BUILDING a 174-hectare “smart city” on lands to be reclaimed on “biodiverse-rich marine protected areas” (MPAs) of Dumaguete City does not sound smart at all.
Take it from our country’s leading scientists at the National Academy of Science and Technology Philippines (NAST PHL) who have added their voices to the growing opposition over the “proposed massive reclamation project.”
In a statement, NAST PHL—which counts among its 81 members the country’s top marine biology and social sciences experts—said the project will directly or indirectly have a negative impact on the MPAs.
“Dumaguete City has historically committed to protect its marine ecosystems and secure the fisheries-based livelihoods of its constituents by legally establishing four marine protected areas over the past 20 years,” the Academy said.
It added that the MPAs are part of a system of protected coral reefs, seagrass beds and soft-sediment ecosystems that boost fisheries productivity, conserve marine biodiversity and support tourism in Negros Oriental and the Central Visayas area.
The MPAs, the Academy said, have a total area of approximately 104 hectares and are situated off the barangays of Bantayan, Lo-oc, Mangnao, and Banilad.
Reportedly worth P23.35 billion but at no cost to the city government, the smart city project is building an off-shore island from Barangay Tinago to Barangay Banilad in the south and from Barangay Looc to Barangay Bantayan in the north.
The artificial island is planned to have its coastal wastewater treatment facility, shoreline slope, wave protection, esplanade, a marina, a modern ferry port, an open area for sports facilities, a hospital and a city administration hub, according to a Philippine News Agency report.
The Academy said that the reclamation project will also “disturb the vertical connectivity between the shore/shallow to deeper species assemblage,” citing a marine biological study last year titled, “Shore-fish assemblage structure in the central Philippines from shallow coral reefs to the mesophotic zone.”
Conducted by Rene A. Abesamis, Jean Asuncion T. Utzurrum, Lucille Jean J. Raterta and Garry R. Russ at Apo Island, the study found that “connectivity between shallow coral reefs and adjacent deeper habitats may be crucial to reef ecosystem stability.”
In its statement, the Academy cited Republic Act 7582, or the National Integrated Protected Areas System (Nipas) Act of 1992, which promotes and strengthens the management of protected areas in the Philippines.
The law also protects and conserves the country’s rich biodiversity against various threats as it has declared it to be the policy of the State “to secure for the Filipino people of present and future generations the perpetual existence of all native plants and animals.”
The law further stated that the “effective administration of these protected areas is possible only through cooperation among national and local government and concerned private organizations consistent with the principles of biological diversity and sustainable development.”
The Academy then urged the proponents of the project to conduct an “Environmental Impact Assessment on adjacent ecosystems, including those in neighboring islands.”
It also asked them to reveal to the “technical, legal, and due diligence reviews done on the sociology, ecology, and the economics of the project and for the government to hold public consultations/fora for the open discussion/scrutiny, verification, and validation of the project documents.”
“As part of due process and in consonance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the action to indorse and approve the contract for a project with potential significant environmental and socio-economic impacts should be rescinded until the exercise of transparent public reviews/consultations of all the areas that will be impacted by this project have been done with diligence, accountability and good governance ensured,” the Academy said.
In a story published in the BusinessMirror, National Scientist Dr. Angel Alcala, who is also a former environment secretary; Silliman University (SU) President Dr. Betty McCann; and former SU president Dr. Ben Malayang III, who is also an environmentalist, had argued that the project will “destroy” and “bury” the few remaining marine ecosystems that support small-scale fishing in Dumaguete.
NAST PHL, whose roster includes 13 Academicians conferred with the Order of National Scientist, including Alcala, acts as an advisory body to the President and the Cabinet on policies related to science and technology.
The legislative and judicial branches of government also seek the advice of this collegial body, which is composed of National Scientists, Academicians and Corresponding Scientists.
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uhmmm. Photo credit should be Marion Paul Baylado. This photo si under CC BY-SA 3.0. With that, you are free to share but you must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. Thank you! #NoTo174Dumaguet
uhmmm. Photo credit should be Marion Paul Baylado. This photo si under CC BY-SA 3.0. With that, you are free to share but you must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. Thank you! #NoTo174Dumaguete