Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Urban greening and displacement · Philippines · 2023

Philippines suspends Manila Bay reclamation works; two expected to resume

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
What the record lacks: 1 none on record · 3 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

The Philippine environment department suspended all Manila Bay reclamation works in August 2023. Inquirer reported that dredging continued in Cavite afterwards, and a fishers' group said small fishers' income had fallen 80 to 90 percent.

What?
DENR suspended all Manila Bay reclamation works in August 2023, according to ABS-CBN. ABS-CBN
Where?
Manila Bay, Philippines ABS-CBN
When?
Suspension reported on 10 August 2023; resumption expected reported on 28 February 2024 ABS-CBN
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
None on record
Harmed
  • Small fishers in Manila Bay — Income reported to have fallen 80 to 90 percent, according to a fishers' group Inquirer
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Announced by DENR as a suspension of all Manila Bay reclamation works, according to ABS-CBN; the sources reviewed give no further detail. ABS-CBN
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

ABS-CBN reported on 10 August 2023 that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) had suspended all Manila Bay reclamation works.

Inquirer reported in November 2023 that dredging continued in Cavite after the suspension, and a fishers' group said small fishers' income had fallen by 80 to 90 percent.

ABS-CBN reported on 28 February 2024 that two Manila Bay reclamation works were expected to resume soon.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: 22 reclamation works were suspended, and two were allowed to continue in November 2023.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: the Dutch state export credit agency gave Boskalis, a dredging contractor on the works, insurance cover of €1.5 billion.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: two opponents of the reclamation were abducted in 2023, and the Supreme Court found elements of enforced disappearance.
    • None on record The final status of the remaining suspended works is not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Science and environment

    Hectare (ha)
    A unit of area equal to 10,000 square metres, about 2.5 acres. 100 hectares make one square kilometre.
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