TITLE: Remediation Effort For Coastal Areas Program (RECAP): Promotion of

Rice (Oryza sativa) Production as Alternative Livelihood and Utilization of Rice

Straw as Biosorbent for Oil Spill Remediation
PARTICIPANTS:
King Jery D Villamer, Dhandrei Justin Blanco, Louie Arfel Talili

A. Summary
As oil spill continues to expand within large ocean surface, severity of
exposure increases and will negatively affect the local ecology, marine life,
and the livelihood of people within the community to where it is affected.
For instance, the sinking oil tanker MT Princess empress caused extensive
damage to marine life and jeopardized the livelihoods and economy of
coastal communities in Oriental mindoro. According to the NDRRMC, 1.
over 193,000 individuals have been affected by prolonged exposure to oil.
2. Damage to the fishery industry and income loss had reached nearly P1
billion, as reported by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic resources
(BFAR). To better mitigate the effects of oil spillage contaninations and
provide alternative foundation of livelihood for the community, The
researchers propose a program that composes the followi g. (1) Promoting
rice production as an alternative livelihood for fisher folk in oil-spilled
affected communities (2) Utilization of rice (Oryza sativa) straw as
biosorbent for oil spill remediation for minimising further contamination of
the local marine ecology (3) To establish long term monitoring and
rehabilitation of the affected areas of oil spill, and (4) Accelerate the
livelihood and tourism recovery of the affected communities through the
program.
B. Background of the Problem
Oil spills are one of the major disasters that can have a severe
impact on the environment and economy of a community. It wreaks havoc
not only for humans but especially for marine ecology. In a recent event,
Oriental Mindoro, a coastal community renowned for its beautiful beaches
and diverse marine life experienced an oil disaster that significantly
affected the community's livelihood, local ecology, and marine life.

Figure 1: Impact of Oil-Spill in Oriental Mindoro

https://ph.oceana.org/reports/position-paper-addressing-the-oriental-mindo
ro-oil-spill-and-ensuring-accountability-for-environmental-damage-policy-reco
mmendations/
The event severely damaged the region’s ecosystems which has
affected about 200,000 residents in three regions, caused by the sinking of
MT Princess Empress that carried about 900,000 liters of oil last February
2023 (Mangaluz, 2023). While the clean up and recovery is in progress,
fisherfolk in affected areas, particularly in Oriental Mindoro, are still
looking for alternative livelihood after being affected (Ombay, 2023).
Furthermore, the oil spill has caused losses and damages to fisheries
 totaling P58 137 million, affecting approximately 27,500 fisherman, and
prompting 15 local government units to declare a state of emergency
(Castro, 2023).

To alleviate further alterations contamination of the local marine

ecology the researchers propose to implement the program Remediation
Effort for Coastal Areas Program (RECAP), which primarily aims to
promote alternative livelihood for Fisherfolks and utilise Rice Straw as
Biosorbent for Oil Spill remediation, which has been proven to be effective
Biosorbent in recent research by Aminuddin et al., (2023) entitled Rice
Straw as a Natural Sorbent in a Filter System as an Approach to
Bioremediate Diesel Pollution.

C. Objectives
● To promote rice production as an alternative livelihood for fisher
folk in oil-spilled affected communities
● To utilise rice (Oryza sativa) straw as a biosorbent for oil spill
remediation for minimising further contamination of the local
marine ecology
● To establish long term monitoring and rehabilitation of the affected
areas of oil spill
● To speed up livelihood and tourism recovery of the affected
communities through the mentioned program

D. Proposed Solution to the Problem

The researchers propose a recovery and remediation program by
promoting rice production as alternative livelihood for affected families and
 utilizing rice straw as biosorbent in the removal of oil spill from affected
waters. The program will also include monitoring of contaminated waters
for assessing the progress of rice straw biosorbents.
I. Promotion of Rice Production
The researchers will go on-site to promote rice production to the
fishermen of Oriental Mindoro, prioritizing the affected families from
the oil spill.

