Feature story - September 1, 2006
The Greenpeace ship MY Esperanza arrives today in Cebu City on the last stop of the Philippine leg of her global Defending our Oceans expedition. The voyage aims to highlight the wonders of, and the environmental threats to, the world's oceans. It will also campaign for the establishment of a global network of marine reserves. The Esperanza’s visit to Cebu coincides with the city’s Coastal Protection Month which precedes the very first National Marine Protected Area Summit in the country.
Welcome in Cebu city for Greenpeace ship Esperanza and her crew from local children.
Welcome in Cebu city for Greenpeace ship Esperanza and her crew from local children.
In her tour of the Philippines,
the Esperanza has been witness to both the desperation of marine ecosystems and
coastal communities, and the viable future that these face once long-term
solutions are implemented and enforced. She has been witness to the various
threats to the oceans, particularly pollution.
The Esperanza drew attention to
the alarming pollution in Manila
Bay and found out
plastics and various industrial chemicals and domestic sewage are suffocating
the bay’s once productive waters. The Esperanza’s early response in assisting
the Philippine Coast Guard and other organizations in the Petron Solar 1
oil-slick disaster which has devastated Guimaras
Island and other parts of Central Visayas has been crucial in helping focus the
world’s attention to the massive environmental catastrophe. The ship has also
actively taken part in community protests in Rapu
Rapu Island
in Albay where toxic mine pollution from Lafayette’s
mining operations is destroying marine ecosystems, endangering vulnerable and
important species, and ruining the livelihoods of poor coastal communities.
Now, in Cebu,
Greenpeace is supporting Coastal Conservation and Educational Foundation (CCEF)
in their call for the establishment of more marine reserves. The Esperanza arrives
in the city from world-renowned, community-managed Apo Island Marine Reserve in
Negros Oriental. Many new and emerging marine reserves in Cebu and the rest of
the country follow the blueprint of the Apo Island
experience.
The Esperanza will leave the Philippines from Cebu
on September 3 carrying with her a message of hope for the oceans. Experiences
in Apo Island Marine Reserve and in Cebu show
the world that the oceans will have a chance to recover once strong measures of
protection are instituted.
The wealth of local experiences
with regard to the benefits of ocean protection will serve as examples of how
similar reserves in international waters in the high seas are the key solution
to the global oceans crises and this is what Greenpeace wants to highlight in
the Esperanza’s year-long Defending our Oceans tour.
Read more
Read the weblog
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