Zero waste policy in Boracay mulled

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BY PRINCE GOLEZ
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February 20, 2018
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MANILA – The Senate committees on environment and tourism will look into the need to promote a zero waste policy in the popular tourist destination Boracay Island.

A joint public hearing will be held on March 2.

“The threats of inefficient waste management on the environment, especially on tourist destinations in the country still persist,” said Sen. Nancy Binay, the chairwoman of the tourism panel.

President Rodrigo Duterte on Feb. 9 threatened to close Boracay, which he called a “cesspool.”

The President has given the Department of Interior and Local Government and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources six months to solve the waste problems in the island.

Binay said there is an “imperative” need to investigate the waste problems “to strengthen environmental laws in line with the current environmental conditions facing the country.”

Boracay now finds itself at the “crossroads” because of “over-commercialization,” “pollution,” and “overcrowding,” the senator from Makati said.

She added, “These are already recipes for ecological genocide, and it’s waiting to happen kung hindi natin aagapan.”

A 2010 to 2015 Japan International Cooperation Agency study warned of “imminent loss” if the current environmental situation in Boracay continues.

Tourism-related activities have contributed to coral reef degradation in the island, according to the Coastal Ecosystem Conservation and Adaptive Management.

“Over-commercialization has compromised the island’s natural beauty. But there is still hope. What we can do is to make Boracay a model of responsible tourism, at pagsikpan nating ibalik ang dating alindog ng isla,” Binay said./PN
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