Could Nickelodeon’s newest theme park destroy these Philippine islands?
Could Nickelodeon’s newest theme park destroy these Philippine islands?
A petition opposing the project is going viral
Plans to build an attraction themed after and licenced by Nickelodeon, the Viacom-owned cartoon network, are sinking into controversy in the Philippines.
Environmentalists have striven to drown out excitement over the Nickelodeon theme park, slated to open in 2020 in Coron, an island group in the ecologically sensitive province of Palawan.
The project will cover a 400-hectare area that includes 16 “white sand islands” in Coron, Viacom revealed in a statement released last Monday. More alarmingly, the development would entail underwater attractions, including restaurants and lounges set 20 feet (6 metres) below sea level.
Reaction to the announcement has been swift and bristling, with an online petition against the development on its way to hitting 300,000 signatures. No less than Gina Lopez, President Rodrigo Duterte’s environment secretary, vowed to disallow the project from gaining traction.
Lopez says she won’t allow the underwater theme park in Palawan. #environment2017
— DENR (@DENR_Official) January 11, 2017
“You can’t kill the corals for a theme park, no way,” she told ABS-CBN. “No amount of money is worth the well-being of our farmers and fishermen.”
Coral World Park Undersea Resort (CWP), an underwater property developer and Viacom’s partner in the project, has since disavowed last week’s press release, claiming that the park will not have an invasive submarine section after all.
“The only infrastructure in the water is floating and all developments are on land,” CWP said in a statement, adding that only 100 hectares were allocated for the Nickelodeon facility and 30 hectares for the attraction.
“When completed, CWP will be the largest coral reef conservation program in Asia, with Asia’s largest marine sanctuary for five key species – dolphins, sea cows, sea horses, turtles and whale sharks,” CWP added.
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Anna Oposa, the petition starter, believes the project will still wreak irreversible havoc on Palawan, a UNESCO biosphere reserve.
“Contrary to the press statement that the underwater theme park would ‘advocate ocean protection,’ it will accomplish the exact opposite,” Oposa stated. “By building artificial structures, you will undeniably damage and disrupt Palawan’s marine ecosystems — our Last Frontier.”
Toh Tai Chong, a research fellow with the Tropical Marine Science Institute in Singapore, encouraged Viacom and the developer to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) before proceeding with the construction. “It’s important that an EIA be done prior to construction to assess the potential impacts of the development,” Toh told Mashable Asia. “These include the input of freshwater and pollutants from the park directly into the sea, which may reduce the water quality and eventually leading to coral death.”
The Nickelodeon project has also incurred the rancor of Filipino celebrities, many of whom used the hashtag “Coron is not Bikini Bottom” on their social nets. The hashtag alludes to a setting of the popular Nickelodeon show “Spongebob Squarepants.”
The park would only be the second Nickelodeon-themed attraction in Asia, after the Nickelodeon Lost Lagoon opened in Malaysia last year. Theme parks have been a growing trend in the continent, particularly in China, where the opening of the Shanghai Disneyland last year heated prices up in nearby residential developments by 35 percent.
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Source: Property Report