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—The Philippines has recently ranked 214th out of 220 countries in the Ocean Health Index, a situation exacerbated by China’s destructive campaign to invade Philippine waters and own these.
In the 2023 Ocean Health Index, the Philippines scored 58 out of 100, significantly below the global average of 73 and marking a substantial decline from previous scores of 67 in 2021 and 65 in 2020, signaling deteriorating marine ecosystem health.
This horrific deterioration of marine ecosystems is particularly evident in the maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago, known as the West Philippine Sea, which is also part of the Philippine exclusive economic zone.
This region, crucial for its biodiversity, is also a focal point of an ongoing campaign by China to rob the Philippines of its territorial waters, further complicating conservation efforts and exacerbating environmental degradation.
A comprehensive study by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) titled ‘Deep Blue Scars: Environmental Threats to the South China Sea’ reveals that dredging and landfill operations, attributed to China, have caused significant coral reef damage in Philippine waters over the last 10 years.
Dredging involves extracting silt, sediments, and other substances from the ocean floor, a practice common in the West Philippine Sea to create navigable waterways and ports or to collect materials for land reclamation.
