Triangle, recognized as the global center for marine biodiversity, along with Papua New Guinea, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Timor Leste and the Solomon Islands.
As the apex of such a coral “center,” the Philippines is home to a diverse species of corals, seagrass beds, mangrove and beach forests, fisheries, invertebrates, seaweeds, and marine mammals.
These are home to at least 2,000 species of fish, 5,000 species of clams and other mollusks and crustaceans, 22 species of whales and dolphins, more than 900 species of seaweed, and more than 400 species of corals.
But these are being threatened by chemical pollution and eutrophication, fisheries operations, habitat alteration, invasion of alien species, and global climate change.
Roughly 80 percent of marine pollution comes from human activities on land. Fish mistake garbage as food, and die due to poisoning. Plastic bottles, on the other hand, block the breathing passing of large marine species.
And while it is the “center” of the “center” of the coral haven, the Philippines is ranked as the third nation with the most ocean plastic pollution in the globe.
“Studies about the current rate of destruction and degradation of coastal habitats warn us that the region’s coral reefs could face total collapse within 20 years, while mangroves could be gone in 30 years, depriving us of the biological engines that support fisheries, aquaculture, and tourism industries, as well as natural shoreline protection and coastline stabilisation,” Metro Pacific President Jose Ma. K. Lim said.
For nine years now, Metro Pacific has “taken the cudgels” to help rehabilitate these precious marine resources, beginning with Shore it Up.
Shore it Up is the country’s longest corporate-backed environment program. It has helped remove tons of garbage from Philippine waters — from Batangas, to Subic, to Siargao, among others — set up mangrove centers in the country. It has also ventured in giant clam rearrangement and seeding, and artificial reef restoration.