As the government tackles the environmental crisis in Boracay Island, the country will host a regional conference that aims to address ocean and coastal area degradation through the sustainable management and use of marine resources.
Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said the East Asian Sea Congress in November will have the theme “25 years of Partnership for Healthy Oceans, People and Economies: Moving as One with the Global Ocean Agenda.”
“True to its commitment to conserve and protect the marine and coastal resources of the country and the region, the Philippines is honored to host the East Asian Seas Congress 2018 through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and provincial government of Iloilo,” Cimatu said.
“The country looks forward to a very dynamic exchange of knowledge, commitments to partnerships and joint action among all participants” during the regional meeting, he added.
Cimatu said the issue of protecting the ocean’s health has brought in deeper meaning with the closure of Boracay to pave the way for its rehabilitation from environmental degradation.
“Boracay is a case in point of how neglect and blatant disregard of environmental laws lead to destruction of our land and seas and all the natural resources and biodiversity in them,” he said.
The Philippines shuttered its most famous holiday island to tourists in April for a six-month clean-up, which the government has imposed with a muscular show of its security forces.
Coast guard boats were on patrol and assault rifle-wielding police were posted at entry points to the once-pristine island that has become tainted by heavy commercialization and over-development.
President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the shutdown after calling the resort a “cesspool” dirtied by tourism-related businesses flushing their raw sewage directly into the ocean.
During the closure, only residents with ID cards are allowed to board ferries to Boracay, which is home to around 40,000 people. With AFP