AQUANEROSITY: Life with Aquatic Ecosystems

(Aquatic Generosity)

Ever since a child, I really enjoyed going to beaches or any other vacation spots where
the brilliant heat of the sun made dazzling waters mesmerizing. Every summer, we spent our
time visiting our family members from Brgy. Quipot, Janiuay Iloilo. What made me very excited
going there was swimming in the river as well as hiking on the mountains. There was a place
called Punong which was composed of big rocks as big as two-storey houses and where we also
caught native shrimps called “Urang”. Its rich biodiversity attracted a lot of natives and visitors
to flourish its richness because they benefited a lot from there. These ecosystem services that
provides human perspective a strong foundation based on aquatic concepts, emphasizes its
significance in the real world.

My Uncle is a farmer and he plants corn, bananas, and many other root crops in the
mountain sides. Every harvest, he gave us bountiful of it for free. Looking at the hectares of land
he was cultivating and the quantity he was harvesting, this can make a man very rich. However,
my uncle is not the owner of the land but he still earned a living and usually do not need worry
on the food he will serve for his family. Significantly, the possibility of the success in farming by
my tito as I always witness was the abundance of the water resource from the river and
chemicals for plant growth. With mechanical aid, they can water the plants with the quantity it
needs and thus, making the plants grow healthier.

Consequently, when I was in Grade 10, I was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy. I saw my
mother cried hard upon hearing the news. She hugged me very tight that I couldn’t breathe. It
was a condition where half of my face winches and I cannot control its movement. My eyes
blinked involuntarily, and half of my face muscles at the left side were very hard that I cannot
move it. At those times, when I smile, I had the most awful smile I ever had in my life because
my lips were twisted and the tears on my eyes continuously flow like a river unconsciously. I
also lose my taste and I also couldn’t feel any sensation on the left side of my face. I lose hope
but I fought because of my family and dreams. Through healthy lifestyle, medicine and its
practices, I overcome that hardest verdict of my life. In a month, I recovered and base on stories I
am so lucky because most of the people with Bell’s Palsy doesn’t recover from that condition.
One thing for sure, I will not let that to happen again because I know the pain of being there. And
now, I will not be hovered on stress because stress and low immune system were the root causes
of that suffering. From here we can see, that medical practices and explorations made everything
possible to solve critical and complex problems and save lives.

Meanwhile, among all the dishes that I’ll choose in the table, fried milkfish will be my
priority. Nothing can beat its luscious taste especially its tail. I want it to be so crunchier and
crisp so that I will enjoy eating and gain the necessary nutrients that my body needs in order to
function. Eating gives humans and animals the energy they need to cope up with the demands
objectified for them. And these, made the ecosystem balance for the benefit of those who
consumes and for those who produces by utilizing resources needed from the ecosystem.

When I was 12, my family and I went to Guimaras. In going there, we rode a motor
banka. While in the middle of the sea, I saw the richness of the oceans. The world beneath us
was full of wonderful of community where in fact, is richer than we expected. However, what
sadden me were the waste materials such as water bottles that swim together with fishes. One
thing came up in my mind was a video I saw on YouTube where fishes ate the waste materials
and at some point, fishermen caught them and sell it on the market. Now, the probability is that,
as we disrupted the habitats of aquatic animals and other organisms, the cycle begins where
everything on Earth is affected especially human health and of other animals consuming these
affected species. Also, taking into account, the treasure aquatic world offer humans is
immeasurable.

There are a lot that aquatic ecosystem services had brought human benefits to sustain life.
For me, aquatic ecosystem gave me water, food, medical resources, and other unconscious
driven benefits that made me survive life’s beating and function as a human is expected to.
Seeing aquatic ecosystem’s naturalistic beauty gave life to unhopeful tomorrow because its
solemn façade makes a person discern on life, creating artsy products, and govern positive
mindset that everything is simple and we just need to go by it.

Aquatic ecosystem is critical on a successful lifeline for all organisms living on Earth.
Without them, there will be no balance in biodiversity and in return, one over the other organism
will be superior living the other to its extinction. Humans can think of ways on how to share the
resources to the aquatic natives and at the same time, protecting the resources that all organisms
need in order to survive. Hence, aquatic ecosystem preservation and conservation plays a vital
role of survival for aquatic organisms from disastrous effects of human activities and natural
chain cycle of life.