Fish out of water: The environmental advocate journey

BY RIEL DUQUE AND GABBY ROSALES

ILLUSTRATION BY SAMANTHA ROSE RAGAZA

“THE STORMS are getting stronger and stronger,” Carmela Ellaga—a Negros-native environmental advocate—shares.

“We’ve experienced typhoons that devastated our reefs and forests.”

Listed as one of the Top 5 Young Women and Girls Fighting for Climate Justice, Ellaga devotes her life to coastal research management and marine conservation. A licensed fisheries technologist based in Danjugan Island, Negros Occidental, Ellaga works as a community officer for the Philippine Reef & Rainforest Conservation Foundation.

Ellaga’s work involves collaborating and coordinating with local government units and partner coastal communities to strengthen marine areas by establishing more mangrove eco parks and facilitating environmental awareness camps for the public.

FRESHER PAIR OF EYES

Accustomed to having bird calls for alarm clocks every morning, Ellaga grew up in a coastal community near Danjugan Island. Despite a life surrounded by the sea, Ellaga only gained a broadened understanding and appreciation for marine life after becoming a serious environmental advocate.

“Growing up in a coastal community and seeing the coastal reefs but not really understanding or knowing what they are, it’s different—it’s a different experience knowing them beyond a snorkeling activity,” she claims.

Still, there is more to her job than what meets the eye. As a fisheries technologist, Ellaga had initially expected her line of work to solely deal with fishes and devising solutions to produce more to feed the community. “I realized my profession is more than focusing