DENR lauds pledge to protect coral reef

CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has lauded the concerted effort to protect the coral reefs in Lapu-Lapu City.

DENR is among the agencies and private institutions that vowed to exert effort in sustaining the diving industry as a major ecotourism attraction in the city.

“This has been a very commendable initiative among our dive shops, beach resort operators and other stakeholders as they recognize that the protection of the environment there is actually a shared responsibility,” DENR-7 Executive Director Dr. Isabelo R. Montejo said in a statement.

DENR says the covenant as a “positive development to protect and conserve coral reefs in the city that considers tourism industry as a major economic player.”

“Our coral reefs are considered as the rainforest of the sea, a powerhouse of marine biodiversity, and one of the most complex and diverse ecosystems in the world,” Montejo said.

An underwater photo of The FREEMAN showing graffiti on a coral in the Kontiki reef had caused concern among stakeholders and prompted Lapu-Lapu Mayor Paz Radaza to call for a meeting with environment and tourism players.

The meeting participants, almost 100 of them representing dive shops, resorts, hotels and from the Bantay Kalikasan Task Force, subsequently signed a covenant to protect the reef.

Apart from private institutions and Lapu-Lapu officials, key government  agencies in the protection of marine resources also signed, including DENR, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Philippine National Police (PNP), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

The covenant was signed last February 26 at Public Beach, Barangay Maribago.

Montejo said coral reefs are shallow-water, tropical marine ecosystem characterized by numerous plant and animal varieties and high primary productivity.

“Methods such as trawling, blast fishing, drive-in nets, and cyanide fishing are threats or pressures on the coral reef ecology as they affect its physical or biological structure,” Montejo said.

Montejo said further that dredging, removing or coral mining is an equally destructive activity as it poses a great risk in food security as coral reefs contribute about 10 to 30 percent of the country’s fish catch.

Similarly, Montejo said pollution and the fast growth of population which is dependent mostly on reef resources for livelihood are some of the reasons why these resources are affected.

Coral reefs cover an estimated 27,000 square kilometers of seabed in the Philippines, which together with Indonesia harbors 77 percent of Southeast Asia’s reef. — (FREEMAN)