MANILA, Philippines (Updated 4:03 p.m.) — The Philippines highlighted plastic pollution as one of the key issues to be addressed at the East Asia Summit (EAS) workshop as member states tackle marine pollution.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and ASEAN Affairs Ma. Theresa Lazaro, who delivered the keynote message on behalf of Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, pointed out that in less than three decades, “there will be more plastics than fish in the sea.”
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The DFA also noted that the further spread of microplastics will also have an impact on the health of individuals later on, if these continue to pollute waters where communities get their resources.
The 2021 study of the Coastal Resources and Ecotourism Research, Development, and Extension Center of the environment department found microplastics in at least 20 marine study sites in the Philippines, with the highest concentration found in the biggest marine protected area in the country — the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape.
“Marine pollution is an issue that transcends boundaries and nationalities,” Lazaro said during the workshop’s opening ceremony at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila on Tuesday.
“I hope that this workshop can become a vehicle for us to discuss the realities of our maritime situation, explore venues for cooperation in tangible projects and activities, and strengthen our commitment to protect and preserve marine life and our oceans.”
READ: Marcos urged to safeguard marine protected areas from plastic pollution
Republic Act 11898 or the Extended Producers' Responsibility Act of 2022 that recently lapsed into law require big companies to create programs that would reduce their use of plastics.
The three-day workshop kicked off on Tuesday with 16 present out of the 18 EAS-member countries, which include ASEAN nations, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, and the United States — most of which are considered coastal states.
Over 50 delegates composed of experts, scientists, and other representatives from international bodies such as the United Nations are participating in the workshop.
Delegates can pitch ideas for technical cooperation, which may involve creating training programs to address marine pollution or through providing educational programs for local scientists, or through scientific cooperation when it comes to making scientific solutions “more transparent and accessible.”
The Philippines has also committed to work with other nations to ensure the sustainability of the oceans.
Korea commits to help Philippines keep oceans clean
Meanwhile, Korea said that it is committed to supporting Manila in promoting regional cooperation to create a healthy maritime environment.
Seoul is working with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Philippine Coast Guard to implement a $7.7-million project to improve marine litter management. The project aims to create a marine liter monitoring system and enhance the training of DENR and PCG officials.
It will also put a clean-up vessel to collect marine litter in Manila Bay.
Another project to promote safety in the waters in underway as the Korea Export Import Bank has pledged to fund a $105-million maritime safety enhancement project in Romblon and Cebu.
Together with the Department of Transportation, Korea aims to build two buoy bases in the waters of the provinces and to establish capacity-building programs for aids to navigation services that will be provided.
"Ultimately, this project aims at reducing risks of marine accidents and by doing so, contributing to protecting marine environment," the Korean Embassy in Manila said in a statement.
The DENR said it hopes that the workshop will “significantly increase our collective and scientific knowledge of our oceans and use this knowledge to craft laws and policies that can make our oceans sustainably cleaner and healthier.”
“The Philippines is a maritime state… maritime cooperation will therefore always be a key priority of the Philippines,” DFA Assistant Secretary for ASEAN Affairs Daniel Espiritu said in his speech.
However, Espiritu also pointed out that most of what would be borne out of the workshops will remain “exploratory” as it will take a while for the global community to come up with a binding document, adding that “harmonizing the response around the world is another [activity]” that will take time. — Kaycee Valmonte