Alarmed by experts’ reports that the world’s seas will turn into “virtual desserts” by 2050, Senator Cynthia Villar pushed for legislative measures to protect the sustainability and biodiversity of the country’s oceans.
Villar made the call as she joined the international community in celebrating this year’s World Oceans Day, which is observed to educate the public of the impact of human action on the ocean and to mobilize people for the sustainable management of the world’s ocean.
This year’s celebration also marks the start of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development which will run from 2021 to 2030.
As chairperson of the Senate Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change, Villar is strongly pushing for the passage of Senate Bill No. 1331, a measure institutionalizing EPR or the Extended Producer Responsibility mechanism.
EPR is part of the country’s solid waste management system.
Villar said it is a strategy to reduce the proliferation of single-use plastics that end up in the oceans and pollute the environment.
This measure, she said, would ensure that the responsibility for the entire life cycle of plastic products rests on the manufacturers.
It mandates manufacturers to recover plastic wastes from their products as a mechanism towards achieving an efficient solid waste management.
“We should be all responsible enough to protect our oceans, our source of marine resources and protein,” Villar said.
“Our plastic waste problem is an environmental issue we need to urgently address if we are to help in ecosystem restoration and in the conservation of our oceans,” she added.