Image: Instagram/@antoinettetaus
Actress Antoinette Taus, known for her environmental advocacies, has expressed alarm at the state of Freedom Island including its littered mangroves.
Taus shared videos of Freedom Island on Instagram yesterday, Nov. 8, to show its pollution problem. Trash is seen floating in the water and along the shore, including rubber slippers, glass and plastic bottles, and plastic sachets.
Freedom Island is an artificial island found inside the Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA), which has a mangrove forest and swamps.
It is also a haven for migratory birds. Back in 2007, the Philippine government declared it a Critical Habitat.
Taus wrote of the island’s dire situation: “Week after week this is cleaned up, but still everyone’s trash ends up here in this protected habitat frequented by migratory birds from all over the world.”
While trash continues to pile up in the area, coastal clean-ups are done regularly. Taus invited concerned citizens to participate in a clean-up drive on Saturday, Nov. 10. Volunteers can sign up through an online registration form.
Taus is vocal against plastic pollution and on other environmental issues like climate change. She works with such organizations as Greenpeace and the United Nations. /ra
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