Marine trash problem could be issue for South China Sea countries to cooperate on, says expert

Resolving the issue of marine pollution may be the key to achieving peace between countries surrounding the South China Sea, an expert said.

According to a 24 Oras report by Joseph Morong on Wednesday, a dive down to the Philippine Trench showed that trash reached even the deepest point of the sea in the Philippines and the third deepest point in the world.

“Akala ko deep sea jellyfish lang. Akala ko may bagong species tayong nakita, but it’s a plastic bag,” said Dr. Deo Onda from the UP Marine Science Institute.

(I thought it was just deep sea jellyfish. I thought we found new species, but it was a plastic bag.)

Garbage from Manila Bay and the rest of the Philippines eventually reach the West Philippine Sea, joining garbage from other nearby countries.

“We don’t have a very efficient management system, so ang daming entry points sa kalikasan. Pag kinompare mo yung dami ng plastics na nakikita mo sa Western Palawan, mas madami pa yung nasa Pag-asa,” said Onda.

(We don’t have a very efficient management system, so there are a lot of entry points in nature. If you compare the amount of plastics in Western Palawan, there are more in Pag-asa.)

Many of the pieces of garbage ending up as detritus in Manila Bay and then moving on to the West Philippine Sea are single-use plastics, foam fragments, and fishing equipment.

“Nag-shift tayo ng consumption eh. Mas marami na ngayon yung delivery, mas marami na yung takeout,” Onda said.

(We shifted consumption. We now have more delivery, we now have more takeout.)

“Yung mga basura kasi na nangggaling sa coastal areas around the South China Sea, dinadadala talaga sa gitna kasi dun papunta dahil dun nagtatagpo yung current. International trash siya. So, nagiging transboundary yung problem,” he added.

(The trash coming from coastal areas around the South China Sea gets brought to the middle because that is where the currents meet. It is international trash. So, the problem becomes transboundary.)

Resolving the issue would take the cooperation of all affected countries in the area.

“It’s a good opportunity to enjoin the countries [in the] South China Sea. Sa proseso [In the process], you do confidence building, [such as] how we’re going to do more cooperation for marine environmental protection,” he said. — Jiselle Anne C. Casucian/BM, GMA Integrated News