Pearl farmer in Philippines alarmed at worsening environment

By Xinhua Writer Liu Hua

PALAWAN, Philippines, May 20 (Xinhua) -- At a remote Palawan farm in the pristine Sulu Sea, Branellec and his assistants mark the water levels once a year on each Nov. 28. Looking through the crystal clear water, you can easily spot an over half-meter difference between the 2006 level and the 2007 one. The difference between 2007 and 2008 is even larger.

"Every year, we have experienced global warming and the rise of the sea level," said the 60-year-old Frenchman. Branellec started a pearl business in 1979 with his Filipino partner Mr. Manuel Cojuangco, and now their Jewelmer International Corporation has become one of the leading golden pearl manufacturers in the world, with six farms and more than 1,000 workers -- most of whom have been working with the company over ten years. Cojuangco is the president of the company and Branellec works as managing director.

Over the past 30 years, water temperature at the farms rose from between a minimum of 25 degrees centigrade and a maximum of 30 degrees to an average of as low as 26 degrees and as high as 32.6 degrees, according to the company's record. Temperature is of vital importance to gold-lipped Pinctada Maxima oysters, or the golden pearl bearers.

The optimum temperature for the pearl oysters is between 29 and 30 degrees. If temperatures increase by even one degree, it could be disastrous. For example, at 32 degrees, the growth of the oysters will stop, and at 33 degrees, they will die. These oysters also cannot survive at temperatures below 26 degrees, he said.

Rising seawater has eroded much of the soil along the shores of the islands where the pearl farms are based. Decades-old trees are seen falling toward the sea, with their roots exposed to the water. If the sea level keeps rising like this, the islands will be submerged sooner or later, Branellec said.

"However, it's only the people who live by the sea that are aware of the alarming situation. Those who live in the cities, in their concrete buildings with air conditioners have no idea about how serious the problem is," he said.

Compared with the gradual rise of the sea level, the pearl farmer has more urgent concerns.

The first comes cyanide fishing in the nearby waters. "Unlike dynamite with which fish are killed, cyanide only stuns the fish and they will wake up after being scooped up in nets. That is why cyanide fishing is prevalent with the rising demand for live fish in many restaurants," he said.

Cyanide does not kill the fish but kills almost everything else in the water, including the coral reef-building organisms. It has a long toxic remnant and the toxicity can last for years in the sea. Of course, pearl oysters, which are highly sensitive to the environment, cannot survive in the waters polluted with cyanide.

"It's much probable that the live fish available in the market are caught with cyanide unless they came from aquaculture farms," Branellec said, adding that he believes consumers will refuse to eat those fish if they know the truth.

To have more food to live on, local residents are also slashing and burning the forests on the islands to plant mountain rice, which greatly devastated the ecosystem.

"Some islands are already dead," Branellec lamented, referring to those where most lands have been stripped of forests. Piloting a helicopter frequently between Manila to the pearl farms, Branellec knows almost every island he flies over, especially those in the Palawan province.

"The Philippines is really rich in resources. The problem is how people use them properly," he said.

Local islanders themselves will fall victim ultimately to the illegal fishing and the burning of forests. For instance, bees have been killed or driven away in some of the islands by burning, which have affected the productivity of mango trees there, said the entrepreneur.

Branellec is more a doer than a speaker. To stop -- or at least alleviate -- the degradation of the environment, he and his partner and assistants have launched a Save Palawan Seas campaign.

The workers on the farms act as volunteers to disseminate information on environment protection. They distribute T-shirts to local residents, which explains in cartoon forms the negative effects of the abuse of the marine environment. They established abee farm to help restore the destroyed ecosystem. They hand out seeds of organic vegetables and seedlings of fruit trees, for free. And they set up a team of marine wardens to help local authorities patrol and police the waters against illegal fishing.

Besides, the pearl farms provide seeds and waters for local residents to plant seeweeds, which has become a pillar alternative sources of income for these who live hand-to-mouth existence. Dealers export the seeweeds as food to overseas markers.

Environmentalism is part of Branellec's life. On his small Flower Island bought in 2003 near his pearl farms, there is a blackout policy that people can use electricity only from 5:00 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 11 p.m..

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, Branellec was seen picking up plastics and dead seaweeds washed ashore. He said he needed to clear the beach -- as boy workers were on leave -- before his guests from World Wildlife Fund arrived later that day. Mr. and Mrs. Freund were on their Coral Triangle photo expedition and the pearl farms serve a good example for environment protection.

"If they see the beach is dirty, they may think that we do not care about the sea," joked the Frenchman.

Although Branellec has got the ownership six years ago, he will not say he "owns" the island.

"You never own the island. You are just a keeper. You never own anything," he said, adding that people will leave the world one day without taking anything.

It's a similar case with a bigger picture. All the people share only one planet and one ocean, so we need to keep the earth and the sea in a good shape for our children and our children's children, he said. #