Carmela Ellaga watches the sun set over the ocean in Negros Occidental, Philippines. She is a young environmental activist who is taking on ocean plastic pollution.
PRRCFI for USAID
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Recognizing the urgency of the climate crises, the United States is committed to increasing U.S. climate finance to over $11 billion a year and working with other countries to meet the goal of mobilizing $100 billion. This includes a commitment to help more than half a billion people in developing countries adapt to and manage the impacts of climate change by 2030.
When Carmela (pictured) was growing up in a small coastal village in the Philippines, she often heard stories of the ocean being rich with fish, manta rays, and sea turtles. The vibrant marine life provided food and a source of livelihood for her family. As she got older, however, those stories no longer matched reality.
When she was 15, Carmela attended an environmental conservation camp at Danjugan Island, a solar-powered wildlife sanctuary a short boat ride from her village. During the camp, she learned about USAID’s partnership with the Philippine Reef and Rainforest Conservation Foundation, Inc. (PRRCFI) to protect the environment. After high school, Carmela pursued a degree as a fisheries technologist while working with USAID and PRRCFI on the Municipal Waste Recycling Program, USAID’s first program designed to address land-based sources of ocean plastic pollution.
A 2016 World Economic Forum report showed that, on the current track, there will be more plastic than fish in the sea by 2050. But Carmela and her team are determined to change this trajectory.
USAID helps combat these threats by partnering with local organizations and the Government of the Philippines to protect the country's natural resources, promote sustainable fishing practices, and reduce plastic pollution. From 2018 to 2021 alone, USAID helped protect 1.2 million hectares of oceans in the Philippines, an area about 10 times the size of Los Angeles.