PTA head opposes Sulu Sea experiment

The Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) strongly objected yesterday to plans by an Australian company to dump urea in the Sulu Sea in an experiment against global warming, fearing such a move could endanger the country’s top diving destination.

PTA general manager Robert Dean Barbers said that instead of providing a solution to global warming, the experiment of Sydney-based Ocean Nourishment Corp. might cause water pollution that could adversely affect the country’s tourism industry.

“Their intentions may be good with all these motherhood statements on providing solutions to global warming, but the end can never justify the means,” he said.

Barbers noted that the Tubbataha Reef is a declared UNESCO World Heritage Site and an especially critical biodiversity area in the Sulu Sea.

He added that the reef is also home to some of the Philippines’ richest fishing grounds and rated as one of the world’s top dive sites and the Philippines’ best.

Ocean Nourishment is said to be planning to pump up to 1,000 tons of nitrogen-rich urea into the Sulu Sea, where it has already dumped one ton of the substance.

Urea, according to the company, stimulates the growth of phytoplankton in the sea and can absorb large quantities of carbon dioxide – the main cause of global warming – from the atmosphere.   

But Barbers asked the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Bureau of Aquatic Resources to stop the dumping of fertilizers in Philippine waters.         

While the so-called growth of phytoplankton may boost fish stocks, the same process may also encourage algal blooms, resulting in red tide and eventually releasing more carbon dioxide in the long run.

According to Barbers, recent researches have shown that urea and nitrogen runoffs from agricultural lands can cause toxic algal blooms such as red tide.

Additionally, complex factors such as temperature and chemical reactions can complicate everything.

If the size of the algal bloom grows too large, it might intrude into shallow waters and choke off light-dependent animals like corals.

“The damaging effects of ‘over-fertilization’ may spread through both Sulu and Celebes Seas on which tens of millions of lives depend. We will be putting their lives at risk for an unsure quick-fix,” he said.