The Municipality of Moalboal, one of Cebu’s top beach and dive destinations, took part in the recent in the International Coastal Cleanup Day, a global for the protection of the coastal and marine ecosystems.

For the first time, the coastal town held simultaneous cleanups in two locations spearheaded by the municipal government and tourism stakeholders in a display of multi-sectoral collaboration.

Located on the southwestern coast of Cebu province, the town was a finalist as a top destination category of the recent Philippine Tourism Awards by the Department of Tourism.

Moreover, the private sector-led ICC undertaking at Saavedra beach is the first collaborative effort among local stakeholders, which was initiated by leading Cebu-based developer and hospitality player AppleOne Properties Inc.

Tañon Strait is the country’s biggest protected seascape with a rich marine biodiversity. Situated between Cebu and Negros provinces, the Strait boasts of 8,408 hectares of coral reefs with 41 common coral genera, 4,108 hectares of mangrove forests with 46 known species and is habitat to 48 percent of the archipelago’s cetaceans and 12 of the country’s 16 seagrass species.

It is also home to the famed sardine run, a popular dive site because of the countless sardines swirling near Panagsama Beach and Pescador Island, a limestone islet which has been declared a marine park and fish sanctuary.

The third Saturday of September of each year has been declared by Presidential Proclamation No. 470 as the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day enjoining government and all sectors of the society to take part.

The Philippines has been an active partner in the worldwide effort for ocean’s health since 1994, which draws tens of thousands of volunteers from all over the archipelago to clean beaches, rivers, waterways and seabeds and document and analyze information on the trash collected for a more efficient local waste management program. Introduced in 1986 by the Texas-based Ocean Conservancy, the ICC has since spread around the world’s coastal communities.