Sea pact

Sea pact | Daily Tribune

France and the Philippines, both sea-bordered countries dependent on bodies of water for essential state activities, are riding the next decade to save the oceans.

In time for the World Environment Day, the Embassy of France recently launched Blue Nations, a partner initiative with the Philippines to preserve each’s part of the world’s aquatic resources, which face threats from human activities.

The program also serves as a vehicle in preparation for the third United Nations Ocean Conference, which France will host in Nice, France, in 2025.

“With over 36,000 km of coastline, the Philippines ranks sixth in the world [by length of coastline]. France, with 20,000 km of coastline across its metropolitan and overseas territories, ranks 10th. We share common interests and challenges due to this geography, primarily economic interests related to the sustainable management of marine resources,” said French Ambassador Marie Fontanel.

“More important, we share commitments. With 25,000 km of coral reefs, the Philippines is the third country in the world in terms of coral biodiversity, while France, with 14,000 km, ranks fourth. We, thus, share the responsibility of ensuring the protection of those ecosystems, which are vital for the health of the oceans and hence the planet.”

The ambassador also expressed that France shares the “strong vision” of President Marcos and quoted parts of his keynote speech at the recent IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, when the President insisted “the importance of upholding multilateralism and the Philippines’ role and efforts in building bridges on issues ranging from climate action to sustainable development or equitable global health cooperation.”

At the launch, Department of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga: “[The Philippines] is renowned both as a megadiverse nation and one of the most climate-vulnerable countries globally. We continue to champion biodiversity conservation and climate action in the implementation of several multilateral environmental agreements.”

Loyzaga also said that in preparation for the UNOC in Nice next year, they are establishing a pioneer project — seven marine scientific research stations across the Philippines “to secure, discover, and further understand the coastal and marine environment for informed decision-making, resource management, development strategies, and long-term monitoring.”