OVER SEAS -- August 1999: Regional Cooperation for Marine Conservation

ood evening, ladies and gentlemen.

As I watched and listened to this evening's proceedings, the so-called "second major new force" of the on-going Information Revolution - electronic proximity - suddenly became very real to me. It has been said that, with information technology, we will be closer to "a thousand times more people than we were with the automobile" in the Industrial Revolution.

With Ocean Ambassadors, I believe that we at the DENR already are closer to that many more people. What's more, I believe that, with Ocean Ambassadors, we have created a thousand times more new opportunities for sharing information with other institutions, organizations and individuals involved in or concerned about marine conservation, wherever they may be in the world.

I imagine, right this very minute, a marine turtle biologist somewhere in the US is closely studying our satellite data, hoping to discover some new insights on our mysterious Ambassadors. A marine management planner in, say, Indonesia, is perhaps reading up on DENR's conservation efforts at the Turtle Islands, hoping to learn something from our experience that he can use in his own work. Meanwhile, a marine biology teacher at a college of fisheries somewhere in Mindanao is probably looking at using the animated presentations of our Ambassadors' migration paths as a teaching aid. Right now, a schoolgirl in Australia may be surfing our website for the sheer enjoyment of it - and learning valuable lessons about our marine environment in the process.

I imagine, at this moment, new information is filtering back to us from the same people who have come to know our Ocean Ambassadors. The flow of information is thus now running both ways, opening a channel for us to exchange views with others who are involved in our marine conservation cause.

And this is where our real challenge begins. How do we harness this "electronic proximity" that the Ocean Ambassadors are giving us into something that promotes in a meaningful way regional and international cooperation and coordination for marine conservation?

This challenge, I must say, is first and foremost a challenge for my department to meet. Everywhere in the world today, it is recognized that the marine environment - including our oceans, seas and adjacent coastal areas - forms an integrated whole that is an essential component of the life of our planet. It is thus also recognized that, because we are all dependent on the marine environment, all countries are interdependent and thus must share the responsibility for marine conservation. All over the world, organizations with major marine and coastal responsibilities are telling us that the regional, integrated, precautionary and anticipatory approach is the way to go in pursuing the protection and sustainable development of our world's marine and coastal environment and its resources.

My department, in line with the avowed policy of the Philippine government, firmly subscribes to this approach. We are committed to Agenda 21's objectives to promote the institutional arrangements necessary to support the implementation of the program areas for marine conservation. This means that we are committed to:

We are one of 116 Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, which covers more than 71 million hectares of wetlands around the world. As Contracting Party, we have designated an area of more than 5,000 hectares as Ramsar site. We recognize that wetlands are a valuable resource, the loss of which would be irreparable. We also recognize that wetlands are an important habitat for waterfowl which, in their seasonal migrations, may transcend frontiers and so should be regarded as an international resource. We are therefore committed to the Ramsar Convention's objective to promote the conservation of the wetlands and waterfowl by establishing nature reserves on wetlands.

We are a signatory to a number of international treaties which aim to protect the marine environment, including the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil, Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and other Matter, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, and Convention on Biological Diversity.

At the regional level, we are a Contracting Party to the ASEAN Agreement on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, which aims to promote joint and individual State action for the conservation of the natural resources of the ASEAN Region.

We are also a member of the Regional Seas Programme of the United Nations Environmental Programme, and are thus committed to pursuing the objectives of the regional action plan for East Asian Seas, which includes the Philippines, Australia, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

We have a memorandum of understanding with the governments of the ASEAN on sea turtle conservation and protection. As you know, sea turtles are highly migratory species and should be considered a regional, if not an international, resource. This MOU signifies that the members of ASEAN all realize that effective conservation cannot be independently achieved at a national level and that multilateral efforts are necessary to ensure the long-term survival of sea turtles in the ASEAN region.

The joint efforts of Malaysia and the Philippines to advance the cause of sea turtle conservation in the Turtle Islands Heritage Protected Area are a clear indication of our shared commitment to promote regional cooperation in our pursuit of marine turtle conservation. Under a memorandum of agreement between our government and the Malaysian government, we have agreed to jointly manage and protect the Turtle Islands Heritage Protected Area as a green and hawksbill turtle sanctuary. We have also agreed to develop an integrated management program highlighting the implementation of an integrated and uniform approach to conservation and research that is oriented toward wise management of the area. And we have committed to the establishment of a centralized database and information network on marine turtles.

The Ocean Ambassadors Campaign itself is a multi-sectoral, multi-lateral endeavor involving PCP-PAWB-DENR, DENR's USAID-funded CRMP, WWF-Philippines, Smithsonian Institution and Sabah Parks of Malaysia.

There's a long way to go, but, clearly, regional and international cooperation is a key strategy for marine conservation. Coastal and marine management issues are so complex that we need every help that we can get from all sectors -- government, NGOs, the private sector, academe, the church, youth, women, people's organizations, etc.

My department holds a primary responsibility for building effective partnerships with our neighbors in the region and around the world. It is largely up to us to see that this Ocean Ambassadors Campaign lives up to its full potential as a tool for promoting a true marine conservation movement. I assure you: we are committed to fulfilling our mandate and meeting our responsibilities.

Even so, we look to you, institutions and citizens alike, to heed the message of our Ocean Ambassadors. Political agreements between governments are essential in ensuring the success of any regional or international seas action plan. The governments' long-term commitment is key to the success of the implementation of any program for marine conservation.

And so is your involvement.

I therefore enjoin you: Live the Ocean Ambassadors' spirit of cooperation among peoples. Reach out and make the Ocean Ambassadors your own campaign as well as the government's. This new electronic proximity that we now enjoy can help us find a way to unite with others anywhere in the world who share our concern, strengthen our ties, and work closer and more effectively with each other. Make full use of it. Build a regional, and then a global, network dedicated to the ocean's cause. Each of us individually can do our bit for the environment, but where marine conservation is concerned, we all realize that it may take a global village to make a real difference.

Thank you all for your attention and concern.