The world must see the Philippines not as a victim, but as a leader in ocean protection, Senator Loren Legarda said Thursday, as she urged urgent local action ahead of the 2025 UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice, France on June 9-13.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the \u201cDaluyong ng Pagbabago: Adaptation and Resilience for Our Oceans\u201d forum in Pandan, Antique, Legarda rallied local governments, fisherfolk, scientists, and youth advocates to help turn international commitments into tangible results, warning that time is running out to reverse marine degradation.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur seas are not just a backdrop — they are our lifeline. We must act decisively and lead by example,” she said.<\/p>\n
Legarda said that while the Philippines is a signatory to global agreements like the Paris Accord and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), domestic action must match those commitments.<\/p>\n
Citing Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Life Below Water), the senator warned of declining fish stocks, dying coral reefs, and the country\u2019s continued contribution to marine plastic pollution.<\/p>\n
Legarda also highlighted testimony from fisherfolk in her home province, Antique, who shared how fishing nets once filled with abundant catch now haul in mostly trash, a stark symbol of the worsening crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cGlobal targets mean little without grassroots execution,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She reaffirmed the role of national legislation in shaping ocean governance, citing the Climate Change Act of 2009 and the Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System (PENCAS) Act as key tools.<\/p>\n
Legarda also pushed for the passage of the proposed Blue Economy Act to institutionalize sustainable fishing practices and expand marine protected zones.<\/p>\n
She said ocean advocacy must go hand in hand with climate justice, calling on developed countries to fulfill their USD100 billion-a-year commitment in climate finance and invest in countries like the Philippines that are on the frontlines of marine stewardship.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur fight is about survival, equity, and responsibility. It\u2019s time to invest in the communities that guard marine biodiversity,” she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo our local leaders: follow Antique\u2019s lead. To our youth: your future is non-negotiable. To all Filipinos: the ocean is our bridge to legacy and survival.” (PNA)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Senator Legarda calls on the nation to take necessary steps to establish itself as a leader in ocean protection as the UN Ocean Conference approaches.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5736,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-advocacy"],"zyndk8_nxtgen_metadata":{"nxtgen_comments":[{"615":"marine lif is importnt \ud83d\udc2c\ud83d\udc1f\r","616":"support blue economyyy nowww \ud83d\udc99\r","617":"youth must get involved\r","618":"ocean not trash bin\r","619":"unity for clean seas \ud83c\udf0a\ud83d\udc99"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5735"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5735\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}