FACT CHECK: Belated inclusion of Irrawaddy dolphins in Visayas mega-bridge study NEEDS CONTEXT

Marine scientists have raised concerns over the initial exclusion of the critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphins on the list of species threatened by the construction of the planned P187.54-billion Panay-Guimaras-Negros Bridge. This needs context.

STATEMENT

Dr. Louella Dolar, an independent marine biologist from the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and professor at Silliman University, told VERA Files Fact Check in an Aug. 7 interview that Irrawaddy dolphins were excluded in the project’s 2019 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prepared by two Chinese firms and a Pampanga-based consultancy company because researchers did not see them.

“They said that there [were] no critically endangered animals mentioned in the IUCN [International Union for Conservation of Nature] that the group found in the area. So, we asked about Irrawaddy dolphins, and they said they didn’t see any.”

Source: Dr. Louella Dolar, Personal Communication, Aug. 7, 2024

Advocates and scientists have raised the same points during public hearings on the project in 2021. In response to these, Dr. Maria Carmela Capule of the Pampanga-based KRC Environmental Services said that “this will be changed upon review” and “will be incorporated in the revised EIS.”

An updated EIS released in 2022, obtained by VERA Files in 2024, states that marine mammal surveys were conducted in November 2021 and “there were Irrawaddy dolphins sightings observed on November 26-27.”

KRC Environmental Services co-prepared the 2019 and 2022 EIS reports for the PGN Bridge with the China-based companies CCCC Highway Consultants Co., Ltd. and China Shipping Environment Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., which conducted the feasibility study.

FACT

In the project’s 2019 feasibility study and EIS report, the Irrawaddy dolphins were not in the list of species to be affected by the 32.47-kilometer bridge.

There were no critically endangered species listed in the report’s fauna species and conservation status table. It only mentioned eight herpeto-faunal species, seven of which were listed under least concern of the IUCN.

The study further reads:

“[T]he only mammalian species observed in the site, which is the Common Dawn Bat (Eonycteris spelaea) is native, or non-endemic to the Philippines and under the least concern category.”

Source: Department of Environment and Natural Resources Environmental Management Bureau official website, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT REPORT FOR PANAY-GUIMARAS-NEGROS ISLAND BRIDGES PROJECT IN THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, November 2019

Mark Dela Paz, a research associate from the University of St. La Salle and has been studying the Irrawaddy dolphins for over a decade now, said in an Aug. 15 interview with VERA Files that it is possible the PGN’s researchers missed them. He said:

“I don’t know how far they’ve gone looking for the Irrawaddy dolphins there. These are wild animals. It’s not all the time that you see them right away. Even in our own surveys, we just see them around 60% of the time. Sometimes we can’t find them anywhere.”

Source: Mark Dela Paz, Personal Communication, Aug. 15, 2024

While the 2019 feasibility study mentioned in passing an existing research that found the presence of Irrawaddy dolphins in Guimaras, Robert Pabiling from KRC said in a 2021 public hearing report that the species were not included in the feasibility study because they were not observed during their assessment period:

“The mentioned studies are special funded studies conducted by academe and NGOs. The presented result is based on the assessment we conducted on the alignment and during that time, we haven’t observed any of the mentioned.”

Source: Department of Environment and Natural Resources Environmental Management Bureau official website, Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges Project Public Hearing Report, April 12, 2021

Irrawaddy dolphins are air-breathing mammals that live in the sea, with four known subpopulations in the Philippines, one of which is found in the Iloilo-Guimaras Strait. They roam the coastal waters of Panay, Guimaras and Negros and were listed as critically endangered under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2018.

According to the IUCN assessment, it is likely that around six to 13 mature Irrawaddy dolphins are present in the Iloilo–Guimaras Strait with a continuing decline seen in recent years, meeting the criteria for it to be considered critically endangered species.

Studies have shown that Irrawaddy dolphins are commonly seen in the waters of Bago-Pulupandan estuary in Negros Occidental and the coastal waters of Buenavista in Guimaras. Bridge alignments in the 2019 feasibility study traverse these areas. The bridge has two sections: Section A connects Leganes, Iloilo to Buenavista, Guimaras while Section B links San Lorenzo, Guimaras to Pulupandan, Negros Occidental.

The ECC issued on July 5, 2022 has since mentioned mitigating measures for the Irrawaddy dolphins perceived to be affected by noise pollution to be generated once construction begins.

The detailed engineering design for the mega-bridge‘s 13-kilometer Iloilo-Guimaras section is expected to be completed this year. Construction of this portion is eyed to begin in the second half of 2025 and be completed by the end of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s term in June 2028.

The 19.47-kilometer Guimaras-Negros Occidental section is expected to be finished by 2030.Author: VERA Files