THE World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has selected Davao City as a pilot area for its "No Plastic in Nature Initiative", which aims to stop the use of plastic that disrupts the environment by 2030.
WWF Philippines national coordinator for plastics Czarina Constantino said on Friday, March 22, that the city was chosen as a role model city due to its strong push for sustainable environment through means of local ordinances and projects.
"We wanted to work with the city government and partner with business establishments in filling the gaps of its implementation," Constantino said during the Connect media forum at SM Lanang Premier yesterday, March 22.
In a 2015 study conducted by professor Jenna Jambeck, the Philippines has been identified as one of the five countries that contribute about 60 percent of the plastic waste leakage in the country.
The study also reveals that the country is also the third biggest plastic polluter of oceans in the world.
However, Constantino said the Philippines is also one of the pilot countries in Asia working on to become plastic pollution free.
"We are pushing for a legally binding agreement. We have to push for accountability in the country in terms of waste, in order to do something with marine plastic pollution," she said.
The campaign also forged a partnership with SM Lanang Premier, wherein it will be the first business establishment to pledge its commitment to address single-use plastic usage, by reducing and later on eliminating plastic straws in its food hall.
WWF Philippines also selected Davao City to be its pilot area of the campaign due to the need for the immediate rehabilitation of the Davao Gulf, as it is one of the important marine resources in Mindanao.
Last Saturday, March 16, a juvenile male Curvier Beaked Whale died in the coastline of Barangay Cadunan in Mabini, Compostela Valley, after ingesting 40 kilos of plastic waste.