The Verde Island Passage, known to be the 'center of the center of marine shore fish biodiversity', is a biodiversity hotspot at the heart of the Coral Triangle. However, this rich tapestry of marine life is in peril due to oil and gas developments.
In the Philippines, one of five provinces encompassing the VIP, Batangas, is the epicenter of fossil gas expansion. It houses five gas power plants and two new import terminals with 10 new gas power plants and three new LNG terminals are still being proposed.
New report by Earth InSight and SkyTruth with Center for Energy, Ecology and Development (CEED), a co-convenor of Protect VIP, revealed that critical marine ecosystems and coastal communities not only in the VIP – but in the whole Coral Triangle – are in immense danger if such fossil gas developments continue.