Global Trash Moves with Currents
Given the uptick in tourism El Nido’s tourism has been under the microscope on social media. The media coverage of El Nido is in stark contrast on the spectrum of good and bad news. The gorgeous landscapes paint a picture perfect postcard shot. On the negative side of things the global garbage dump of what we call the ocean pops up on viral posts. Earlier this year during the rainy season (habagat, southwest monsoon) one netizen and tourist of El Nido posted videos and photos of garbage that ended up in Secret Lagoon. Of course there was a uproar from a number of social media users though much out of context.
The ocean, or what some treat as our world’s dumpsite, has currents that are not just local but very much regional and global. In the case of El Nido, habagat (Southwest monsoon) winds, bring with them more than wind. The open, southern location of Secret Lagoon on Miniloc Island (see island hopping map) makes it an easy destination for trash in the West Philippines Sea (or South China Sea) to end up inside the lagoon.
A thanks for the negative press
This isn’t to discount netizens who post negative images of El Nido. These negative images are most welcome. They increase awareness on a broad scale (though are usually grossly taken out of context), putting pressures on local citizens, businesses, and governments to create solutions to global problems. From the The Office of the Municipal Mayor’s official statement, “The current outside Secret Lagoon is strong, and easily brings in trash, while the water inside the lagoon is placid, thus retaining the pieces brought in by waves. Our OPLAN Linis Island group was able to collect 30 sacks of Plastic trash… We have received plastics bottles from Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, India, and even Japan.”
A lot of the garbage found in our ocean is from the Philippines, but this is a global issue. Also, we believe that the community of El Nido and it’s citizens and some of its business owners are truly trying to create a eco-sustainable tourism town. As tourists, we hope part of your visit is educational.
Local efforts- children, business owners, local government and corporation
In the middle of the spectrum of picturesque landscapes and our backyard as a dumpsite there are ton of efforts to keep this town clean and sustainable, much of which are mostly unseen.
The most active group is El Nido Plastic Battle, a group of private sector individuals that have lobbied for regulation and legislation against the use plastic. It has successfully influenced the local government unit (LGU) to ban single-use plastic last December. This year the LGU moved forward with banning all types of plastic on island-hopping tours. In reaction to the Secret Lagoon viral post they help mobilized different parties to do a clean-up of the different area.
The El Nido Chamber of Commerce regularly leads clean-ups south of town in Corong-Corong. Telesfora Beach Cottages provided free use of stand up paddle boards to locals in exchange for clean-up efforts. Vanilla Beach and Maremegmeg Beach Bar teamed up to do an underwater clean-up with divers. The Coast Guard Auxiliary continues to be part of clean-up drives. Green Nido frequently organizes clean-up drives when tours are cancelled. Batang El Nido Volunteers is a group of youth volunteers continuously trying to make a change for its hometown. In Sibaltan, Erlittop Gardens, Carmelita Homestay and Dive Sibaltan organized coastal clean-ups in eastern El Nido. In town there are joint efforts from various dive shops for underwater clean-ups. In the Nacpan community, a summer school was set up to help empower locals and the kids to take care of their immediate surroundings not to simply do clean-ups but have a long-term view on sustainability! Lio Tourism Estate has efforts in their respective areas and beyond. The list of efforts could never be exhaustive as the middle spectrum is often neglected though the most important in creating sustainability.
*Note this article originally appeared in ESTEL Issue 7
