Secretary Roy A. Cimatu of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has approved a P30-million budget allocation for biodiversity research in the Philippine Rise, the country’s newest territory, 250 kilometers off Aurora province.
Director Theresa Mundita S. Lim of the DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB), speaking during a forum with members of the Aliw Media Group on Thursday, said the budget will be used to explore the vastly unexplored regions in the underwater plateau.
Formerly called Benham Rise, the shallowest portion of the underwater plateau called Benham Bank has been previously explored, wherein experts assessed that it has a 100-percent perfect coral cover.
Lim said more exploration is needed to discover “hidden treasures in the Philippine Rise, and to come up with a management framework that would best identify the sustainable use of the resources found in the area”.
The Philippine Rise is designated as a “protected food supply exclusive zone” by the Philippine government in May 2017. As a protected area (PA), mining and oil exploration is banned at the Benham Plateau.
To recall, the DENR’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) was granted the same amount for a mineral-exploration project in the area, which is, according to experts, could be a potential source of manganese.
Aside from the DENR, the Department of Energy (DOE) is also eyeing to explore the area as a potential source of natural gas.
The area remains unprotected against large-scale commercial fishing. It was earlier reported that foreign commercial fishing vessels have been sighted in the area to catch commercially viable fish, particularly tuna.
Environmental advocates are pushing for the development of a management framework for the Philippine Rise to protect the area from destructive development projects. During the forum, Lim noted that it is important to exercise prudence before coming up with a development project, which may endanger the rich marine biodiversity of the area. She noted that scientists who have conducted initial exploration in the area discovered that the Philippine Rise is a spawning ground for commercially viable fish, like the bluefin tuna.
According to Lim, with the P30- million funding for biodiversity research, the DENR-BMB will be able to conduct more exploration and discover new species of corals, fish and other marine life.
“Of course, we will pick up from the previous explorations conducted in the area like the UP Marine Science Institute and Oceana Philippines. We can learn more about the Philippine Rise because, so far, only the Benham Bank have been explored,” Lim said.
Lim added the DENR-BMB has a proposal to declare a portion of the Philippine Rise a PA, noting that “much is to be lost than to be gained” if the area with perfect corals will be destroyed to extract minerals or natural gas.
Image credits: Rudy Nisperas