Proposal for the Designation of the Philippines Archipelago as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The environmental and ecological tragedy that resulted from the oil spill from the sinking of MIT Solar 1 highlights the urgent need to build up and finally put into order the Philippines' archipelagic house, at least, as far as ocean governance is concerned. This policy paper sets forth a proposal for the designation of the entire Philippines archipelago as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA), the adoption and implementation of associated protective measures (APMs), domestic ship routeing and sea lanes of communication backstopped by a comprehensive, fully­ coordinated and integrated monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) infrastructure. The proposal/proposition would best address in a comprehensive manner a large area of concern in the field of ocean governance for the Philippines as an archipelagic State. Furthermore, on account of its inevitable regional reach, this would hopefully, in practical terms, initiate the regional implementation of UNCLOS Part IX (Enclosed or Semi-Enclosed Seas) to guarantee regional maritime safety and security. University Of Hawaii School of Law Library - Jon Van Dyke Archives Collection Maritime and Ocean Affairs Center Department of Foreign Affairs 19 October 2006 Proposal for the Designation of the Philippines Archipelago as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) Introduction The environmental and ecological damage wrought by the oil spill from the sinking of MIT Solar 1 highlights the vulnerability of the country on account of its peculiar characteristics as an archipelagic State. The Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) has characterized the Philippines as the quintessential coastal State in that not a single town or city in the country is more than a hundred kilometers from shore. But more than being a coastal State, the country is an archipelagic State, with the most compact grouping of islands among archipelagos in the world, strewn across principal shipping lanes. Straits in the Ph ilippines that have "normally been used" for international navigation are the Babuyan Channel, Balintang Channel and Luzon Straits in the north, the San Bernardino and Mindoro Straits in the mid-section of the country, and Surigao and Balabac Straits in the south. They are also the only entry and exit points, it might be emphasized, into and from archipelagic waters. In tending our Ocean yard, however, this geographical/geological scenario is only half the picture of vulnerability. In terms of marine biodiversity, data from World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) indicates that on a scale of 1 to 5, the region rates as 5 and among a very few all over the world in this highest category. This large marine eco-region also cradles the so-called "coral triangle" which nurtures the highest number of species, more than those in the Great Barrier Reef. Its mangroves and sea grass beds are the spawning and feeding grounds of many important fish and aquatic species including straddling and highly migratory fish stocks, and endangered sea turtles and other marine mammals. The above concern relating to the marine environment and in regard to the unique situation of the Philippines as a most strategically­ located archipelagic State, is made more acute on account of risks associated with merchant and military shipping activities, domestic and international. In the course of routine operations and accidents, Page 1 of23 University Of Hawaii School of Law Library - Jon Van Dyke Archives Collection Maritime and Ocean Affairs Center Department of Foreign Affairs ships may release a wide variety of substances either directly into the marine environment or indirectly through the atmosphere. Pollutants may damage the marine and coastal environment as a consequence of shipping accidents or willful acts of pollution. Such pollutants include radiological, nuclear and other hazardous and noxious solid and liquid substances, oil and oily mixture, sewage, garbage, anti-fouling systems, harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens, ballast water, and even noise; substances that pose threats to the marine environment and the living resources of the sea. In addition, ships may cause harm to marine organisms and their habitats through physical impact. Habitats may be severely damaged through ship grounding and ships have been known to collide with large marine mammals such as whales. The tragedy that resulted from the MIT Solar 1 incident mentioned above is ominous of more such scenarios if no immediate and comprehensive measures are undertaken in regard to instituting ocean governance in national, and regional, waters. It boggles the mind and imagination to speculate on the damage if all of 2,000,000 liters of bunker oil cargo, instead of the reported 300 to 400 thousand liters, actually spilt into the marine environment. Or perhaps a vessel, one among thousands that transit through the country's seas annually, laden with other dangerous noxious and hazardous substances encounters any such perils of the sea or ship. The impact on health and human lives, on livelihood and the national economy especially fisheries and the tourism industry, and on the maritime and seafaring industry, might be impossible to quantify. For the protection and preservation of its marine environment through the mitigation and prevention of pollution due to shipping activities, and for the maintenance of peace, good order and security of the country, it is herein proposed the designation of the entire Philippines archipelago as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) under the International Maritime Organization (IMO). This would serve as cornerstone for regional ocean governance and maritime security under Part IX of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on enclosed and semi-enclosed seas. Page 2 of23 University Of Hawaii School of Law Library - Jon Van Dyke Archives Collection Maritime and Ocean Affairs Center Department of Foreign Affairs Early Philippines Approaches to Ecosystem-based Management The Philippines had much earlier formulated a governance concept for its internal waters, cognizant of its archipelago character. As early as the mid-1960s, the Philippines embarked on development programs that can be considered as precursors to an ecosystem­ based management scheme, although more biased toward developmental rather than conservation goals. In 1966, the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) was created under Republic Act 4850 (An Act Creating the Laguna Lake Development Authority) established, wherein Section 1 thereof enunciates as public policy, to wit: " ... to carry out the development of the Laguna Lake region with due regard and adequate provisions for environmental management and control, preservation of the quality of human life and ecological systems, and the prevention of undue ecological disturbances, deterioration and pollution. 11 This early approach was, however, more visionary than scientific, and further development and practical application of the concept was stunted until 1992 when a marine scientist, Dr. Angel C. Alcala, headed the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). The DENR then launched several projects that dramatically enhanced the protection and conservation of the marine environment through ecosystem-based management, starting with smaller ecosystems. The more significant of such projects are the Coastal Environment Program (CEP), and the Coastal Resources Management Program (CRMP). Certain other projects/programs of the national Government were likewise undertaken at the local (multi-provincial and multi-municipal) level such as the Lingayen Gulf Coastal Management Commission (LGCMC). In 2003, the Maritime and Ocean Affairs Center of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA-MOAC)' began advocating measures relating to marine environmental protection as a possible mechanism to govern the national and regional waters. DFA-MOAC Secretary-General Alberto A. Encomienda presented a paper entitled "An Ecosystem-based Ecoregional Management for the Page 3 of 23 University Of Hawaii School of Law Library - Jon Van Dyke Archives Collection Maritime and Ocean Affairs Center Department of Foreign Affairs Seas of East and Southeast Asia: A Proposed Approach" at the Workshop on Ecosystem-based Management held in Cairns, Australia on 16 July 2003. The Workshop provided the first opportunity for DFA-MOAC to present its concept of regional ocean governance under UNCLOS Part IX and adopting the large marine ecoregion/ecosystem (LMEE) approach, for the seas of Southeast and East Asia. At this time though, DFA-MOAC did not yet have much confidence in projecting the concept in terms of practical implementation of a wide-scale conservation and management of maritime areas for two reasons, to wit: • the ecosystem/ecoregion management concept was in its infancy and not yet fully established nor universally accepted scientifically; and, • prevailing resistance by maritime States to perceived creeps in maritime jurisdictional regimes that would curtail the exercise of freedom of navigation Nonetheless, in the DFA-MOAC-Ied interagency consultations, the ecoregion/ecosystem concept was generally accepted as most appropriate in the country's setting as an archipelago and archipelagic State. Recent developments discussed below would validate this conceptual approach on effective ocean governance using ecosystem-based management in a large marine ecoregion