Figure 2. Framework of the On-site Promotion of Rice Production to affected

families
 The researchers will hand bags of rice seeds to fishermen for them
to use as a starting point in rice production. Then, the researchers
will collabrate with local government units (LGUs) and local farmers
for the assignment of rice fields for each affected family and for
teaching the fishermen rice cultivation.

II. Rice Straw as Biosorbent

A. Collection of Rice Straw
The researchers will collaborate with local government units (LGUs)
and local farmers from various rice fields in Oriental Mindoro
including Naujan with 31 277 hecatres of land for rice planting
(Agri-Infohub, 2023), to collect rice straw, including rice straws
produced by the fishermen from their alternative livelihood.
B. Preparation of Rice Straw
The preparation of rice straw will take place in respective rice fields.
Preparion procedures include washing of rice straws to remove dirts
and other impurities and sun-drying for at least 7 days (Taufik,
2021). Then, prepared rice straws will be sent to coastal areas near
the oil-contaminated waters in collaborstion with LGU using trucks.
C. Using Rice Straw to Filter Oil Spill
Collaborating with fisherfolks, the rice straws can be deployed to
the surface of affected waters using fishnets as holders to prevent
the rice straws from sinking. The fishnets will be placed on water
surfaces using fishing boats, as well as the deployment of rice
straws on top of the fishnets. The rice straws will be left on the
water until it can not absorb anymore oil, then a new batch of rice
 straws will be replaced.
D. Project Monitoring
The researchers will continuously monitor the efficiency of rice
straw in absorbing oil from the contaminated waters as well as the
remaining amounts of oil left in the area in collaboration with the
Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR) using
website development. The website includes features such as oil spill
statuses, filtering schedules, recent news and DENR
announcements.

III. Implementation
The researchers will first seek advice from the DENR to assess the
feasibility of the program before implementation. Once approved,
the researchers will collaborate with LGUs and Non Government
Organizations (NGOs) in affected communities of the oil spill in
promoting the program and conducting biosorption of oil via rice
straw, and in monitoring the status updates of oil-spill affected
areas. To ensure legality of activities, the researchers, together with
other collaborators, will obtain permit from Philippine Coast Guard
for conducting marine activities. The researchers will also orient
families living near the area to prevent invasion of privacy.

E. Cost-Analysis
The researchers expects the expenses for the development and
implementation of the program
MATERIAL PRICE
Rice seeds (10 kg) 380 pesos
 Laptop (Lenovo) Provided by the researchers

Beneficiaries
The researchers expect the following to benefit from the proposed solution
and program:
Fishermen. This proposal involves the presentation of an alternative
source of income for fishermen, especially for those who are affected by the
oil-spill
Tourist. With the mentioned program the clean up and recovery process
will be accelerated resulting in reopening of tourist attractions in the
affected areas.
The Community. With the RECAP program implementation, the
community would be able to recover they're livelihood that they have lost
due to the oil spill disaster.
Local Government Units. Officials in the provinces and municipalities
would be able to accelerate the rehabilitation and recovery process in Oil
Spill affected areas with the mentioned program

F. References
Aminuddin, I. H., Taufik, S. H., Puasa, N. A., Radziff, S. B. M., Zamree, N.
D., Shaharudddin, N. A., Abdullah, C. a. C., Rahman, M. F., Azmi,
A. A., & Ahmad, S. A. (2023). Biosorption of engine oil using rice
husk in a filtration system. Sustainability, 15(19), 14599.
Scammell, R., & Scammell, R. (2018, May 1). Optical remote sensing
provides ocean oil spill data. Offshore Technology.
Agricultural Profile – Oriental Mindoro – Agri-Infohub. (2023).
Department of Agriculture - SAAD. (2022, July 6). Occidental Mindoro -
Special area for Agricultural development. Special Area for
Agricultural Development.
Taufik, S. H., Ahmad, S. A., Zakaria, N. N., Shaharuddin, N. A., Azmi, A.
A., Khalid, F. E., Merican, F., Convey, P., Zulkharnain, A., & Khalil,
K. A. (2021). Rice straw as a natural sorbent in a filter system as an
approach to bioremediate diesel pollution. Water, 13(23), 3317.