THE 6-hectare reclaimed area owned by a local conglomerate has the potential of becoming a successful model for reclamation projects.  This was the view presented by Bohol Quality Corporation citing studies of an environmental expert and a world-renowned urban developer who pointed out the positive effects of reclaiming land within shallow waters such as the Tagbilaran Channel.  BQ Corporation claims that their reclaimed waterfront property will bring a positive impact to the local economy and the marine ecosystem of the so-called Tagbilaran Channel.  Making reference to an opinion made by Dr. Justino Quimio, considered as one of the country’s top freelance consultants in Environmental Impact Assessment Projects and is currently Dean and Ecology Professor of the College of Natural Resources, Visayas State University, BQ Corporation said that their ongoing reclamation project will be drawing huge revenues not only to the city but the entire province as a new tourism and leisure hub right in the gateway of Bohol which is fast gaining recognition among the world’s best destination sites.

 BQ plans to build a “waterfront city” in the reclaimed area that will pave the way for a transformed Tagbilaran coastline with innovative architecture, imaginative new parks and recreation areas, arts and culture.  Quoting a position paper made by Dr. Quimio on the once-proposed offshore reclamation in Panglao Bay, BQ maintains that the waterfront real estate development will be a model of environmentally sustainable projects.  In his position paper, Quimio said that “marine eco-systems are living systems that has the capacity to regenerate and heal itself, for as long as the disturbance is at moderate scale or the whole ecosystem is not totally devastated.”  Another expert in the field of urban planning and sustainable development, Architect Felino Palafox, believes that “reclamation, if done properly, is the solution to the continuing degradation of most shorelines along urban centers, the solution to storm surges, solution to (producing) additional prime land.”  While some have claimed that reclamation has caused negative environmental impact, Palafox said inefficient waste disposal and the absence of wastewater-mitigating infrastructure were the primary causes of degraded coastlines nearby urban areas.

 “The Philippines has the world’s third longest waterfront but we don’t use our waterfront properly. We don’t use them as front doors to development but as outhouses where liquid waste and garbage are thrown,” he pointed out.  Quimio and Palafox are leading consultants of several reclamation projects in the country that are now acknowledged environmentally sound and modern tourism destinations.  BQ Corporation conceived the reclamation project due to the fact that the central business district of Tagbilaran City is already congested and there are no more suitable sites for the development of prime commercial complex which prompted the company to expand along city shores.  The company envisions the reclamation to be in line with the province’s vision and development thrusts towards becoming a prime eco-cultural destination by being able to provide real estate for tourism-related infrastructure.

 ‘Marine ecosystems are living systems’

 Quimio explains that “marine ecosystems do not die. Marine ecosystems are living systems. A living system has the capacity to regenerate and heal itself, for as long as the disturbance is at moderate scale or the whole ecosystem is not totally devastated.  If you cut all the branch of a rose at one time, you may kill the plant. But, cutting only those branches with beautiful flowers, new healthy shoots would sprout a the point of cut, the plant would tend to recover the initial form of its crown by replacing the cut branch by with new shoots, while other branches that did not experience cutting may not produce any new shoot at all. Young systems tend to have high inertia, or rate of regeneration to recover from disturbance. Young systems have higher rate of productivity than older ones. Older ecosystems are more or less closed systems, meaning the cycle of materials is more or less in equilibrium, or, inputs to the system are balanced by ecosystem outputs. Young tree plantations would fix higher amount of carbon per year than old natural forests, where carbon sequestration in annual growth is balanced by death and decomposition of old trees.” He said that it is common for environmental activists to be skeptical or against proposed projects due to potential damage that can be caused by perturbations to local ecosystems.

 “The first things that may come to the mind are the potential impacts to local biodiversity, possible contribution to climate change and the social costs of proposed development. On threat to biological diversity, this presumes that the precious organisms exist in the target site. There is no way a forest can be destroyed if the site is a desert. The contribution to climate change can happen if the local biomass, mostly sea grass, is released as carbon dioxide to the atmosphere or if there would be significant reduction in area for photosynthesis. It is however expected that terrestrial vegetation that would develop over the reclaimed area would even have higher primary productivity than the replaced marine waters. Regarding social costs, the opportunity cost due to conversion of the target shallow area for reclamation would be within acceptable level. The project will not block access of coastal communities to their fishing ground. The water depth in the area being only about a meter during high tide is most of the time too shallow to be navigable to small boats, thus, not good site to fishing,” he explained.

 According to Quimio, death of organisms on site (of the reclamation) is likely to happen given three circumstances. First, that such diversity is presumed as actually existing in the site under question; second, the nature and extent of disturbance caused by the reclamation would render the site unlivable to prevent regeneration; and third, such site has unique conditions that no other alternate sites can offer the same habitat types to affected organisms.  Quimio, who has conducted a marine survey in Panglao Bay observed that the area is “low on diversity”. The site is much similar to the Tagbilaran Channel which has been gradually degraded over years of wastewater and garbage dumping, according to BQ.  On the supposed economic benefits of the reclamation, Quimio said that this is a generic concern thrown to most proposed major projects. “But, we have legal procedures, the Environmental Statement System, to ensure this concern is studied objectively. We shall study what and how the existing environment would be affected and compare this to social costs and benefits. An Environmental Compliance Certificate is supposed to be secured from the DENR,” he added.

 BQ Corporation declared that “the project would not only be advantageous to the people of Tagbilaran but would definitely boost the province’s tourism industry, attract more investments, infuse infrastructure development and will even support underground economy.” “The increased economic activity that would develop in the immediate vicinity would generate a diversity of economic ventures,” Quimio stated in his study.  On the concern on climate change, Quimio said he foresees no significant contribution to carbon dioxide emission that may be brought about by conversion of shallow waters into reclaimed land.  Quoting from Quimio’s statement, BQ Corporation said that “Biodiversity can be even enhanced by creation of deeper parts through dredging. The current shallow waters are not amenable to the growth of corals. Because of the existence of many other patches of shallow waters along the area, the reclamation project in one of those patches can be considered a moderate disturbance. Thus, whatever biodiversity is existing in the target project site, that same can regenerate after the dredging operation while their same kind are kept effectively conserved in the other shallow areas.”