Nickelodeon announced that it is in negotiation to build an underwater resort and theme park in one of the world's last ecological frontier, the island of Palawan, Philippines. This drew much protest from Greenpeace and other environmental groups saying that it would destroy marine ecosystem in the area.
According to AFP, Nickelodeon, the company behind SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer, is planning to put up the theme park on Palawan Island as part of the 1000 acre undersea development that will highlight the island's marine life. Nickelodeon said that the theme park would allow fans to "interact with the brand and the iconic characters they love."
Ron Johnson, executive vice president of Viacom International Media Networks which owns Nickelodeon, said in n statement emailed to AFP that Palawan was selected for development since the island "is known to have some of the most beautiful beaches today." The statement also implies that development would advocate "ocean protection" and would conserve coral reefs.
According to the The Daily Mail, two UNESCO World-listed sites, the subterranean river and the Tubbataha coral reefs, are located in the Palawan island. Palawan is called the last frontier due to its untouched coastlines and forests which, according to environmental conservation groups, are among the oldest and most diverse in Southeast Asia.
Greenpeace, an environmental group, is of the opinion that the theme park and resort would damage the marine ecosystem in Palawan. Vince Cinches of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, speaking with AFP, said that Nickelodeon's plan to build the underwater theme park and resort is "alarming" since a theme park of this magnitude "will not promote environmental protection by building those structures."
According to ABS-CBN, a local news station in the Philippines, the environmental group Save Philippine Seas started an online petition to urge Viacom, Nickelodeon, and local officials to abandon the plans for the development of the underwater theme park in Palawan. The petition was launched on social media, such as Facebook, and amassed 50,000 online signatures in the first few hours.
Meanwhile, Paul Monozca, chairman of the Coral World Park which is Viacom's partner in the Philippines for developing the underwater resort and theme park assures the environmental groups that they would be "taking careful measures to ensure that the biodiversity is kept intact. The Palawan Council for Sustainable Development has yet to approve the project. If the project is approved, the theme park would open in 2020.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
