The Sea That Vanished: How a Magnitude 7.8 Earthquake Redrew the Map of Burias

 

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In Barangay Burias, Glan, the ocean has committed an act of betrayal.

For the people of this coastal community in Sarangani, the sea was not merely a backdrop; it was a pantry, an employer, and a neighbor. But on the day the earth buckled under the force of a magnitude 7.8 earthquake, the horizon retreated. In a tectonic convulsion that defied human experience, the land surged upward, pushing the coastline back by 200 meters.

Where children once dove into azure waters, there is now only a desolate expanse of exposed reef, calcified death, and a lingering, suffocating stench of decay.

A Landscape Transformed

The scale of the transformation is difficult to grasp. While other areas in the region have reported geological shifts, the coastal uplift in Burias is gargantuan—at least three to four times larger in land area than its neighbors. Drone footage and ground reports reveal a surreal, apocalyptic theater: dead sea urchins bleached by the sun, brittle seagrass carpeting the sand, and the skeletal remains of coral reefs that once served as the lungs of the local ecosystem.

“It is like the place was bombed,” says 19-year-old Saud Dianang, who has spent his entire life foraging these shores. To him, the loss is visceral. As he sifts through the ruin, there are no schools of fish to catch, no shimmering movement in the shallows. He now needs a shovel to pry a few shells from the hardened earth where he once cast nets with ease.

“It’s like a bubble,” he adds, his voice heavy with the gravity of his loss. “You prick it and it’s gone. Nothing is left.”

The Death of a Dream

The devastation is not limited to the environment; it is a direct assault on the livelihoods of those who banked their futures on the beauty of the Sarangani coast.

Jerome Kingkim, who co-owns Kingkim Beach, stands amidst the wreckage of his business. Cottages that once overlooked the crashing surf now sit hundreds of meters from the water’s edge, some twisted and uprooted by the tectonic force. Nearby, the local mosque lies flattened—a silent testament to the sheer power of the event.

For Kingkim and other local operators—including Crystal Shore, Malingkat, and Salisipan Point—the question of viability looms like a ghost. Their business model was built on the promise of the sea. They sold the experience of the tide, the accessibility of the cove, and the thriving marine life—dugongs, dolphins, and whales—that once frequented these waters.

Today, that topography has been erased. The renowned Bato Buri cove, once a magnet for motorcycle enthusiasts and vloggers, is a changed place. The water has retreated, leaving its iconic rock formation isolated on a dry, barren shoreline.

A Plea for Survival

As the province shifts its tourism focus toward more stable areas like Gumasa—which remained largely spared by the uplift—the residents of Burias find themselves sidelined. They are not asking for glory; they are asking for a lifeline.

The people of Burias are currently surviving on the crumbs of a broken ecosystem, picking through the remaining shallows for whatever food remains while they wait for government assistance that feels agonizingly slow to arrive.

Despite the tragedy, a quiet, desperate hope persists. Jerome Kingkim still holds onto the possibility that the world might look at his broken village not as a lost cause, but as a place worthy of a second chance.

“This is our life,” he says simply.

In the wake of a 7.8 magnitude disaster, the residents of Burias are not just mourning the loss of their coastline; they are fighting to ensure their future doesn’t vanish along with it. The sea may have moved, but for the people of this village, the struggle to survive has only just begun.

A New Dawn: Bangladesh’s Bold Leap Toward a Green Energy Revolution

 

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The horizon of Bangladesh’s energy landscape is shifting, moving away from the fossil-fuel-heavy reliance of the past toward a vibrant, sustainable, and cleaner future. As of June 2026, the nation has set its sights on an ambitious milestone: generating 7,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

This isn't merely a policy goal; it is a fundamental transformation of the country’s infrastructure, signaling a decisive commitment to climate resilience and economic modernization.

The Catalyst: A Budget Built for Change

For the first time, the government has woven direct support and incentives for renewable energy into the national budget. According to BERC Chairman Jalal Ahmed, the proper implementation of this fiscal support is the cornerstone required to turn the 7,000 MW target into reality.

This pivot is designed to align with the Renewable Energy Policy 2025, which mandates that 20% of the nation’s total electricity demand must be met through green energy by 2030, with that figure climbing to 30% by 2040.

The Current Landscape: Building the Foundation

While the target is bold, the progress is already well underway. Currently, Bangladesh boasts an installed renewable capacity of 1,781.09 MW. However, the gears of industry and innovation are turning rapidly:

Under Construction: 26 plants are currently being built, adding a combined 1,172 MW to the grid.

In the Pipeline: Tendering is active for 15 additional projects (665 MW), slated to integrate into the national grid by 2029.

The Path Forward: Breaking Barriers to Growth

Despite the momentum, experts note that the climb to 7,000 MW requires more than just construction; it demands structural evolution. Shafiqul Alam, Lead Energy Analyst at IEEFA, points out the urgency of the situation: while renewable energy currently accounts for only 2.3% of Bangladesh’s power generation—compared to the global average of 34%—the transition offers a remedy to the nation's rising import dependence.

