THIS REFERS to wildlife poaching off Scarborough Shoal, the sovereign ownership of which is currently being contested by the Philippines and China. It should be clear that the problem is a concern of both countries, regardless of the still-unresolved dispute. Both parties have a responsibility to prevent poachers of marine wildlife and coral reefs, as their governments are signatories to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity or the Biodiversity Convention.
The Biodiversity Convention is an international, legally binding treaty on the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and a fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources. Among the Aichi Biodiversity Targets of the convention’s strategic plan for biodiversity, which was drawn up in 2010, is the reduction of the rate of loss of natural habitats by a minimum of 50 percent.
Tensions relatively eased when vessels from both countries pulled out from the area. The next logical step is for the two parties to continue the dialogue to find a peaceful resolution of territorial disputes, based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Such dialogue should be guided by the principles of the Biodiversity Convention, too. So must all efforts to resolve the Scarborough dispute, where corals, giant clams and live sharks were part of the bounty that Chinese poachers were able to take with them.
We stress the accountability of both governments, especially because of the way President Benigno Aquino III has handled this standoff. Aquino talks about defending our patrimony, but he failed to jail the Chinese poachers. Not only that, the government has used the standoff with China to justify the continued military exercises of US troops on Philippine soil despite these exercises’ track record of dumping oil and sewage waste into our waters, and firing into reefs during naval maneuvers, and the live fire exercises.
Aquino does not even have to look beyond Luzon to search for our patrimony under attack. As we speak, Chinese-owned mining corporations are plundering minerals along the coasts of Cagayan Valley, and are pushing for large-scale mining operations in Pampanga’s Mount Negron. US-owned companies are likewise pushing magnetite and large-scale mining projects in Bicol and Compostela Valley. The government should stop these extractive and destructive projects if it is serious about defending our national sovereignty and the environment.
—FRANCES QUIMPO,
national secretary general,
Kalikasan Partylist,
26 Matulungin St.,
Central District,
Diliman, Quezon City