Environmental Accounting in Boracay....by Michael A. Bengwayan

Environmental Accounting in Boracay

By Michael A. Bengwayan, Ph.D., Environmental Resource Management

In environmental resource management, we have what we call environmental accounting which is the sum of costs  connected to the actual or potential deterioration, damage, destruction of natural assets due to human, especially economic activities. We did not expect the media to be thorough in their reportage regarding this as not many in the pen-pushing noble work had all the ingredients in environmental journalism. Now that Boracay is closed, one is wont to ask, how much damage has really been done on the island, will it recover, what and how intense is the marine ecosystem affected?

It is important to ask these questions because  of increasing  and worsening environmental problems,  in the midst of tourism economic, social and technological developments which threaten  the future  and sustainable development in Boracay and neighboring marine ecosystem.

In Boracay,  marine pollution  comes mainly from land..Nutrient pollution comes from diverse sources, including hotels, restaurants, shops , residences that emit sewage (from mostly human wastes) and wastewater discharges.  It overloads  the marine environment with high concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorous, and other nutrients, which now produce the widespread large algal blooms or “lumot”.  The decomposition of these algae after they die consumes oxygen.  This creates hypoxic, or oxygen depleted, “dead zones” where fish and other marine life cannot thrive.  In effect, it creates dead zones in other areas due to adverse effects of high nutrient pollution.

Fishing and shellfish industry are  being hurt by harmful algal blooms that kill fish and contaminate shell fish. The losses  spell lower source of food for the next generations.

The marine debris – trash and other solid material that enter the  bay from the wetlands now occupied by squatters – threaten wildlife and marine habitats, presents health and safety concerns for humans, and imposes costs  to the island and coastal areas, not only now but more so, the future.  Plastic wastes, consistently makes up a significant proportion of the marine debris polluting the seabed, corals seagrasses and marine life.  It does not biodegrade and is consumed by marine life, killing fishes, turtles and other aquatic life. The costs can never be estimated.

Preventing trash from entering the sea is difficult due to the many sources, including  lax municipal laws of the island, corrupt officials, poor trash management by hotels, restaurants and communities and incomplete waste facilities, widespread littering by tourists, and inadequate municipal storm sewers carrying trash in rainwater runoff.

The closure of Boracay should not only be measured by the loss of money or jobs because tourism, when irresponsible,  does not only affect the Filipino as a victim.

The victim here appears to be much of  the future life in the Philippines.