As the country celebrated the 49th World Environment Day on Sunday, Senator Cynthia Villar encouraged everyone to be responsible and passionate to contribute and inspire others to do their own part in healing Mother Earth.
The chair of the Senate committee on environment and natural resources guaranteed that the public’s collective efforts will make a difference in the protection and conservation of our environment.
Speaking during the installation of Verde Island Passage (VIP) Marker on the occasion of the UN World Environment Day organized by environmentalist Tony Oposa, Villar noted the United Nations has confronted us with the severe reality that the earth faces a triple planetary emergency.
“Due to this, the United Nations finds it fitting to adopt the “Only One Earth” slogan as a reminder for us, earthlings, that while there are billions of galaxies, planets and stars, the Earth is just our one solitary home and we should take care of it,” she said.
“All of us are being encouraged to be more connected to it, focus on living sustainably in harmony with nature, and shift our lifestyles from harming the Earth to healing it,” Villar added.
The invitation of Oposa, the senator said, has brought into her consciousness the need to accord the appropriate protection status to VIP, the channel that cuts through the Philippines by the south of Luzon.
The marker is right in the center of the Coral Triangle that is considered an area of extreme ecological importance.
It was reported in the 2005 study led by marine biologist Dr. Kent Carpenter that the VIP has the highest concentration of marine shore fish biodiversity on the planet.
Because of this, Villar said it has been labeled as “the epicenter of marine biodiversity”.
“Even with this little information I gathered, I am a little bit surprised why up to now it seems that no protection status “by legislation” has been accorded to VIP that could ensure its sustainability,” said Villar.
