NTS Bulletin June 2018

Abstract

The world celebrates the World Ocean Day on 8th June every year with hundreds of events, in recognition of the alarming state of marine environments across the globe. This is of great relevance for Southeast Asia, where the marine environment faces threats ranging from plastic pollution, unsustainable exploitation of marine resources to illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing. The Philippine government ordered in April the temporary closure of Boracay, a tourist island south of Manila, due to the environmental damage caused by unsustainable practices in the tourist industry. Boracay is not an isolated case in the region as Maya Bay of Thailand will also be shut down from June to September this year. They highlight the perennial dilemma between economic development and environmental sustainability facing developing countries like many in Southeast Asia.