RP, 11 nations vow to protect region’s coastlines, marine environment

The Philippines, together with 11 other East Asian nations, are set to endorse on Thursday a declaration stipulating their commitment to protect the region’s coastline and marine environment.

The so-called Manila Declaration will contain agreements resulting from technical meetings during the 3rd East Asian Seas (EAS) Congress held at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

The meetings, which started on Monday, will discuss protection of marine biodiversity, integrated coastal resource management programs, and ways of mitigating climate change, among others.

With the theme “Partnerships at Work: Local Implementation and Good Practices," the congress will highlight the initiatives at the local level and good practices covering a wide area of subjects on coastal and ocean management and how interregional, interagency, and multispectral partnerships are contributing to regional and international environmental targets.

“[The Manila Declaration] will be binding in a way because it will develop a plan of action. We must protect the richness of our natural resources and our seas," Joselito Atienza, the Philippines’ environment secretary, told reporters at the sidelines of the EAS Congress.

If the coastal areas will not be protected, it is not only the Philippines which will suffer but other countries as well, he said.

“So therefore we must act as one," Atienza said.

Besides the Philippines, other countries expected to sign the Manila Declaration are Cambodia, China, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Vietnam which are all members of Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia.

The seas of East Asia are made up of six sub regional seas which includes East China Sea, Yellow Sea, South China Sea, Sulu-Celebes Seas, Indonesian Seas and Gulf of Thailand.

These bodies of water sustain 30 percent of the world’s coral reefs and mangroves and produce about 40 percent of the world’s fish catch and 84 percent of world’s aquaculture.

They also represent one of the world’s centers for tropical marine biodiversity.

• GMA

Related posts

• Yeng Guiao sees SEABA a good buildup for FIBA-Asia (0)
• World Bank: RP economy to shrink 0.5% in 2009 (0)
• World Bank: Governance in RP worsened since 1998 (0)
• World Bank: 2009 tax effort trails pre-fiscal crisis trend (0)
• World Bank bares aid package of up to $3 billion for RP (0)
• Weak peso, higher local debt push up RP’s total debt (0)
• Swiss firm Mövenpick to build 400-room hotel in RP (0)
• Smart RP draws Iran, Lebanon in Champions Cup (0)
• Smart Gilas Pilipinas wins over Sangmoo of Korea (0)
• Smart Gilas Pilipinas succumbs to tall squad Mahram of Iran (0)