Bohol diving spot in deep trouble

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.