Манила шығанағы: Филиппиннің табиғи порты мен тарихы

Natural harbor on the island of Luzon, Philippines
the man made beach

Manila Bay (; Lang es) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Philippines and its neighboring countries, becoming the gateway for socio economic development even prior to Spanish occupation. With an area of , and a coastline of , Manila Bay is situated in the western part of Luzon and is bounded by Cavite and Metro Manila on the east, Bulacan and Pampanga on the north, and Bataan on the west and northwest. Manila Bay drains approximately of watershed area, with the Pampanga River contributing about 49% of the freshwater influx. With an average depth of , it is estimated to have a total volume of 28.9 billion cubic meters (28.9 cubic km). Entrance to the bay is wide and expands to a width of However, width of the bay varies from at its mouth and expanding to at its widest point. caused the two to break up. Interaction between Manila Bay and Laguna de Bay today occurs only through the Pasig River. The bay was the setting for the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898, in which American troops led by Commodore George Dewey seized the area. This battle showcased the United States' naval strength. All major Spanish ships were destroyed and captured. With its proud historic past and abundant marine life, Manila Bay became the ocean portal and Filipino epicenter for government, economy and industry. In April 2012, the sea walls were once again opened to the public, having been redesigned to withstand a strong storm surge.

Coastal and marine habitats in the area include upland forests, mangrove, mudflats, sandy beaches, sea grass and coral reefs.

Contributing to the balanced functioning of the ecosystem around Manila Bay, coral reefs in the area provide sanctuary for fishes. Consequently, its decline through the years has directly affected the fish yield.

As a diverse ecosystem, seagrass beds provide shelter for fishes and other marine life forms. Like the coral reefs, most of the seagrass beds in Manila Bay are found near its mouth, most notably in the areas of Malolos, Orion, Mariveles, and Corregidor Island.

Conversion of mangrove and mudflat areas into fishponds have impacted the physical features of the bay whereby what used to be irregular shoreline in 1944 has become more linear by 1977. In 1993 much of the fisheries resources steadily declined due to overfishing and overharvesting.

With then Mayor Lito Atienza's program Buhayin ang Maynila (Revitalize Manila) in 2002, the local government made the initiative of enhancing the seaside promenade of Manila through urban renewal, upkeep and improvements. What later became known as Baywalk, the facelift of the 2 km strip of central public space aimed at creating a venue for social interaction and recreation. With reference to its colonial history, which uses the Baywalk for exercise, fishing or socialization. The mix of land utilization and social activity provides public access to the edge of the sea, and counters vagrancy and mendicancy. Manila Bay Declaration 2001 recognized Manila Bay as a source of food, employment and income for the people as well as the gateway for tourism and recreation. The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants was adopted in 2001 and enforced in 2004. is a responsibility assumed both by government and non government organizations. The Supreme Court of the Philippines for example had issued the Metro Manila Development Authority an order to "demolish illegal structures and dwellings along riverbanks and waterways connected to Manila Bay by 2015" in March 2011 as an attempt to decrease mass occurrences of water pollution. Projects involving the wider communities include organization of the "Manila Bay Clean Up Run," which essentially supports the Philippine Environment Agencies with their objectives to raise funding and awareness towards the rehabilitation of Manila Bay's natural environments. In 2019, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources started a rehabilitation program that is being administered by different government agencies. Because of the rehabilitation, the 10th Philippine International Pyromusical Competition that was scheduled on February 16, 2019, at the SM Mall of Asia bayside area was postponed before being moved to SM City Clark on February 23, 2019.

In the early September 2020, work began on Manila Bay Beach, which was constructed through the process of beach nourishment, which a common practice in the creation of beaches around the world. It is part of an overall integrated coastal zone management aimed at coastal defense of the Manila Bay rehabilitation. When the Manila Bay Beach project came to wider public attention, the project has received criticism from environment and heritage conservationist groups. Among these include the timing of the project which was implemented amidst the COVID 19 pandemic and concerns of adverse environmental effects caused by dumping dolomite on the polluted Manila Bay. According to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, the project will benefit tourism, commerce and the environment. It will also protect coastal properties from erosion and storm surges, and beach nourishment is preferred over hard beach stabilizing structures (such as seawalls and groynes). As with other beach nourishment projects, the area can serve as additional habitat for a number of species such as sea turtles, as well as sea birds and beach flora. When the beach was first opened to the public, a flock of egrets were seen at the beach area. Water quality significantly improved, especially around the beach area. The DENR reported significant drop of fecal coliform level in the waters around the beach, from 2.2 million mpn/100ml last January 4, 2021 to 523,000 mpn/100 ml in February 2021, based on the average count from three monitoring stations.

Plans of constructing a bridge or bridge tunnel that crosses Manila Bay have been around since 1987. In January 2020, the National Economic and Development Authority approved the plan to construct the Bataan–Cavite Interlink Bridge, also known as Manila Bay Bridge, which is expected to cross Manila Bay and connect the provinces of Bataan and Cavite. The detailed engineering design and marine geophysical surveys for the bridge are currently being completed before the start of the construction.

Due to the low profile of environmentalism and its objectives within the nation of the Philippines, official awareness of global warming and the investment to applicable research is in itself triumphant. Further steps to meet the challenge of rehabilitation and sea level rise within Manila Bay may include additional research to gain insight to the complex nature of existent ecosystems; investment to coastal protection means such as the implementation of concrete walls; Barrameda Jimenez body was found on 10 June 2009 over two years after she disappeared.