Malay mayor: No getting of white sand in Boracay

BORACAY — Again, the office of Malay Mayor John Yap urged both foreign and local tourists not to quarry white sand in this resort island, even a handful.

This was after scientists recently called on the preservation of the white sand along beaches here, for which this resort island has been famous in the world.

Yap’s environment coordinator Elena Brugger said aside from prohibiting white sand quarrying, the Yap administration has also disallowed one of the tourist attractions here — white sand castle making.

Experts from the University of the Philippines Marine Sciences said “coral reefs cover 10–15 percent of this resort island, so we are alarmed of the continuous environmental degradation,” according to Brugger.

“Already, many of the beaches in Boracay are suffering from the beach erosion also because of climate change,” she said.

White sand quarrying and white sand castle making destroys the contour of the beaches, the scientists said.

The municipal government of Malay is also studying the possible regulation of water sports activities here.

“The local government wanted to preserve the natural beauty of Boracay. We hope tourists would cooperate so the younger generation will still appreciate this resort island,” said Brugger./