News
‘Amazon of the Seas’ Threatened by Oil and Gas Developments
A new report warns fossil fuel developments in the Coral Triangle pose increased risks for ecological disaster in the ocean.
By Teresa Tomassoni
Last year, in late February, an oil tanker named the Princess Empress sank off the east coast of Mindoro Island in the Philippines. Up to 200,00 gallons of thick black industrial oil poured into the Philippine Sea’s crystalline waters, contaminating coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangrove forests. More than than 20,000 families whose livelihoods depended on fishing and tourism were rendered jobless and short on food for several months.