KALIKASAN PEOPLES NETWORK FOR THE ENVIRONMENT 26 Matulungin St. Central District, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines Tel./Fax; +63 (2) 924-8756; E-mail: kalikasan.pne@ gmail.com Website: www.kalikasan. org PRESS RELEASE August 15, 2007 World's largest tuna consumer threatens Philippine fish supplies JPEPA will further degrade RP's marine ecosystems – Kalikasan PNE Toxic waste is not the only grave environmental threat that the ratification of the Japan Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) will bring to the country. According to green progressive group Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE), theis bilateral economic pact with the world's largest consumer of tuna will have adverse environmental consequences on the Philippine's rich marine reserves and ecosystems. "The issue of the JPEPA's environmental impacts definitely does not stop with the toxic medical waste issue," Kalikasan PNE National Coordinator Clemente Bautista said. "JPEPA's proponents fail to consider the grave domino effects that this overarching trade agreement, encompassing thousands of goods and raw materials for export, will have on the Philippine's marine and coastal ecosystems as well as the agricultural, minerals, energy, and urban sectors." Bautista cited the JPEPA's projected impacts on the country's rich yet already overeploited marine ecosystems, noting that Japan is one of the world's largest fish consumers. A member organization of Kalikasan PNE, the nationwide fisherfolk alliance, Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) , has continually warned that the JPEPA will allow large Japanese vessels to fish in Philippine waters and further exploit the country's tuna reserves. A study by Pamalakaya concluded that Japan's giant fishing fleets are targetting rich yellowfin and skipjack tuna deposits in the waters of Mindanao particularly in Sulu, Moro Gulf and waters extending to Celebes Sea under the JPEPA. "Japan devours approximately one third of the world's yearly tuna consumption, according to the Japan Tuna Federation. This amounts to about 630,000 tons of tuna a year, or 11 pounds per person," Bautista cited. "We fear that shrinking catch quotas will prompt Japan to move more of its giant fishing fleets to exploit Philippine seas and further deplete our country's fish sources and marine ecosystems. When Japanese transnational fishing companies corner the country's tuna resources through the JPEPA, we are sure that many other forms of resource depletion and marine environmental degradation will follow ," Bautista said. "Decades of overfishing by Japanese, American, Australian, and Canadian fishing companies has already created a grave impact on the Philippine's fish and aquatic species and reef fishing areas. Further opening the Philippines' exclusive economic zone to large trawlers and foreign giant fishing fleets and full economic exploitation from Japan will only exacerbate the current state of our depleted fishery resources. "Soon millions of poor fisherfolk, especially in Mindanao will not only be incapable of buying fish: they might find themselves having literally no fish to catch as well when faced with lopsided competition from giant 8,000-ton fishing fleets. This is devastating, considering that almost 62% of the Philippine population reside in coastal zones while fish provides around 60% of food protein source for the average Filipino diet," Bautista said. "It's dangerously premature and absolutely anti-environment and anti-people for the Arroyo administration to push for the JPEPA's ratification without thorough scrutiny and assessment into its long-term economic and environmental impacts on the Philippines and prior and informed consent from all the potential communities involved ," Bautista said. -- CLEMENTE BAUTISTA national coordinator Kalikasan-People's Network for the Environment (Kalikasan-PNE) No.26 Matulungin St. Bgy, Central, Quezon City, Philippines 1100 Tel. No. +63-2-9248756 Fax No. +63-2-9209099 Email: kalikasan.pne@ gmail.com