00:00 What are deltas and why are they sinking?
05:17 New Manila International Airport (NMIA)
07:55 Dredging, reclamation make floods worse
11:26 Human rights abused, environmental laws broken, forced disappearances of activists
16:33 And who welcomes the airport?
19:59 Why is the government championing the project?
21:49 Fisher communities seek university's help
24:08 Why don't fishers just move?
27:27 The role of Boskalis
29:11 Dutch government is complicit
30:48 How 'Dutch Delta Approach' can harm environment, human rights
33:17 What next for Manila Bay fishers?
35:01 Diamonds in the Delta
The controversial New Manila International Airport project is being built on 'reclaimed land', created artificially by dredging sand from the bottom of the sea elsewhere in Manila Bay, and depositing it at the project site. This has increased the frequency and severity of floods in coastal communities, and disrupted the livelihoods of hundreds of fisher families. The project has also involved flouting of environmental laws, and hundreds of families being evicted forcefully. Many of those evicted have been made to disappear. In this podcast episode, Baleng Lagos from University of the Philippines talks about how the coastal communities approached her institution to support their fightback through research and a 'counter- Environmental Impact Assessment.' Along with Janwillem Liebrand from Utrecht University, she also talks about the role of the Dutch government, which has insured Boskalis-- the Dutch corporation carrying out the land reclamation-- against the risk of non-payment.
