The Philippines is creating organizations that have the mandate to move forward on the country’s Blue Economy initiatives. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is establishing an Ocean Environment Bureau; and Philippines Davao del Norte State College (DNSC) has also officially launched a technology business incubator (TBI), Blue Economy Underpinning Global Sustainability through Adaptive Innovations (BUGSAI).
The Ocean Environment Bureau will emerge from the Ocean Environment Task Force(OETF). The OETF is tasked with improving ocean governance, aligning national policies with global environmental commitments, and using scientific research to guide decision-making. Once the OETF is fully operational in second quarter 2025, it is expected to evolve into a permanent bureau under the DENR.
According to an article in the Manila Bulletin, The DENR made the announcement during the “Strengthening Philippines-France Cooperation for a Sustainable Blue Economy” forum organized by the Stratbase Institute and the French Embassy in the Philippines.
Environment Undersecretary and OETF Vice Chairperson Augusto Dela Peña said the initiative is part of the agency’s goal to enhance marine conservation efforts through structural reform within the DENR.
“Our goal is to drive organizational transformation within DENR for more effective ocean conservation. To achieve this vision, we have established the roadmap for the full organization of the Task Force in Q2 2025,” Dela Peña said in a statement.
The paper quoted French Ambassador to the Philippines Marie Fontanel as saying the blue economy is central to both countries’ goals in environmental protection and sustainable development.
“Our shared responsibility is to combine economic development with environmental protection. France is fully committed to this dynamic, bringing its expertise in marine resource management, innovation for sustainable ocean exploitation, and the fight against illegal fishing,” Fontanel said.
Eric Banel, the director general of Maritime Affairs, Fisheries, and Aquaculture for the government of France, pointed to fisheries as a key area of focus ahead of the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) in June, which France will host.
“It will be a main aspect of UNOC in June… We want to do as much as we can to push value fishing as a strong issue, as a main issue in these regional bodies. And we want to know the kind of economic loss, especially for small-scale fisheries,” Banel said.
He also noted that strengthening maritime surveillance will be critical in tackling illegal activities at sea.
“We’ve got a very big challenge with having this surveillance in place through satellite devices because we need to know what happens in our seas… We need to have eyes on the sea to be able to act against illegal fishing, to act against every kind of trafficking, and to assess everything where it must be assessed,” he said.
Blue Economy Accelerator
The Philippines Davao del Norte State College (DNSC) has also officially launched a technology business incubator (TBI), Blue Economy Underpinning Global Sustainability through Adaptive Innovations (BUGSAI).
Funded by the Department of Science and Technology–Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD), the BUGSAI TBI is part of the Higher Education Readiness for Innovation and Technopreneurship program.
“The BUGSAI project benefits our community by fostering tech startups and innovative solutions that create new job opportunities, stimulate local economic development, ensure sustainable use of ocean resources through the Blue Economy,” said College President Joy M. Sorrosa.
