The waters in Philippine seas and the rest of the South China Sea are at a “very critical point,” according to oceanographer Deo Florence Onda, who identified plastic pollution, climate change induced coral bleaching, and overfishing as the main challenges.
“The scientists are very worried because we talk about territories, but degradation is continuously happening. The sad thing is that probably when we come to the point where we’ve already resolved our disputes, there’s nothing to protect anymore. So what’s the value of that?” Onda said in a recent dialogue organized by the Department of Foreign Affairs – Foreign Service Institute.
Onda, an associate professor at the University of the Philippines – Marine Science Institute, said there was an ongoing effort to encourage other countries to return to the negotiating table and tackle the environmental problems in the South China Sea.
He cited plastic pollution as a very “neutral, pervasive, and prevalent” topic that could serve as a jumping point for discussions. Based on their studies that measured how much plastics go out on a system, Manila Bay was still the most polluted with 23.77 plastics per square meter, followed by Eastern Palawan (5.38), and Western Palawan (0.84). Surprisingly, Pagasa, an island located far away in the middle of the West Philippine Sea, recorded a pollution index of 1.71, higher than Wester Palawan.
That is not an isolated case, he added, as even in Taiwan, isolated islands have accumulated piles of trash and plastic, which usually come from other bodies of water connected to the sea.
The marine scientist said their team also identified the origin of the plastics found in Pagasa Island, and based on the results during the northeast monsoon, 60 percent of the plastics were foreign, while during the southwest monsoon, 90 percent came from Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, China, Taiwan, and even Singapore.
Asked how environmental problems in the South China Sea could be addressed, Onda noted that the low hanging fruit would be data sharing in the region, since different studies have been done but they are not available. A low-politics scientific symposium to talk about how they are going to approach the problem would be a good start, along with support for scientists working in the highly disputed areas.
As the dispute rages in the South China Sea, the biggest loser is not the humans who want to benefit from the territory and its plentiful resources, but the area that is being ravaged by the illegal and irresponsible use and exploitation that is now rampant due to the lack of law enforcement or code of conduct, because while so many are claiming and fighting over it, nobody is actually taking responsibility and being accountable for it.
The nations involved should at the very least get together to give scientists and environmentalists unfettered access, along with the ability to fully cooperate in order to arrest the degradation and preserve the area so future generations will still have something actually worth fighting over.*
