SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union – The Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO)-La Union held a coastal clean-up at the Agoo-Damortis Protected Landscape and Seascape (ADLPS) on September 16, underscoring the importance of ridding wastes and other debris to increase the productivity of the coastal areas in the province.
 
PENR officer, Engr. Cezar Manuel Cabansag said that oceans and seas’ productivity decreases as a result of the mounting pollution in coastal areas, highlighting the importance of regular clean-up and the cooperation of people living in coastal areas and tourists to avoid practices detrimental to the health of the coasts.
 
Engr. Cabansag also said that the government and its stakeholders must hold regular clean-ups because the life and livelihood of people living in coastal areas depend on the productivity of the oceans and seas through its fish and other water resources.

“Mahalaga ang ating karagatan sa kabuhayan ng mga nakatira sa ating coastal municipalities. Importanteng mapanatili natin ang productivity ng ating mga dagat kasi naka-depende ang livelihood ng ating mga fisherfolk sa ating karagatan,” Engr. Cabansag said.
 
Engr. Cabansag also reiterated the call of his agency on the avoidance of littering plastic along the coast, which sometimes get swept in the ocean and eaten as food by fishes.
 
“Nakapasok na sa ating food web ang micro-plastics kasi nagiging parte na ng pagkain ng mga lamang dagat ang plastics na tinatapon. Kaya naaapektuhan din ang ating kalusugan sa pagkain ng mga lamang dagat na nakakakain ng mga plastic na tinatapon sa dagat,” Engr. Cabasag explained.
 
The clean-up conducted by PENRO-La Union stretched along the coasts of Barangay Dulao in Aringay town and the Barangays of Sta. Rita East, Sta. Rita Sur, and Sta. Rita Central in Agoo town.

Today’s clean-up along the ADPLS is PENRO-La Union’s contribution to the worldwide observance of the International Coastal Clean-up (ICC) Day 2023 with the theme: “Clean Seas and Healthy Fisheries.”

The Philippines started participating in the ICC in 1994 and was institutionalized through Presidential Proclamation No. 470 in 2003 to increase participation and multi-stakeholder involvement in the event.
 
In 2022, around 249 metric tons of waste was collected in the Philippines as part of the worldwide observance, the bulk of which were plastic materials such as bottles, caps and food containers.
 
The coastal clean-up activity is made even more imperative given that the country is one of only 17 mega-biodiverse countries in the world, necessitating the need for preservation and conservation measures to protect and manage its ecosystems and other natural resources.
 
Policy measures to ensure the protection of coastal areas include Republic Act No. 11898 or the Extended Producers Responsibility Act which encourages companies in the country to adopt programs to recover and manage packaging waste, to reduce wastes generated every year. (JCR/AMB/CCMT, PIA La Union)