WWF-Philippines Distributes Fortuna Coolers to Bicol Fishers, Provides Livelihood Support for Pandemic

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines began distributing collapsible coolers designed by Fortuna Cools to fishermen in Lagonoy Gulf, Bicol earlier this month as part of efforts to support sustainable livelihood in the region.

Twenty-two (22) collapsible Fortuna coolers were given to municipal tuna fishermen under WWF-Philippines’ Sustainable Tuna Partnerships program. The conservation organization supports small-scale fishing activities in the country, promoting sustainable practices and lobbying for the rights of artisanal fishermen.

Much value is lost between when small-scale fishermen land a catch, to when they are able to bring it to the market. A lack of useful cooling equipment keeps fishermen from putting their catches on ice. This lack of cooling and exposure to the elements on the way to the marketplace causes catches to lose value, lessening the earnings of fishermen. The collapsible coolers will help expand their earnings by providing a means for fishers to keep their catches chilled.

Fortuna, a cold-chain solutions company that provides sustainable packaging technology for fishing communities across the country, delivered a total of 200 coolers to Bicol in early June.

“At Fortuna we’ve spent the past two years living among communities of fishermen and farmers to learn about their cold-chain needs and co-design affordable solutions. We are very thankful to have partners like WWF to help us expand our reach and get our coolers in the hands of those who need them the most,” says Fortuna Co-founder Tamara Mekler. 50 of the 200 coolers came as direct donations from Fortuna.

The coolers were purchased by the Gulf of Lagonoy Tuna Fishers Federation (GLTFF) Inc., a non-profit organization of small-scale fishers from communities on the shores of Lagonoy Gulf. The GLTFF advocates for good fishery governance in securing and sustaining livelihoods and fishery resources.

Money for the purchase was given through a grant from the Congressional Spouses Foundation, Inc. (CSFI) through the intercession of WWF-Philippines. The CSFI committed to providing livelihood support to the fishers of Lagonoy Gulf through the grant, which was gifted to the GLTFF early last year.



“Fortuna’s collapsible tuna coolers were designed to meet the needs of our small scale tuna handline fishers, who were in need of some sort of ice storage on board their boats to keep their catches cold. These sturdy, budget-friendly coolers will help our fishers grab a better price for their products once they get to the market,” said WWF-Philippines Sustainable Tuna Partnerships Project Manager Joann Binondo. WWF-Philippines is certain that equipping tuna handline fishers with collapsible coolers will ensure the quality of their products and help increase their earnings.

“This is timely given the crisis. Markets are very limited due to restrictions on movement. Our fishers need every peso they can get, and these coolers will help ensure they get what they need to get through the crisis,” added Binondo.

WWF-Philippines will be distributing the remaining coolers over the coming months to fishing communities around Lagonoy Gulf, with plans to source additional Fortuna coolers for communities across the Philippines.

Help us #ChangeTheEnding for our food producers and environmental frontliner communities!

White Sands for Manila Bay Rehabilitation? Merely For Aesthetic Reasons and not Natural

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Greenpeace Philippines Campaigner Sonny Batungbacal on the dumping of synthetic white sand on Manila Bay: “Kung ang objective is to save Manila Bay by cleaning it up, putting materials on top of the uncleaned environment would not help.”

I appreciate that they want to beautify Manila Bay but at the expense of some islands in Cebu where they are extracting the white sand? Since white sand is not a natural feature of Manila Bay, this project is not sustainable. This is just a band aid and not real solutions to the environmental problem.

Manila Bay beautification in the middle of pandemic ? DENR dumping white sand on Manila bay to make it look like Boracay while we are on our way to be the first SEA country in the top 20 cases worldwide?

First of all, Manila Bay remains to be a cesspool. You can't see the "burak" underneath its waters but you can still smell it. Second, we have bigger and more pressing problems and that is the Covid-19 / Corona virus pandemic. Can we just divert the funds to it. Third, Manila Bay is still a cesspool even after making it look like Boracay, and humans should not dare swim in it.

It is not even sustainable. Environmentalist ba ang nag-isip nito? o isa na namang dating military general o taga Davao? Ang tanga nga eh. Ang alam ko dapat natural sa isang beach ang pagiging white sand nito. Hindi practical yung idea. Gastos na naman iyan imbes sa paglaban sa virus muna gamitin.

The environment impact of this kind of operation is worrying. Another non-essential project that is questionable on the environmental impact and senseless. Masabi lang na may accomplishment? Kahit sobrang unsustainable?

Sentosa Beach daw is still doing well, pero they forgot to factor in that the Philippines is well within typhoon paths, unlike Singapore. Aanurin lahat yan, kasama na ang Sangley airport. Parang mawawipe out din yan lalo na pag may bagyo... Iba pa naman ang hampas ng alon sa Manila bay pag malakas ang bagyo. Notorious ang storm surge diyan. Matiyempo lang na may bagyo na tumama sa Maynila, anod lahat yan.

Bakit ang contradictory nito?. White sand extraction tapos by DENR? I mean, since elementary, we are taught that this is wrong, right? Is this for the benefit of the environment, or is this just purely for aesthetic?

Kahit ilang tonelada pa na white sand ang itabon sa pampang ng manila bay, lilitaw at lilitaw pa rin ang natural black sand color nyan! Sayang ang pera!

