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Philippines |
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Bohol diving spot
in deep trouble |
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Source: Inquirer |
Author: Chito A. Fuentes |
Date: 1999-11-25 |
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THERE is danger lurking under the
country's second best diving spot.
It is not the notorious terror of the
deep with the razor-sharp teeth. It is the threat to the existence
of the coral reef formations underneath Balicasag Island posed
by a creeping invasion fed by land-based pollutants.
Alarmed over the
deteriorating condition of
Balicasag's coral reef
formations, concerned
groups are urging the
Department of Tourism to
address the threat.
''There is no question about
the destruction of the coral reefs. The question now is what are
we going to do about it,'' asked Fr. Romeo Dompor of the Bohol
Integrated Development Foundation (Bidef) and chair of the
Save Balicasag Committee.
The New York-based Global Coral Reef Alliance (GCRA) said
the corals are threatened by eutrophication, a process in which
a body of water becomes, either naturally or caused by
pollution, rich in dissolved nutrients.
According to DOT sources, the GCRA was commissioned by
then Secretary Mina Gabor at the height of the coliform
controversy on Boracay Island. Since the team was already in
the country, the DOT decided that the visitors might as well
include the other dive spots in the country.
The GCRA team was composed of Dr. Thomas Goreau, a marine
scientist for 15 years specializing in coral reefs and ecosystems
and holder of a doctorate from Harvard University; James
Cervino, who holds a masters degree in marine biology from
Boston University; Maya Goreau, a student of Harvard; and
Kathryn Winiarski, a science journalist who plans to produce a
television special for ABC Discovery Channel News.
Among other things, the GCRA report singled out the effects of
population in Balicasag. With an area of just roughly 24
hectares, the island, found off Bohol's resort haven of Panglao
Island, now has a population of close to a thousand.
The figure is not even accurate, considering that divers and
vendors from Panglao, who hawk precious shells to guests of
Balicasag, are normally not counted in the census.
Disputed study
The GCRA study was disputed by a Philippine-based group, the
Coral Resource Management Project (CRMP) team led by Dr.
Alan White, Mike Gross and marine biologist Stuart Green.
They insisted that the problem was coral bleaching, a
phenomenon blamed on El Niqo weather phenomenon.
The CRMP team said the strong sea currents in the area would
not have made eutrophication possible.
(Balicasag comes from the two Visayan words: bali [change]
and kasa [noise], from the sound of waves slapping the shore
as the wind changes direction.)
But the CRMP theory was dispelled by a dive instructor who
saw the destruction of the coral reef formations when he
explored the dive sites in 1996.
Rudy Balbuena made the disclosure on Sept. 24 during a
meeting of the provincial tourism council held at the Capitol
session hall in Tagbilaran City.
Balbuena presented a 16-minute videotape taken at the
Balicasag dive spot. The footage showed the extent of damage
of the dive spot, two years before El Niqo.
Just like the GCRA, he believed that land-based nutrients are
feeding the algae which endanger the corals.
Signs of destruction
Balbuena said he noted the increasing presence of algae on
corals close to the shorelines, indicating that they fed on
effluents (waste materials discharged into the environment) from
the island.
He cited as example soap and detergent washed to the sea,
which can damage coral polyps. He described the polyps as
''very sensitive, very tiny animals'' that can easily be poisoned
by pollutants.
Balicasag, he said, was far from being the ''model underwater
sports and aquamarine development center'' that it was
envisioned to be.
He said he found no sewage treatment facility on the island.
Aside from the algae overgrowth in most reefs, the GCRA said
many corals showed negative impacts from sedimentation,
cyanide damage, dynamite damage, coral diseases and coral
bleaching due to high sea temperature.
Tug-of-war
Confounding the debate between the GCRA and CRMP is the
tug-of-war on who should call the shots in Balicasag.
Balicasag was identified as a lighthouse reservation as early as
Oct. 29, 1907.
On April 6, 1987, a memorandum of understanding was signed
between Ramon Binamira, former Philippine Tourism Authority
general manager, and Commodore Tagumpay Jardiniano, then
Navy flag officer in command.
The MOU provided that the Philippine Navy and the PTA
jointly undertake the establishment and construction of an
underwater sports and aquamarine development center in
Balicasag, with billeting facilities.
It was the basis for the establishment of the Balicasag Island
Diving Resort (BIDR) which the PTA manages.
While PTA workers on the island deny the alarming incidents of
blast and cyanide fishing, fishers in nearby islands noted the
tourism agency is not equipped to deal with illegal fishers from
other provinces who enter the area.
Illegal fishers sometimes even go inside the 3.44-hectare marine
sanctuary in front of the BIDR, they said.
To catch the illegal fishers, the BIDR has to send a radio
message for assistance to the Philippine Coast Guard in
Panglao, which is about 40 minutes by boat from Balicasag.
The PCG, which stakes a claim over the island because of the
lighthouse it built there, had earlier fielded personnel on the
island. Lt. Ramon Lopez, PCG chief for Bohol, claimed that his
men's presence on the island was not appreciated by the BIDR.
He said his men were even made to pay for bath water.
The tug-of-war between the PTA and the PCG only muddles the
issue. Little wonder that there is hardly any coherent program
concerning diving activities in the area.
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