P58-M fund for Tubbataha rehab released
Nine years after a US Navy ship ran aground on parts of the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP), and seven years after the United States had paid the Philippine government for the damage, the funds were finally released.
The provincial government of Palawan received the amount of P58,375,080 as money for the “rehabilitation of Tubbataha” on Oct. 25.
“The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has been working with us to get the funds released and transferred to the provincial government; they really worked on it,” TRNP protected area superintendent Angelique Songco said.
“[Former governor and now] congressman Antonio Alvarez also facilitated its release, and the provincial government will immediately bid out the work,” Songco added.
The funds will be used to complete the living quarters of the Tubbataha park rangers, who guard the reefs 24/7, 365 days a year. The current ranger station, built in 2000, sits on a sandbar in Tubbataha’s North Atoll, and has been continuously battered by typhoon winds. Also in the future, although not covered by the funds, are plans for the completion of a research station and a helipad.
An Inquirer story on Aug. 14 reported on the rangers’ plight.
“We are grateful for the contribution of the various agencies in providing our rangers with a safe and decent home in the middle of the Sulu Sea,” Songco said. “This is a clear expression of how much we as a nation value their personal sacrifices in safeguarding our patrimony.”
The 97,030-hectare TRNP was first declared a national marine park, the first of its kind, by then President Corazon Aquino in 1988.
It is now treasured as a Unesco World Heritage Site for being a haven of marine biodiversity.
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt – Japan was given an infamous “fossil” award by an international environmental group on Wednesday for being the world’s biggest public financier of oil, gas and coal projects.
“The Japanese government is making huge efforts to export false solutions” such as coal-fired power plants to other countries despite the international trend to end investment in fossil fuels, the Climate Action Network said during the 27th session of a U.N. climate conference in Egypt.
The nongovernmental organization also criticized Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for not attending the leaders’ summit, saying, “Maybe he was too busy promoting false solutions in Japan?”
Referring to recent climate disasters, the group said vulnerable communities all over the world are suffering from the impact of climate change.
“Japan’s public finances are flowing into the fossil fuel projects responsible for this destruction rather than going towards financing the loss and damage caused by its own greenhouse gas emissions,” it said.
More recipients of the Fossil Award of the Day, given to countries “doing the most to achieve the least” in stopping climate change, are expected to be announced during the conference being held through Nov 18.
© KYODO