Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga expressed gratitude to the United Kingdom for its strong support through the Blue Planet Fund (BPF).
UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs David Lammy met with President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and other officials during an official visit to the Philippines on March 8 to promote enhanced partnerships between the two nations.
The visit resulted in the signing of a joint framework agreement aimed at enhancing cooperation in key areas such as economic development, defense and regional security, climate change adaptation and mitigation and biodiversity conservation among others.
Loyzaga thanked the UK and other development partners in promoting regional and global stability, as well as long-term peace and prosperity.
“Although we may be small in terms of land mass, both the Philippines and the UK are large ocean nations with some of the longest coastlines in the world,” she said.
The Philippines and the UK share the characteristics of being small, blue, archipelagic nations with vast ocean territories.
The development of the blue economy has enormous potential for the Philippines, as 86 percent of its territory is water.
Loyzaga and Lammy, during the Blue Horizon: Accelerating UK-Philippines Blue Economy Partnership panel discussion, noted their countries’ shared values and commitment to the inclusive, sustainable economic development of ocean resources, while upholding a rules-based international order and safeguarding critical ecosystems.
Both the UK and the Philippines rely on the health and biodiversity of their seas and waterways for food, livelihoods and security.
Launched in 2021, the UK’s Blue Planet Fund supports developing countries in protecting marine environments and combating poverty.
The fund focuses on climate adaptation, tackling plastic pollution, promoting blue carbon initiatives, and preserving natural systems and biodiversity.
Loyzaga said two out of eight significant programs are supported by the BPF. The first program centers on enhancing sustainable livelihoods by improving the management of marine protected areas in the Verde Island Passage, the Calamianes Islands in Palawan, and the Tañon Strait between Negros and Cebu.
The BPF’s Global Fund for Coral Reefs supports these initiatives involving ecotourism, community-based aquaculture, blue carbon and fishery improvement projects.
These efforts aim to mitigate coral reef degradation while alleviating poverty and generating long-term income for communities within these protected areas.
The second program, supported by the BPF, is the Philippines’ National Blue Carbon Action Plan (NBCAP), launched on Feb. 26. The NBCAP outlines the Philippine government’s strategy for managing blue carbon ecosystems.
Loyzaga cited the critical role of restoring mangrove forests, which have been lost to fishponds and brackish water fisheries since the 1950s.
“We need to accelerate the planting of the right species in the right areas and increase protection of our remaining mangrove stands,” she said.