\nPalawan is not Bikini Bottom, concerned netizens say
\nCrowd at the Spongebob promotion ground at Pavillion shopping mall, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia in June 2015. Calvin Chan\/Shutterstock
\nPlans to build an attraction themed after and licenced by Nickelodeon, the Viacom-owned cartoon network, are sinking into controversy in the Philippines.
\nEnvironmentalists have striven to drown out excitement over the Nickelodeon theme park, slated to open in 2020 in the ecologically sensitive province of Palawan.
\nThe project will cover a 400-hectare area that includes 16 white-sand islands in the area, Viacom revealed in a statement released last Monday. More alarmingly, the development would entail underwater attractions, including restaurants and lounges set 20 feet (6 metres) below sea level.
\nReaction to the announcement has been swift and bristling, with an online petition against the development on its way to hitting 300,000 signatures. No less than Gina Lopez, President Rodrigo Duterte\u2019s environment secretary, vowed to disallow the project from gaining traction.<\/p>\n
Lopez says she won\u2019t allow the underwater theme park in Palawan. #environment2017
Palawan is not Bikini Bottom, concerned netizens say Crowd at the Spongebob promotion ground at...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-property-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p75ss1-aC2","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12836,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/nickelodeon-signs-deal-for-new-theme-park-in-essex-shopping-centre\/","url_meta":{"origin":40798,"position":0},"title":"Nickelodeon signs deal for new theme park in Essex shopping centre","date":"May 12, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\r \r \r Source : telegraph.co.uk\r Read more...Nickelodeon signs deal for new theme park in Essex shopping centre","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36238,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/could-a-philippine-island-be-the-next-singapore-or-hong-kong\/","url_meta":{"origin":40798,"position":1},"title":"Could a Philippine island be the next Singapore or Hong Kong?","date":"November 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\r Qatar real estate firm has big plans for the Philippines Aerial view of tropical islands near Palawan, Philippines. 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That is when the island\u2019s Zero Carbon Resorts programme approached them with suggestions on how\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":162962,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/visitors-from-gcc-china-and-russia-drive-record-tourism-surge-to-abu-dhabis-yas-and-saadiyat-islands-miral\/","url_meta":{"origin":40798,"position":4},"title":"Visitors from GCC, China and Russia drive record tourism surge to Abu Dhabi\u2019s Yas and Saadiyat Islands \u2013 Miral","date":"October 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\r Abu Dhabi theme park attendance jumped 50% and hotel occupancy topped 90% as international visitors drove a record summer for Yas and Saadiyat Islands The post Visitors from GCC, China and Russia drive record tourism surge to Abu Dhabi\u2019s Yas and Saadiyat Islands \u2013 Miral appeared first on Arabian\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Miral_Yas-Island-and-Saadiyat-Island-1000x667-1.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":42525,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/climate-change-means-floating-cities-are-no-longer-science-fiction\/","url_meta":{"origin":40798,"position":5},"title":"Climate change means floating cities are no longer science fiction","date":"February 1, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\r \u2018Slightly crazy\u2019 project draws flak though A rendered image of floating islands via Seasteading As climate change incontrovertibly makes itself felt from pole to pole, the tech industry has been floating ideas about adapting to a catastrophe induced by global warming. 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\n\u2014 DENR (@DENR_Official) January 11, 2017
\n\u201cYou can\u2019t kill the corals for a theme park, no way,\u201d she told ABS-CBN. \u201cNo amount of money is worth the wellbeing of our farmers and fishermen.\u201d
\nCoral World Park Undersea Resort (CWP), an underwater property developer and Viacom\u2019s partner in the project, has since disavowed last week\u2019s press release, claiming that the park will not have an invasive submarine section after all.
\n\u201cThe only infrastructure in the water is floating and all developments are on land,\u201d CWP said in a statement, adding that only 100 hectares were allocated for the Nickelodeon facility and 30 hectares for the attraction.
\n\u201cWhen completed, CWP will be the largest coral reef conservation program in Asia, with Asia\u2019s largest marine sanctuary for five key species \u2013 dolphins, sea cows, sea horses, turtles and whale sharks,\u201d CWP added.
\nMore: The Flintstones theme park, a stone\u2019s throw from Grand Canyon, for sale
\nAnna Oposa, the petition starter, believes the project will still wreak irreversible havoc on Palawan, a UNESCO biosphere reserve.
\n\u201cContrary to the press statement that the underwater theme park would \u2018advocate ocean protection,\u2019 it will accomplish the exact opposite,\u201d Oposa stated. \u201cBy building artificial structures, you will undeniably damage and disrupt Palawan\u2019s marine ecosystems \u2014 our Last Frontier.\u201d
\nToh Tai Chong, a research fellow with the institute, encouraged Viacom and the developer to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) before proceeding with the construction. \u201cIt\u2019s important that an EIA be done prior to construction to assess the potential impacts of the development,\u201d Toh told Mashable Asia. \u201cThese include the input of freshwater and pollutants from the park directly into the sea, which may reduce the water quality and eventually leading to coral death.\u201d
\nThe Nickelodeon project has also incurred the rancor of Filipino celebrities, with several using the hashtag \u201cCoron is not Bikini Bottom\u201d on their social nets. The hashtag alludes to a setting of the popular Nickelodeon show \u201cSpongebob Squarepants.\u201d
\nThe park would only be the second Nickelodeon-themed attraction in Asia, after the Nickelodeon Lost Lagoon opened in Malaysia last year. Theme parks have been a growing trend in the continent, particularly in China, where the opening of the Shanghai Disneyland last year heated prices in nearby residential developments by 35 percent.
\nRead next: 4 positive effects of tourism on real estate
\n
\nSource : property-report.com
\nRead more…Could Nickelodeon\u2019s newest theme park destroy these Philippine islands?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"