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PLA}$ED REGIO{AL CO.@ERATIq{ IN EAST ASIAN SEAS Fffi ]{O{.OIL
POLLUTIO{ RESEARCH . PROBLEMS AhD POSSTBIf SOLUTIO{S
Amendo F. Kapauan
Department of Cl=mistry, Ateneo de Manila University
Loyola Heights, Quezon City, Philippines
ABSTRACT
Tle monitoring of pollutants other than oil in the marine environnent as part
of a Regionel Seas programme requires a rientific infrestructure that does not
yet exigt in the developing countries of South-East Asia. Crcating this
infrastructure requires solutione to institutional problems, patial and terrporal
requirements and constraints, and the difficulties of assembling national research
infrastructureg. The quality of technical personnel must be improved through
rypropriate selection and training. Such training could elso help to eolve
difficulties with equiprnent maintenance and calibration.
Introduction
Regional co-qeration in the seas common to the East Asian countrieg of Malaysia,
Singapore, Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia has begun with zupport from the United Nations
Environrent Pmgramme. Nunerous papers, pertinent to the East Asian region and to the
verious other Regional Seas programmes, have been written about such co-qerative research
projecte. This short paper sttenpts to focus m st)me important problems associeted with
non-oil pollution regearch in the East Asian seas. The Philippines is emphasized as being
'typicel' of the developing countriee involved with rcspect to various capabilities required for
participation in anch e regional co-qeration project. This analysis will focus m the probbms
sssociated with nnnitoring pollutants other than oil, which is a core conponent of the
Regional Seas programmes.
Inetitutional problems
Unlike many developed eountries with well established research traditions in both the
basic end pplied fields, rnany of the developing countries in the region have few well
developed regearch institutions. Tlpse they have are ueually very ryecialized, having been
established to sr.rpport economically important ectivities in these countries (e.9. rubber in
Malaysia, c-oconut in the Philippines). Thus in gn erea such s non-oil pollution research in
the marine environnent, institutions ere either non-existent or not as fully developed as
would be required for a regional nnnitoring prograrnme.
However, a carefut look at the totat capabilitiee within any given country shows that
the ingredients that strould go into nrch a Regional Seae programme alreedy exist in fully
developed form, or rnarly so, in bits ond pieces among several other institutions. In the
Philippines, for example, facilities of the Philippine Coast Guard, Tle Bureau of Coast and
Geodetic Survey, the Nationel Pollution Control Csnmission, the Philippines Atomic Energy
Cqnmigsion, the Fmd and Nutrition Resesrch Center, the Univeraity of the Philippines and
me or two other mivergitieg, taken together, yield a fairly eomplete eystem for cJeh en
undertaking. Similar steternents could be rnade for Malaysia, Thailand, and Indmesia.