The proposed gigantic reclamation project at Panglao Bay has met opposition from local officials, non-government organizations and fisher-folks, who said the project will hasten the death of a very rich marine eco-system.
Dubbed as
Panglao Oasis Islands Project, the development intends to reclaim land by establishing five major islands at the Panglao Bay which is located at the southwestern tip of Panglao Island.
The reclamation project would have a total of 600-hectares of land area that will be developed as a commercial, entertainment, tourism and even a residential community.
Panglao Oasis Islands, according to its proponents, will give investors a headache-free opportunity to develop coastal tourism developments. They also assured that the proposed initiative will be undertaken with the least environmental damage resulting from the activity.
But the development plan alarmed the local government led by Mayor Benedicto Alcala, NGOs and environmental groups.
Alcala said he was never consulted on the plan to reclaim a vast portion of Panglao Bay.
Rosalinda Paredes, an environmental consultant of NGOs, expressed "huge environmental concerns" saying that "reclamation is never environment-friendly".
According to Paredes, the plan to reclaim the southwestern shores of Panglao came up sometime in May 2009, and initially there were already adverse comments from the stakeholders whether the project is in line with the Bohol tourism master plan.
Atty. Raul Barbarona of the Environmental Legal Assistance Center (Elac) told the Chronicle that "Panglao waters as part of the Bohol Marine Triangle (BMT) is four times richer in biodiversity than the whole of the Mediterranean Sea".
"The carrying capacity of our environment must be considered," Barbarona stressed.
He added that the proponents of Panglao Oasis Islands will destroy watersheds as the contractors will source out earth materials to build the artificial islets.
Barbarona said the provincial government already mapped out areas that will host facilities for tourists in the Panglao Island Tourism Estate master plan.
"Why build artificial land? The project will cause death to marine life," he added.
Fishing groups in Panglao said the project would destroy the remaining corals and mangroves in Panglao Bay.
They said many fishermen and their families will be evicted from the area to be reclaimed and they will be deprived of their main source of livelihood.
Based on its development plan, Island-1 will be built as a commercial and entertainment center to be equipped with a marina and will host condominiums, hotels, a commercial district, entertainment centers, F-1 race track and a golf course. The first island will have a total land area of 150 hectares.
Island-2, which is also 150 hectares, will host a residential complex, schools and a resort. Small commercial establishments, souvenir shops, boutiques, dive shops and apartments will be built in Island-3 (75 hectares) which will be a "master-planned Boracay".
The fourth island (70 hectares) will be built to host a nature park, a wildlife and fish sanctuary and camping grounds.
Proponents of the project initially presented their development plan to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan last Tuesday.
The proponents assure that all of the five areas will be well-studied by technical experts to ensure that there will be no adverse environmental impact on project implementation.
They likewise committed to conduct an environmental impact study while maintaining the waterways that separates the development sites from mainland Panglao and farther from identified mangrove conservation areas defined by the Department Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
The guidelines of the PITE development and the BMT Local Regional Economic Development Plans will also be adhered, the proponents assured.
Proponents bragged that this proposed project is like the Sanctuary Lakes Resort in Melborurne Australia which won an environmental award in 2004.
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