The island of Boracay was mainly an agricultural community before it became a tourist destination, according to a 1998 study titled “Governance in Context: Boracay Island, Philippines” by William Trousdale of EcoPlan International. ADVERTISEMENT“From its inception, the primary factor motivating tourism development in Boracay has been economic: profits, jobs, income and government revenue,” Trousdale said in the study. In a 1996 study, “Sun, Sea, Sand and Sewage: A Wastewater Management Plan for Boracay Island, The Philippines,” marine biologist Pierre Pillout noted that Boracay had no industry or agriculture that could have caused algal blooms along the island’s shoreline. Pillout said that ammonia, nitrate and phosphate, which caused the spread of algae in Boracay, came from industrial, agricultural and domestic wastes. But since Boracay had no industry or agriculture to speak of then, Pillout concluded algal blooms in Boracay could be caused only by sewage from septic tanks.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer April 09, 2018 19:52 UTC