ON JULY 2019, at the beginning of the 18th Congress, we filed Senate Resolution 10, calling for the appropriate Senate committees to conduct an inventory and inquiry into the government’s initiatives related to our seas and oceans. Our primary aim in calling for such an inventory was to formulate a comprehensive national policy for the sustainable development of our blue economy.
This “blue economy” generally refers to sectors directly defined by and are dependent on coastal and marine resources. And according to some studies, our potential in these areas are largely untapped. For instance, in a 2017 joint article from the University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, and the University of California, Santa Barbara, it was found that the total annual monetary value associated with the country’s marine ecosystems amounted to P9.183 trillion, or roughly $581 billion in 2007 valuation. This only refers to our coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangrove areas, and does not yet include other sea-based activities like seafaring and shipbuilding.
Harnessing the untapped potential of our waters comes with some serious challenges or issues however. For example, the coral reefs within our territorial waters should be studied and protected, as our country is situated in the Coral Triangle, where 76 percent of the world’s coral species are found, along with 37 percent reef fish species. These coral reefs are in danger from human activities like overfishing, and bleaching due to climate change. Left uncheck, these issues could impact up to 40 million Filipinos whose livelihoods rely on such reefs.
We should also act on the adverse effect of plastic pollution on our marine resources, considering that our country has the dubious distinction of being the third largest source of plastic pollution as of the 2015 Ocean Conservancy report by the McKinsey Center.
Decisive steps should also be taken to improve the daily lives of our fisherfolk, who remain among the poorest sectors of Philippine society. This concern should also be extended to our seafarers, who, as of 2016, comprise 25 percent of the 1.5 million seafarers globally. There is a need for upgrading skills and competencies, so that we will be able to potentially address a 16,500 shortfall of officers, and potentially 147,500 more by 2025, according to data from the Baltic and International Maritime Council, and International Chamber of Shipping.
Clearly, a paradigm shift needs to occur in our economic thinking towards one that recognizes the natural wealth and untapped economic potential arising from our geography as an island-based (read: archipelagic) and oceanic (read: seafaring) nation.
Thankfully, it appears more people are joining us in this clarion call. This past week, UP Manila and the Alejandro Melchor Foundation launched online a new book entitled “A Treatise on Blue Economy for the Island States” by Dr. Ernie R. Gonzales. Dr. Gonzales makes an argument for the country to develop its blue economy, saying that it should be seen as a bright spot in the country’s “way out of the disaster of 2020.”
According to his treatise, one area that can generate immense wealth is fisheries, capitalizing on the Philippines’ position as the center of marine biodiversity in the Pacific Ocean. On seafood alone, several sectors could be developed — fish capture, aquaculture, and fish processing. For these sectors to expand, ancillary industries will also need to be established, such as for shipbuilding and seaports.
Sea-based energy is another “blue economy” sector worth supporting. During the launch, Dr. Gonzales highlighted how several studies have estimated that the tidal currents running through the San Bernardino Strait between the Bicol Peninsula and Samar Island can produce up to 500 megawatts of energy.
There are also sea-minerals that we as a country have yet to benefit from. As our seas could one day reveal vast underwater fields of fossil fuels, it is also believed that our waters hold significant deposits of deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen that used as a coolant for nuclear reactors, and palladium, which has uses in electronics, automotives, dentistry and even jewelry.
The opportunity has come for us to rethink the structure of our economy. And even though we are still addressing the ongoing pandemic, now is the time to identify how we as a society can further develop our blue economy. Indeed, the path out of recession may just lead us back to the sea.
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Senator Sonny Angara has been in public service for 16 years — nine years as Representative of the Lone District of Aurora, and seven as Senator. He has authored and sponsored more than 200 laws. He is currently serving his second term in the Senate. Email: sensonnyangara@yahoo.com| Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @sonnyangara/PN
