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The Oceans are in Trouble : Protecting Benham Rise

The oceans are in trouble, as ocean explorer, film maker and conservation advocate Alexandra Cousteau puts it.

A team of marine scientists found a dazzling array of soft and hard corals, fish, algae, and sponges in Benham Bank,during a week-long expedition in May 2016. They observed one hundred percent coral cover in several sites, with an impressive field of plate corals.

We saw terraces of corals, as far as the
eye could see. It’s so exciting to know that
we have such a vast and pristine coral reef
ecosystem within Philippine territory

said Marianne Pan-Saniano, marine scientist at Oceana Philippines.

Benham Bank key to food security.

Oceana senior advisor Alexandra Cousteau urged the government to ensure that the marine resources documented by scientists during the 2016 expedition would be protected from commercial exploitation even before their uses are fully known.

The rich biodiversity in Benham Bank – Benham Rise’s shallowest area – could aid in ensuring the country’s food security, according to a marine scientist.

“What’s amazing about Benham Bank is its coral coverage. The region offers a huge potential for food resources and is different from the typical corals that we see,” said marine scientist Marianne Pan-Saniano of Oceana Philippines.










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Healthy Water

The session on Healthy Water was chaired by ATTY. ANTONIO A. OPOSA, JR. He pioneered the practice of Environmental Law in the Philippines and is one of Asia’s leading voices in the international arena of Environmental Law. He was conferred with the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2009 for “his path- breaking and passionate crusade to engage Filipinos in acts of enlightened citizenship that maximize the power of law to protect and nurture the environment for themselves, their children, and the generations still to come.”

The moderator was BONAR A. LAURETO who currently serves as the Executive Director of Philippine Business for the Environment (PBE), a Global Network Partner of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). He engages with the private sector, government, and other key stakeholders to help create innovative, collaborative business solutions to urgent global and local environmental and social challenges, under WBCSD’s Action 2020 flagship program.