On Earth Day, groups renew call to stop reclamation, dredging projects
MANILA, Philippines — Fishers, scientists and environmentalists on Earth Day renewed their call to stop reclamation and dredging activities that would disrupt vital ecosystems and livelihood of coastal communities, and could worsen the impacts of climate change.
In release Saturday, Advocates of Science and Technology for the People (AGHAM) warned that reclamation, dump-and-fill, dredging and seabed quarrying would lead to habitat destruction and biodiversity loss.
These would also result in decline in fisheries production and loss of livelihood among fishers, and would threaten the country’s food security.
AGHAM added that building infrastructure in reclaimed areas would expose coastal communities to storm surge, land subsidence and liquefaction.
Jerwin Baure, AGHAM’s public information officer and marine scientists, stressed the negative impacts of reclamation “far outweigh” the promised economic development that these dump-and-fill projects would bring.
“As we celebrate Earth Day today, we continue to remind the Marcos administration, and the DENR, that protecting the environment is first and foremost about protecting the people and securing their future,” Baure said.
“We demand the government to show its commitment in mitigating the impacts of the climate crisis through ecologically destructive projects such as reclamation,” he added.
SPECIAL REPORT: Fed by the waters
Earth Day protest
There are 50 reclamation projects at various stages of development across the country as of September 2022, according to AGHAM. Of these, 24 projects have been approved, while 26 projects are still in the application stage.
Citing records of the Philippine Reclamation Authority, AGHAM said the estimated total area of reclamation projects nationwide is at least 11,800 hectares.
Baure, however, said the figure is an “underestimation” because other dump-and-fill projects such as the 2,500-hectare Bulacan aerotropolis and the Manila Bay Integrated Flood Control, Coastal Defense and Expressway are not listed. Both are projects of San Miguel Corp. (SMC).
Fisherfolk under the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) and environmentalists from the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment held a protest outside SMC’s head office in Mandaluyong, demanding an end to the conglomerate’s reclamation and dredging activities in Manila Bay.
PAMALAKAYA said the reclamation and dredging activities of SMC are not only affecting the bay’s ecosystem, but also the livelihood of fishers—who are among the country’s poorest sectors.
“In Rosario and other nearby towns in Cavite, fishermen have been complaining for two years that they barely catch fish because of the noise and pollution created by dredging,” said PAMALAKAYA national spokesperson Ronnel Arambulo.
Arambulo added that the conglomerate should be held accountable for the disruption it has caused to the environment and coastal communities.
Reclamation forum
Environment Secretary Antonia Yulo met with groups opposing reclamation such as AGHAM, Kalikasan PNE and PAMALAKAYA last week as part of the department’s review of its policies and processes. The DENR has been criticized for issuing environmental compliance certificates to ecologically-destructive projects.
“We are reviewing everything—policies, processes and the immediate actions that need to be taken in order to address this environmental issue,” Loyzaga was quoted in a release as saying.
The DENR will conduct an experts' forum on reclamation in May that will tackle governance and technical issues.
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