DENR, volunteers to clean Iloilo City shoreline today

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BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
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Saturday. September 16, 2017
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ILOILO City – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 6 and volunteers will clean this city’s shoreline to mark the 2017 International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) today.

ICC is the world’s largest volunteer effort to preserve the world’s oceans.

According to DENR-6 director Jim Sampulna, the cleanup covers five kilometers – from Barangay Sto. Niño Sur in Arevalo district to Barangay Calumpang in Molo district.

More than a thousand volunteers are expected, including delegations from the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary and ICC Philippines.

Observing this year’s ICC theme, “Together for Our Ocean”, volunteers will gather biodegradable and non-biodegradable debris.

“Nothing beats volunteerism in our desire to accomplish one noble endeavor in a short span of time. In this regard, joining the international coastal cleanup amounts to a lot in terms of helping make our oceans trash-free,” said Sampulna.

Pollution in oceans threatens not only the wildlife it holds; it also affects the economy and people, he stressed.

The largest contingent of volunteers today will come from the academe. The others are from non-government organizations and the business sector.

The coastal cleanup is also in line with DENR secretary Roy Cimatu’s thrust to fully implement the Clean Water Act, said Sampulna.

In 2002, the Philippines was recognized as the “cleanup capital of the world” for gathering over half a million volunteers for the ICC.

“The increasing amount of trash or debris, along with the very slow rate of its disintegration, is an ongoing global crisis that adversely affects the health of wildlife, humans and economies of many countries. Trash in the water and on the shore can be mistaken as food by wildlife or entangled animals with lethal consequences,” warned the Ocean Conservancy, an international organization advocating for a healthy ocean./PN
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