MANILA, Philippines — Hundreds of participants wearing different colored shirts, from white and black to green, were seen picking up trash that washed ashore on the coast of the Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA) on the early morning of September 17. These were participants to the the International Coastal Clean-up Day annually observed every third Saturday of September.
Watsons Philippines, together with non-profit organization Communities Organized for Resource Allocation (CORA), took care of one part of the coast of 175-hectare LPPCHEA also known as the Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park, where their participants picked up non-biodegradable trash, from water bottles, styrofoam, discarded bags, a missing pair of shoe or slipper, to the ubiquitous sachets.
"Did you know that in the Philippines alone, they say that every single day, 160 million sachets are consumed and thrown away? Those data and numbers actually come from days like this," shared CORA founder Antoinette Taus.
"So when we're able to collect this data, not only are we able to support lobbying for policies that can support a sustainable future, but also able to help different groups from non-profit organizations and companies to brands find better solutions," the former actress added.
'Citizen-scientists, biodiversity heroes'
Taus called the participants of the coastal clean-up as citizen-scientists who not only did good as citizens who helped clean trash, but also "scientists" who helped gathered data on how much trash ended up on the shore of the Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park.
The park is actually a globally recognized protected area, having been named as a Ramsar site under the Ramsar convention of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
It is home to different species of mangroves, as well as temporary stop of 41 species of migratory birds that fly the East Asian–Australasian Migratory Flyway coming from as far as China, Japan, and Siberia. According to the 2018 report of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, among these birds are the Little Egret, Black-Crowned Night Heron, and the Common Moorhen.
Taus stressed the importance of picking up the litter that are scattered in the protected area because these are harmful to its flora and fauna, even causing death.
"Birds, when they see anything floating in the water and ground, automatically, they will pick that up, eat it, consume it. Sometimes, those even get transferred to their lungs. Once pumasok, 'di na nalalabas. Those actually cause the deaths of many birds, some of which are endangered species. There are also mangroves, bamboo forests. Apparently, there are coral reefs that are still surviving in this area. So, it's a biodiversity hotspot na talagang kailangan protektahan," she stressed.
Taus added, "Hindi lang kayo ocean warrior, citizen scientists, kundi biodiversity heroes today."