The Connectivity of All Life

Many of us may not be aware that the heart of marine biodiversity in the world is right here in the Philippines, at the Verde Island Passage between the provinces of Batangas and Oriental Mindoro. It is a busy domestic sea route that many Filipinos take on their way to or from Luzon to the various points in the Visayas and Mindanao. It is a usual delight to see a group of dolphins swimming alongside the boat or graceful flying fish on such trips. This is something to be thankful to the Creator for: the gift of an abundance of natural resources and our nation’s waters teeming with countless species of fish and marine life.

Scientists and conservationists have highlighted the value of “connectivity” which is an ecological concept that refers to the exchange of elements between various habitats. In the marine context, these habitats could be adjacent coral reefs, sub-tidal sea grass meadows, mangrove fringed shorelines, coastal estuaries, or any other environment in the coastal marine ecosystem. Demographic connectivity then refers to the movement of living organisms between nearby or more distant local populations, whether these are juvenile or adult, or pelagic eggs and larval stages. This living connectivity facilitates the dispersal of marine life forms – growing, surviving, and reproducing – across these habitats, driven by physical and behavioral responses of the organisms to the water mass in which they travel (Definition adopted from www.gefcoral.org).

Scientists are worried about the rapid rate of marine life and coral reef degradation, mainly because of human greed, ignorance and the wastefulness of many. As Joey Ayala’s song best expresses it: “Ang lahat ng bagay ay magkaugnay” (Everything is connected). We have felt this sense of affinity with nature as we experienced the devastating deluge brought by Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) last year. We know for a fact that the more we destroy the natural environment, the more we harm the human population that depends on it. The need to strike a balance in conserving and preserving our natural environment and pursuing economic development is vitally urgent, particularly the Verde Island Passage, which is a busy hub of marine and human life plying its route.

We must prioritize care for the environment as it means more economic growth that will directly benefit the common people. Just look at the collective conservation efforts in Apo Island in Negros Oriental and in Anilao, Batangas that have benefited the local communities in and around it as marine life has once again become abundant.

The conservation and protection efforts of our marine environment should likewise extend to our dwindling rainforests, especially in the almost denuded Sierra Madre and Cordillera mountain ranges. Stringent measures are needed to put a stop to illegal logging, quarrying and kaingin practices. Protecting these forests is essential for the preservation, not only of the animals, but of the communities of people that live in and around these areas as well.

The alteration of our landscapes has likewise been shown to adversely affect weather systems all over the world. Global warming is like a cancer that grows slowly and undetected until damage is severe. We are beginning to experience its harsh effects. Just this year alone, earthquakes have been occurring in various countries almost simultaneously, wreaking havoc on many unsuspecting people.

The polluted waters of Laguna Lake and the Pasig River flow directly into Manila Bay which is near the Verde Island Passage. There are various efforts to save the Pasig River, one even spearheaded by a major TV network. It is our mandate to do our part and be right there in its midst by supporting similar efforts or by spearheading our own local projects as there surely will be one worth fighting for in our own local communities. As Jacques-Yves Cousteau, a famous explorer of marine life, said: “Our planet gives back to us what we have put in it.”

Everything is connected. Now the fervent collective call is to change our lifestyle by starting to care for nature even in simple ways, like not throwing trash into our waterways and segregating biodegradable trash from non-biodegradables.

Our lives and our future are at stake. In a speech given during the 2010 PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature, a Swedish philosopher and writer, Jostein Gaarder, author of the international bestseller Sophie’s World, pointing to a vertical dimension in the Golden Rule said: “You shall do to the next generation what you wished the previous generation had done to you … Those who come after us are also our fellow human beings, and we have no right to hand over a planet Earth that has less worth than the planet Earth that we, ourselves, have the great fortune to live in.”