▶ Play Video 5. Ang mga Banal na Krus ng Mayo\nThis episode was first aired on Filipino television on June 6, 1996. This episode has been modified from its original format.\n\nConsidered to be the largest of the Filipino ethnic groups, the Tagalog are concentrated in the metropolitan area of Manila and spread out as the major population of nearby provinces, such as Rizal, Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, Bulacan, and Nueva Ecija. This is a highly urbanized group occupying the very well-developed regions of the country, where the centers of national government are located.\n\nThe national language is actually being built around Tagalog, which is now understood and spoken in other parts of the country. One of the oldest forms of the spoken language is called sinaunang tagalog, and used to be spoken in the municipality of Tanay, Rizal. During the introduction of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian family of anguages, it was pushed northeastward to the areas around the Zambales mountain ranges. Only a small group of Negrito at the foot of Mt. Pinatubo speak the language today.\n\nThe Tagalog are associated with all kinds of agricultural production, usually monocropping with rice as the main crop, silviculture, animal husbandry, and industrial production. They are also engaged in international marketing, politics, and foreign relations. They are equally adept at fish culture--both marine and freshwater--in man-made ponds and cages in waterways.\n\nThe kinship structure is essentially bilateral, with offspring considered linked equally to both parents, and inheritance following the same pattern, although in practice, it takes on a more cognatic nature. In the urban areas and where large properties are concerned, there is a tendency for a lineal distribution of wealth and property in the manner of corporations. Members of the group are involved in all sectors of government practice and in private institutions at the national and international levels. Such an advantage is reflected in the development of the Tagalog in contrast with other ethnic groups. Presently, however, with the development of infrastructure throughout the country, a larger portion of the population is now part of mainstream culture. The index of culture has leveled out within the group such that the subgroups are indistinguishable from one another, except in terms of spoken language.\n\nThe Tagalog are highly Christianized, with the majority belonging to the Roman Catholic Church and the rest dispersed in various homegrown sects, such as the nationalistic Aglipay and the Iglesia ni Cristo. Thus, much of the festivities are founded on Christian liturgy and belief systems.

Sulawesi Islands are well known as a hotspot of bio-diversity, particularly coral reef, coral reef fish mangrove and sea grass. They are located in the center of coral triangle regions, the regions under the authority of six countries that have been the global attention for conservation. Dedi Supriadi Adhuri noted cultural diversity of the rigions through highlinghting traditional knowledge on marine territory resource management of these people.

Of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, one in particular, SDG 14 Life Below Water, encompasses the conservation and sustainable use of “the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.” To this end, UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) laid the foundation for the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-30) (hereafter Decade), which is about to start its Implementation Phase. The Decade is a vital opportunity to improve focus on the ocean’s cultural heritage including intangible/indigenous/traditional culture that can be safeguarded in order to reach a sustainable future in the face of modernisation or climate change. Networks created by stakeholders focusing on Maritime Living Heritage ensure that cultural heritage can be acknowledged as a medium for engaging the public in addressing the sustainability of our coasts, seas, and oceans.

Traditional coastal communities possess marine knowledge that enable them to live with and live on resources in different eco-niches like intertidal strands, mangroves, mudflats, beach forest, and coral reefs. After the Covid 19 broke out, Traditional coastal communities reflected how the often neglected knowledge and skills became the inspiration and hope for urban populations who rely on purchased food from convenient stores or modern trade stores, during which the semi-lockdown affected the distribution and sales of food.

In Fiji, a boat is a central cultural element for the indigenous and local people. The traditional boat building skills and practices need to be attended in the light of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage. The situation of the significant reduction of the boatbuilding community not only poses a threat to the boatbuilding community but also to the marine environment as well. By revitalizing the traditional boat building skills and community, the Pacific Blue Foundation hopes to solve environmental sustainability and marine pollution in Fiji while promoting knowledge of intangible cultural heritage.

William Jeffery highlighted the value of the Yapese fish weirs and how they, and the associated intangible cultural heritage can be used to assist modern-day approaches to marine ecological conservation, in addition to keeping traditional sustainable fishing practices alive.