Visayan Sea, the world epicenter for marine biodiversity -- American scientist
"The world’s largest concentration of marine life is found in the Philippines, more specifically in the Visayan Sea." This unequivocal declaration came from Dr. Kent E. Carpenter, an American ichthyologist, marine biologist, and marine conservationist from the Department of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, USA.
Dr. Carpenter recently was guest lecturer during the Lecture-Forum on "The Visayan Sea: The Center of the Center of Marine Biodiversity" held last July 20, 2007 at the Educational Media Center Conference Room, Central Philippine University. This forum was sponsored by three offices, namely, the Life Sciences Department (College of Arts and Sciences), the Environmental Management Department (College of Agriculture) and the Office of Environmental Concerns.
Dr. Luisito T. Conducta, Chair of the Life Sciences Department gave the Welcome Remarks. Mr. Jec Dan Borlado, CPU M. Div. student and Ms. Ma. Diosa Labiste, Philippine Daily Inquirer correspondent, gave the reactions to the lecture. They appreciated the efforts of Dr. Carpenter who helped us see whether or not we have made the right choices and moves for the environment. Engr. Aries Roda D. Romallosa of the Environmental Management Department served as Moderator during the Open Forum and Dean Leopoldo Millamena of the College of Arts and Sciences gave the Closing Remarks. Engr. Aurora A. Lim, Special Assistant to the President on Environmental Concerns, introduced the guest speaker.
Dr. Carpenter, who is also the Global Marine Species Assessment Coordinator of the World Conservation Union, and fellow researcher Victor Springer of the Smithsonian Institute, discovered in 2004 that the Philippines (not Indonesia or the Caribbean Sea) has the greatest concentration of marine biodiversity. He further reported that the greatest concentration of 1,736 overlapping marine species is in a 10 km x 10 km area in the Verde Island Passage between Batangas and Mindoro. Unfortunately, this area is also the busiest sea transport channel and thus has the greatest potential for the dumping of wastes and marine accidents, including future oil spills.
The lecture-forum was attended by students from the CPU Colleges of Agriculture, Arts & Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, Nursing and representatives from WVSU and DENR. Dr. Carpenter, who was accompanied by his Ilongga wife, Mrs. Cecilia Luz Minsalan-Carpenter and their two children, also stressed the need for the Philippines to preserve this explosion of marine life and treat it as a national heritage that is a source of national pride and would benefit not only Filipinos but the entire world. He also warned that with this rich marine biodiversity comes our international responsibility and obligation to preserve this marine counterpart of the Amazon Rain Forest.
A few days after the lecture-forum, a local newspaper announced that Cebu Provincial Board Member Victor Maambong sponsored a resolution, which was duly approved by provincial legislators, to ask Congress to declare the Visayan Sea as a Marine Conservation and Heritage Site.
(Dr. Luisito T. Conducta)