or Asian Energy
Ltd. (NorAsia) has been given by DENR the go-signal to conduct seismic surveys
for gas deposits in the seas around Bohol Island beginning this week starting
with Maribojoc Bay. The sea area targeted for the survey covers about 2,000
square kilometers. This area include several marine protected areas such as the
outstanding marine reserve Balicasag Island known for its high marine
biodiversity and high fish biomass, therefore attractive to tourists.
Tagbilaran legal officer Doni Piquero and lawyer Raul
Barbarona of the Environment Legal Assistance Center say that such a survey
requires an environmental impact study. The Boholanos generally object to the
seismic survey because of the perceived ill effects on marine creatures such as
sea turtles, marine mammals and fish, the biodiversity components that attract
tourists. The Bohol-Cebu area is now the number one area in terms of ecotourism
in the Philippines.
Balicasag marine reserve was established by the Silliman
University Marine Laboratory under my direction in the mid-1980s and has been
protected since that time. Now, it is one of about 80 marine reserves in the
Bohol Sea that generate income from tourism for local communities on Bohol, Cebu,
northern Mindanao and southeastern Negros . This network of marine reserves also
provides sustainable fisheries for the local communities as a result of
spillover from the marine reserves.
While gas deposits, if found in the targeted sea, area are
important to the region, the marine resources are equally important, even more
important than gas deposits, because the marine resources provide essential
nutrition, support the economic well being of local communities and are
sustainable resources over time. Gas for energy can well be provided from other
biological resources and are not absolutely essential for the people in central
Visayas and northern Mindanao . It is the argument of people that gas deposits
do not need to be removed at the risk of destroying the marine resources of the
region.
I have looked at the paper of NorAsia that justifies the use
of noise for the generation of scans and images for the targeted area. I find
only general statement in the report. It does not give us the species of whales
and dolphins likely to be affected by the noise emission of 100-200 decibels.
The paper furthermore does not provide data on how these species under
Philippine conditions behave when subjected to noise of 100-200 decibels.
Perhaps, the most glaring omission is the effect of noise on fish. Those who
prepared the justifying statement have ignored what is known about the effect of
noise on target (food) fish.
Noise much less than 100 decibels generated by tapping the
water with hand paddles has been widely used to scare fish to the waiting nets
by fishers. The mot likely effect of noise of 100-200 decibels is to scare the
fish away from protected areas and also from fishing areas, negatively affecting
tourism and fisheries.
Thus, it is believed that the use of noise by NorAsia will negatively affect
fisheries and tourism in the marine area targeted for survey. The proof to the
contrary is in the court of NorAsia.
