'Ocean nourishment' project not yet implemented, says UPV prof
A University of Philippines in the Visayas (UPV)-based professor has defended the proposed experiment to release tons of urea in Philippine waters including areas near Panay Island as part of an experiment of an Australian firm to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Dr. Romeo Fortes, former dean of UPV's College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, also denied reports that a ton of urea was released last month in the waters of Anini-y town in Antique.
"As far as I am aware, no experiment has been conducted yet. It is still just a proposal," Fortes said in a telephone interview.
But Fortes admitted that he accompanied a team from the Sydney-based private firm Ocean Nourishment Corp. (ONC) in conducting an ocular inspection last month along the Panay Gulf, between Guimaras and Iloilo going to the southern part of Panay Island. The team included two Americans, two Australians and a Korean, according to Fortes.
He said he was tapped by the OCN to help secure permits from government agencies like the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
Fortes said no permits have been issued by any government agency allowing OCN to conduct the experiment.
International and Philippine environmental groups have raised alarm over reports that the OCN released a ton of urea in the waters of Anini-y last month.
The "ocean nourishment" project of the Sydney-based Ocean Nourishment Corp. (ONC) involves the release of 500 tons of urea granules in the Sulu and Celebes seas.
This is aimed to stimulate the growth of phytoplankton, which would eventually remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and help address global warming. This would purportedly also boost fish stock.
But environmental groups including Greenpeace-Southeast Asia and the Southeast Asia Regional Initiatives for Community Empowerment (SEARICE) have called for a stop to the experiment until its viability and safety is guaranteed.
In a petition paper that they have started to circulate, the groups have raised serious questions on the scientific basis of the experiment citing possible negative impacts on the environment and marine and human life.
They also said that the project is profit-motivated citing the the OCN announcement that it plans to apply for carbon credits under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) for carbon-sequestration activity using this technology.
But Fortes said that while caution should be undertaken in an experiment, the proposed Ocean Nourishment project is "calculated" and would be guided by protocols. He said the project would be very beneficial if it succeeds.
The environmental groups are calling on BFAR and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to withhold the approval of the project "until all scientific issues on the theoretical claims of ocean nourishment, particularly urea/nitrogen fertilization, are resolved by relevant international scientific bodies based on thorough scientific studies on its safety, scientific soundness and environmental sustainability by credible and independent scientists."
No permit should be issued for such activities until the London Convention has issued clear legal guidance as to the legal status of ocean fertilization and how it should be regulated.
It also called on the agencies to conduct consultations with communities and sectors that could be affected and to undertake a comprehensive environmental impact assessment of the project to ensure that it will not cause adverse impacts on the marine ecosystem.