It seems the DENR has misplaced (again) its priorities. Do we really need white sands around Manila Bay? Would it be better to just continue cleaning the surrounding areas, implement a centralized sewage and treatment facilities and let nature takes its course? Kabaliktaran naman ginagawa ng DENR, silting problems will arise from this pa.

Kung bawat isang turista kumuha ng sand sa isang lugar ay may effect ma yun. Pero multiply it hundreds or millions of times, ano na effect non sa lugar?

Why can't we just promote Manila Bay shores in their naturally dark color? Instead of making the sand white, let's just focus on ensuring that the water is clean and there are no destructive activities in the area.

The problem is not the sand but the pollution that Manila Bay is currently facing. STOP HARVESTING SAND (kahit pinulbos na bato pa yan) FROM OTHER PLACES JUST TO BEAUTIFY THIS DIRTY BAY.

Are we really sure that this is only for aesthetic or for the future development of Manila Bay or reclamation for a new CBD?

If that will not be contained by artificial means, that sand will just be washed away from the bay due to the normal process of erosion. Since Manila bay receives most of its sand from rivers, its normal for it to have black/gray sand.

In other words, mangingitim rin iyan Lalo na kung maruming burak pa rin ang nasa ilalim pati tubig ay kadiri.

Where the f*ck is the logic in this? It's quite unbelievable as to how idiotic this sounds.

I really doubt if this is the best thing DENR can do. What I see is their eye for tourism and not the environmental concerns they should be focusing.

If you want to restore Manila Bay to its pristine condition, then you should start with its tributaries. The strategy must be all-inclusive touching the aspect of solid waste, effluent management, ISF relocation, and habitat restoration. Hindi yung ganyang band-aid solution.

Start with reforestation, and cleaning programs for our rivers, streams, and creeks that end in the bay. You don't destroy one place to improve another.

The government should also work on decreasing the population of fecal coliforms especially E. coli to levels safe enough for swimming and other recreational water activities.

It would be useless if the microbial and chemical properties of Manila Bay are still hazardous to humans. What's the point of having a beautiful shoreline, if the water quality is toxic.

I think it's much better kung nagtanim na lang sana sila ng bakawan/mangrove. Imagine driving on Roxas Boulevard and seeing a lot of trees and birds plus its beneficial impact to the sea.

Absolutely unecessary! Mas need maibalik yung quality mg water kaysa gawing puti yung buhangin. What a waste of effort and taxpayers' money.

If only Manila knew how beautiful and amazing she was, a capital of outstanding architecture and overflowing culture. A city that introduced the Filipinos throughout the globe.

Manila was the Paris of the East.

The Roxas Boulevard and the Manila Bay was famous for its beautiful sunsets. A favorite spot for both foreigners and locals during the 60s.

Again, we know where this government's misplaced environmental and ecological protection priorities head into. Instead of protecting West Philippines Sea from escalating massive Chinese reclamation and island-building activities, it chooses first to make Manila Bay Boracay-like.

While several heavy equipment dumps white sand in the shores along Roxas Boulevard in Manila, WHERE THE HELL IS ISKO MORENO? WHY IS HE ALLOWING THIS?

The sand will be swept away by floods and tide in no time and add to the silting of Manila Bay. The only winners here are the sand contractor and the government officials who approved this.

Save the Children Philippines supports LGUs in protecting children during climate emergency

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Save the Children Philippines has urged local government units (LGUs) to prepare for emergency response as the onset of the typhoon season is expected to compound the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic particularly in communities with limited budget and weak health systems.

The child rights organization, through its Alert, Accountable and Resilient Communities (A2RC) project, provides technical support to the government agencies in improving its risk reduction and response mechanism to build resilience of communities.

It also implements a two-year program funded by the European Union (EU) in typhoon-stricken municipalities of Sulat and Dolores to protect deprived and marginalized children, pregnant and lactating mothers from emergencies in partnership with Caritas-Borongan and the Provincial Government of Eastern Samar.

Atty. Alberto Muyot, Chief Executive Officer of Save the Children Philippines, said children’s rights to survival, education, and protection from abuse and exploitation are at stake during emergencies such as natural disasters, conflicts, and health crisis.

“Children face the harsh impact of natural calamities and other emergencies as they highly depend on adults for protection and developmental needs,” said Muyot adding that, it is critical to empower parents, caregivers and community leaders in providing life-saving support and care to protect a generation of children in these trying times.

Save the Children Philippines has advocated the enactment of Republic Act 10821, or the Children's Emergency Relief and Protection Act that created the Comprehensive Emergency Program for Children (CEPC). The law mandates LGUs to ensure all children, pregnant and lactating women are protected, and their needs are provided for, before, during, and after disasters and other emergency situations.

Save the Children also partners with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in providing policy support in localizing the CEPC.

Marlon Matuguina, Program Manager for Risk Reduction and Resilience in Education and Governance of Save the Children Philippines said the organization provides technical support to the DILG and other government agencies to integrate health hazards and emergencies in the Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction Management (BDRRM).

He said the CSS project also conducts children’s consultation on climate change to ensure children’s views are integrated in the DRRM programs in their communities.

The Philippines ranks second in the Global Climate Change Risk Report for 2020 of the Germanwatch, based on exposure and vulnerabilities to climate-related risks.

Save the Children has launched the #RedAlert campaign to raise awareness on the need to act on climate emergency that threatens children, including the Philippines and countries in the Asia Pacific region.