THE fishermen’s group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas criticized on Wednesday the American children’s television network Nickelodeon over its plan to build an underwater resort and theme park in Palawan because it would threaten the country’s last ecological frontier.
The group said Nickelodeon’s 400-hectare undersea development in Palawan will damage the fragile marine environment and aquatic life in Palawan.
“This is the sum of all our fears. Our country’s abundant marine environment has been always the target for destructive projects hiding under the guise of development. Contrary to its claim, the project is no protection but it would pose environmental degradation because this will transform Palawan’s productive fishing hub into mere leisure park at the cost of the fisherfolk’s livelihood,” said Pamalakaya chairperson Fernando Hicap.
The group said Palawan is home to more than 300 species of corals or about half of all coral species in the world and also a breeding ground of more than 1,500 fish species in the country out of the 2,400 marine species found across the archipelago.
“The country’s substantial number of marine species is at stake if Nick’s project will push through,” Hicap said.
The group vowed to oppose and frustrate the project in order to protect the country’s marine resources and most of all, the livelihood of the fishers and the Filipino people.
Nickelodeon has announced it will build an underwater resort and theme park on Palawan, known as the Philippines’ last ecological frontier, alarming environmentalists.
The firm behind SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer said the park on Palawan island would be part of a 400-hectare undersea development showcasing the area’s marine life that would give fans a chance to “interact with the brand and the iconic characters they love.”
Palawan was chosen for the development because it “is known to have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world today,” Ron Johnson, an executive vice president with Viacom International Media Networks, which owns Nickelodeon, said in a statement.
Viacom’s initial statement announcing the project on Monday said the resort would open in 2020 and feature restaurants and lounges six meters below sea level.
But environmental group Greenpeace said it would destroy the area’s world-famous marine ecosystem.
“It’s sad and alarming because a theme park that big will not promote environmental protection by building those structures,” Vince Cinches of Greenpeace Southeast Asia said.