WWF–Philippines, an organization dedicated to the conservation of nature, urged the government to carefully evaluate the possible impacts of the planned urea dump in the Sulu Sea to avert a possible environmental disaster.

SEARICE, together with other civil society organizations and individuals—through a Petition, is calling the Philippine Government agencies—the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) of the Department of Agriculture to withhold approval and/or endorsement of a project by an Australian geoengineering company to "fertilize" the Sulu Sea with synthetic urea.

In a statement, WWF–Philippines said: "Australian–based Ocean Nourishment Corporation (ONC) reportedly claimed to have received the official go–signal to release 500–tonnes of granulated urea into the waters adjoining the Philippines and Borneo for a large–scale carbon sequestration and ocean fertilization experiment.... WWF–Philippines immediately checked with the DENR, BFAR and UP Visayas and as it turns out, none of the agencies approved the proposal."

"The idea (of ONC) seems simple. Massive amounts of urea will be dumped into nutrient–poor sites. A pressurized hose situated 50–meters below the sea will release the mixture directly into sunlit–layers where photosynthetic plankton thrive. The premise is that urea (acting much like plant fertilizer) would theoretically induce algal blooms," WWF–Philippines said.

The conservation organization urges extreme caution in testing this unproven and potentially–risky technology in natural marine ecosystems, especially in critical biodiversity areas such as the Sulu Sea, home to some of our richest fishing grounds and the Tubbataha Reefs, a World Heritage Site.

"The potential environmental impact of dumping 500–tonnes of urea into the sea is just too great," WWF Energy Policy Coordinator Rafael Senga said.

He added, "Leaving possible negative impacts to speculation is not only scientifically unsound — it is morally irresponsible."

WWF Tawi–Tawi Project Manager Filemon Romero said: "This is a huge concern for us since we have been actively engaged in the environmental management of the area for years. This will surely have damaging environmental impacts on both the Sulu and Celebes Seas. Moreover, over–fertilization of the sea would have adverse impacts on our seaweed farms, the main source of livelihood for the people. Think about it: tens of millions of people depend on the Sulu Sea for food — you cannot just experiment with their lives."

SEARICE–sponsored Petition states: "The proponents of urea dumping are brandishing that the phytoplankton bloom resulting from the induced nourishment will increase fish supply and will therefore benefit Filipino fishermen. This is a highly theoretical and debatable claim in view of the serious scientific questions and unknown environment impacts of this technology. Add that to the reality that Philippine fishing grounds are largely dominated by commercial trawlers which have severely marginalized small fisherfolks. The problem of unsustainable exploitation of fish and other marine resources must be addressed directly, not through misguided and potentially highly damaging attempts to fertilize the oceans."

SEARICE added, "The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winner, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has noted that ‘...ocean fertilization remains largely speculative, and many environmental side effects have yet to be assessed’. We cannot allow the Philippines to be used as an experimental ground for this scientifically questionable technology."

More than 200 civil society organizations and individuals have signed a Petition calling on the government to withhold any endorsement or approval of the project and demanding for the conduct of broad consultations and comprehensive environmental and socio–economic impact assessments of the project, SEARICE reported.

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