Bohol coastal cleanup Sept 22 

calls community participation 

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, September 15 (PIA)—Discarded fishing nets, fishing pots and traps, (bobo) fishing lines, fishing buoys, these along with plastic food wrappers, or anything that would hurt or kill the earth’s marine resources and comprise the targets for the International Coastal Clean-up (ICC) which will happen this Saturday, September 22, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) authorities said. 

Speaking at the weekly Kapihan sa PIA aired live over DyTR and broadcast later over the PIA Bohol twitter and facebook accounts, Denr information officer Venisse Shalome Molina and Marine Coastal Environment Management Specialist Shiela Mae Zafra also announced that the threat of tropical typhoon Ompong has pushed the ICC national coordinator to postpone the social mobilization. 

Storms do wash back in debris and we just might find more trash to collect after we have completed the clean-up, Zafra said, defending the postponement of the cleanup that has the local churches actively calling for the most massive participation. 

The radio forum on the air also gathered Bohol’s authorities in coastal resource management including Bohol Environment Management Officer (BEMO) officer in charge Jovencia Ganub and Capitol’s coastal resource management officer Martia Villa Inguito Pelendingue. 

The Bohol Coastal Resource Management Task Force leading this year’s coastal cleanup pegged the community activity for September 15, the third Saturday, but the ICC national coordinator along with the DENR postponed the event to ensure volunteers safety amidst the threat of typhoon Ompong. 

The coastal cleanup activity is now set for September 22. 

“Fishing nets get entangled in the corals and continue to collect other debris and non-biodegradable garbage that can soon cover the reefs and kill it,” hints the local ICC coordinators members of the Bohol Coastal Resource Management Task Force (BCRMTF). 

On the other hand, fishing pots and traps left in the shallows can still entrap fish and marine mammals which could die when left inside without food or exposed in the sun during low tides. 

During the clean-up, Governor Edgar Chatto, in a memorandum advisory called on employees, the academe and public officials to join in the cleanup and come equipped. 

[You] are requested to participate in this year’s worldwide environmental event through removing waste in coastal areas, including rivers, dams, canals, and other open areas that can block the waterways and pollute our coastal resources, Gov Chatto wrote. 

The memorandum asked volunteers to come bringing empty sacks, brooms, gloves, tongs and utility gloves in picking up waste. 

“Safety is always a priority,” reminds ICC Philippines and the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary. 

“Wear gloves or use tongs and sticks when picking up sharp pointed objects and personal hygiene debris. Children must be supervised at all times, check weather and tides before cleanup and consider rescheduling of the activity in inclement weather,” the organizers added. 

Molina said data collection cards are provided for volunteer groups to fill will give the country’s policy makers a scientific data on how to come up with stronger policies in coastal and marine resource protection and conservation. 

Groups should get a form, available at the town mayor’s offices or the focal persons in your localities, Ganub added. 

“For record purposes, we are providing you ICC Data Sheets per institution for reproduction and distribution to your participating groups,” Chatto said. 

For the volunteer trash data form, organizers in this year’s cleanup said Ocean and waterway trash ranks among the most serious pollution problems choking our planet. 

Far more than an eyesore, a rising tide of marine debris threatens human health, wildlife, communities and economies around the world, they continued. 

The world faces many challenges, trash should not be one of them, they argue. 

Further calling for global action, they said “ocean trash is entirely preventable, and the data you collect are part of the solution.” 

The clean-upo trash data then gets organized and analyzed, gets published as scientific data for wolrd policy makers in a bid to reduce the impact. 

Greenpeace International, in its 2017 report said the Philippines ranked third among the countries largely polluting the ocean, after China and Indonesia, saying further that a truck of plastic gets thrown to the Philippine seas in a minute. 

Anything that is non-biodegradable over the size of a peso coin has to be picked. 

These include cigarette butts, food wrappers, take-out containers, plastic and metal bottle caps, straws and coffee stirrers, forks, knives, spoons, beverage bottles in both glass and plastic, grocery bags, beverage cans, other plastic bags, paper cups and plates, plastic cups and plates, or foam cups and plates. 

Also up for the cleanup are 6 pack holders, other plastic and foam packaging, other plastic bottles, strapping bands, tobacco and cigarette packaging or wrappers and personal hygiene stuff like condoms, diapers, syringes, sanitary napkins, tampoons, applicators and other trash that include discarded appliances, balloons, plastic cigar tips, cigarette lighters, construction materials, tires, shoes, slippers, clothing, fireworks, and toys. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)

BEMO OIC Jovencia Ganub airs call for participation in the 2018 International Coastal Clean-up set this Saturday, September 22. Ganub, along with Bohol CRM Officer Maria Villa Inguito, DENR information Officer Venisse Shalome Molina and Marine and Coastal Resources management specialist Sheila Mae Zafra announced the coordinated action for the global call for community mobilization asserting the community’s role as solutions to pollution. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)