7000+Going Green

Boracay: Paradise Redeemed

It was early in the 1970s when this paradise first came into the limelight. Its crystalline waters and talcum-white sand were eclipsed only by the beauty of the stunning sunset, which awed both locals and tourists alike, as they watched it on the powdery shore.

Boracay was a haven for free-spirited backpackers, who stayed in modest cottages set up by enterprising locals, sharing their little slice of heaven. The setting sun, the only major source of light at the time, signaled the end of the day for the island. It was nature at its purest – unspoiled – a glimpse of paradise.

Paradise Broken

The Boracay of recent memory holds a stark contrast to that of over four decades ago. It welcomed over 2.1 million tourists in 2017 alone – averaging 40,000 people a week.

Sundown signals the start of the party – walk along the shore and hear loudspeakers blaring electronic music, crickets no longer the minstrels of the night.

The once word-of-mouth hideaway has turned into a one-stop beach destination. Aside from the bars and clubs that line its shores, you can even play a round of 18-hole golf, or experience sniping in an indoor air-conditioned shooting range.

Photo taken : October 17, 2018

The very island that has been called one of the “Best in the World” by several travel magazines and websites was a farce. Few knew that this paradise was slowly caving in from the inside.

Paradise Repaired

The island’s six-month closure began in April of 2018.

In the weeks that followed, reports verified President Duterte’s statements of Boracay being a “cesspool.” The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) discovered illegal connections from establishments that were using the island’s drainage system to pump untreated wastewater directly into the ocean. Boracay’s dirty little secret was out.

DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu, who is leading the multi-agency task force cleaning up the island, revealed sewage lines close to the shore. These were key contributors to the contamination of the surrounding waters of Boracay, and the excessive proliferation of algal bloom – a visible indication of water pollution.

There were other perennial problems plaguing Boracay. The island had congested streets due to structures encroaching within the 12-meter road-easement rule. Illegal structures built on “no-build” areas such as forests and wetlands were preventing the latter from serving their natural purposes of being that could help prevent flooding. On top of these were significant issues on solid waste management, as well as air and soil pollution.

What was a paradise on the outside was actually a festering environmental disaster waiting to happen. The closure was a preemptive move by the government to save the suffocating island – a 6-month chance to breathe.

Boracay: Paradise Redeemed
Photo taken : October 17, 2018

Paradise Redux

The DENR, in coordination with the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), have been spearheading the rehabilitation efforts in the island, and have been making strides heading into the island’s planned reopening in late October.

Aside from the demolition of illegal structures and the improvement of the sewage system of the island, several new developments will be implemented in Boracay, with the aim of promoting environmental sustainability and improving the welfare of the tourists and residents alike. The major changes to expect include the following:

  1. Government agencies will impose a carrying capacity, meaning tourist arrivals will be limited. Gone will be the days of unregulated “Laboracay” festivities – a portmanteau on “Labor Day” and “Boracay.” This holiday sees as much as 70,000 tourists cramming into the island during the May weekend.
  2. Smoking and drinking will also be banned from public places, particularly on the white-sand beach.
  3. The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has mandated the local government in Boracay to implement a phase out of tricycle units on the island, and are assisting in the shifting to more environment-friendly “e-trikes” to reduce traffic congestion and pollution.
  4. To help ease the problem of solid waste in the island, the DENR is also planning to impose a ban on single-use plastic. Namely grocery bags, bottled water, shampoo sachets, etc. – which constitute a large portion of Boracay’s trash.

With all these developments at hand, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat urges tourists to participate in a collective effort to prevent the island’s relapse into a degraded state.

This move of the country’s premier tourist destination to a sustainable future calls for a ripple effect, meaning involvement on an individual level, in terms of how each of us are eager to make changes in our consumer behavior. To continue best practices is the only way we can keep this island a paradise. And if the government can turn a big problem like Boracay around in 6 months, imagine what we can all do for the rest of the country? Imagine being able to call over 7,000 islands our very own paradise?

When Boracay opens, even the biggest skeptics among us may finally be able to call it “The Best Island in the World.” And we’ll all be proud of it, knowing we’re doing our part to keep it that way.

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