Philippine environmental activists hail cancellation of undersea park

Manila, Aug 24 (IANS) Environmental activists and netizens on Thursday hailed the cancellation of an undersea attraction and resort project that Nickelodeon plans to build on Palawan, an island province dubbed as "the last ecological frontier" in the Philippines.

In January, Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) unveiled its plan to build a 400-hectare park on Coron, Palawan, reports Xinhua news agency.

Nickelodeon said Palawan, known to have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, is an ideal location for its multi-million-dollar project.

The Philippine Department of Tourism welcomed the project, saying that it will attract more tourists to visit the country.

But local environment group "Save Philippine Seas" was alarmed by the project and immediately created a petition opposing the project due to potential damage to its rich biodiversity and natural wonders.

It said in its petition that "building artificial structures will undeniably damage and disrupt Palawan's marine ecosystems".

The online petition against the project garnered nearly 270,000 signatures.

However, it stressed that "the battle is not over: we still need to remain vigilant and monitor updates about the proposed attraction".

VIMN said in its recent statement that it has decided to "mutually agree" with project developer Coral World Park (CWP) "to discontinue the IP licensing agreement" for the project.

(This story has not been edited by Social News XYZ staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)