The roadmap to closing this gap includes:

Tax Exemptions: Proposed exemptions on duties for solar panels, lithium batteries, and inverters could slash installation costs for rooftop solar by 15% to 20%.

Grid Modernization: The introduction of smart technologies and advanced energy management systems is critical to creating a resilient infrastructure capable of handling the variability of green power.

Policy Stability: Long-term regulatory certainty remains the "north star" for attracting the private sector investment needed to sustain this growth.

Merchant Power Participation: By amending current policies, the government aims to empower merchant power plants to contribute significantly to the clean energy pool.

Powering the Future

This initiative extends beyond lights in homes. By fostering public-private partnerships (PPP), the government is positioning energy infrastructure as a driver for broader economic growth. From the industrial sectors seeking lower operational costs to the residential and agricultural fields aiming for energy autonomy, the ripple effects of this green revolution will be felt across every corner of the nation.

As Bangladesh moves forward, the message is clear: the transition to renewable energy is no longer a peripheral ambition—it is the heartbeat of the nation’s future development.

What role do you think the private sector should play in accelerating the adoption of rooftop solar technology for homes and small businesses in Bangladesh?

The Planet’s Last Chance: Why Our Current "Green" Strategy Is Failing—and How to Fix It

 

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The world is drowning in commitments. From international climate summits to corporate sustainability reports, we are awash in promises, pledges, and billions of dollars in "green" funding. Yet, the triple crisis—climate change, rampant biodiversity loss, and suffocating pollution—continues to accelerate.

Why, despite our best efforts, are we losing the war for the planet?

A groundbreaking study from an international team of researchers, recently published in the journal iScience, suggests we have been looking at the problem through the wrong end of the telescope. We have been treating the symptoms while the disease remains untreated, trapped in a cycle of "siloed" thinking that does little more than shift environmental damage from one ledger to another.

The Illusion of Progress

Current environmental policy is often a game of "whack-a-mole." We try to solve plastic pollution by recycling, or climate change by offsetting carbon emissions. But as Dr. Melissa Wang of the Greenpeace Research Laboratories at the University of Exeter points out, treating these problems in isolation is a fatal mistake.

"Current environmental action tends to focus on each problem in isolation, but that can simply push problems into other areas," Dr. Wang warns. When we focus on the end-of-pipe solutions—cleaning up a beach, planting trees, or recycling plastic—we are merely managing the catastrophe, not stopping it.

The Sustainability Hierarchy: A New Prescription

To break this cycle, researchers have unveiled a revolutionary "Sustainability Hierarchy Framework." It is a blunt, uncompromising tool designed for policymakers, financial decision-makers, and world leaders. It forces them to look at environmental health not as a series of disconnected chores, but as a prioritized chain of cause and effect.

The framework demands a radical shift in focus, moving from the bottom of the list to the very top:

Prevent and Reduce (The Priority): Stop the bleeding. Reduce the extraction of fossil fuels, minerals, and the conversion of forests into industrial farmland. If we don’t stop taking more than the planet can provide, nothing else matters.

Retain and Reuse: Extend the life of everything we have already extracted. Move toward a truly circular system that values materials rather than discarding them.

Replace: Swap out hazardous, high-impact materials for safer, renewable, and sustainable alternatives.

Recycle and Regenerate: Only after the first three tiers are strictly enforced do we look at recycling.

Remediate: Deal with the messes of the past. Crucially, this is the final step—it should never be prioritized over the proactive work of the first four tiers.

The "Upstream" Revolution

The genius of this framework is its refusal to accept "offsets" or "credits." In the eyes of this new research, those are not solutions—they are distractions. They allow organizations to pay for a tree-planting project in one country while continuing to deforest, pollute, or extract in another.

The stakes are nowhere higher than in the ongoing negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty. Currently, a staggering 88% of funding for plastic pollution is dumped into "downstream" initiatives—cleaning up the mess. But as Dr. Fredric Bauer of Lund University notes, we are fighting a losing battle. We must shift the focus "upstream."

If we don't curb the actual production of plastic, all the recycling plants in the world won't prevent the oceans from filling with waste.

The Human Baseline

The framework is not just a scientific exercise; it is a moral imperative. Its adoption by diplomats, the United Nations, and Indigenous leaders signals a shift toward a more rigorous standard of justice.

Frankie Orona, Executive Director of the Society of Native Nations, reminds us that the environmental crisis is a human crisis. "We cannot tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, or the plastic pollution crisis without addressing the unsustainable extraction and production models that... violate the collective rights of Indigenous Peoples."

For Orona, and for the authors of this new framework, the time for empty rhetoric has passed. The Sustainability Hierarchy isn't just a guide for saving the environment; it is a blueprint for recognizing that our survival is tied to the health of the earth, and that respecting the rights of those most affected is not an optional add-on—it is the baseline priority.

As this new framework moves from the pages of iScience to the halls of international diplomacy, one thing is clear: the era of "green" distractions is coming to an end. The real work—the hard, upstream, preventative work—is only just beginning.