Assessment of Macroplastic Pollution on Selected Tourism Beaches of Barobo, Surigao Del Sur, Philippines

Abstract

Plastics have proven useful in contemporary society. But accumulation of plastics in form of litter in the marine environment has become prevalent pollution affecting all of the worlds’ oceans. The Philippines being an archipelagic country heavily depends on the marine environment and the ecosystem services that it provides. However, it is also ranked as the third-largest producer of marine plastic pollution and the number one plastic riverine emitter. Tourism is an important economic activity for coastal populations throughout the Philippine archipelago. But there are limited studies that investigate plastic pollution in the tourism sector of the Philippines. This study assessed the macroplastic prevalence in the tourism environment of Barobo, Surigao del Sur. Plastic litters were sampled from four growing tourism sites (Cabgan Island, Turtle Island, Dapdap Beach, Panaraga Beach) of Barobo by establishing transect lines with quadrats. Results reveal that all four sites are contaminated with plastic litters. In terms of mainland and island beaches, beaches located on the island have thrice as many plastics with 0.41 items/m2, compared to 0.15 items/m2 on the mainland beaches. Plastic collected were predominantly food packaging, plastic bags, and fragments. Clean coast index calculations reveal that the tourist beaches of Barobo are moderately clean and clean beaches by international standards.