A man fishes in front of the JG Summit Petrochemical plant in Tabangao, Batangas. Batangas's coastline is part of the Verde Island Passage, a body of water believed to be the center of the center of marine biodiversity in the world; marine scientists only recently discovered that the Philippine seas are home to more species of marine life, including corals, than anywhere else on Earth, a vital sanctuary that helps to spawn fish populations throughout the world's oceans. However, the Verde Island Passage itself is complex interplay of biological abundance and human development, its deep waters also making it ideal for shipping, fishing, and industry. Sustaining over 2 million people, this narrow body of water is a veritable city made of water: a hybrid, overlapping ecosystem characterised by developing, urbanising towns, commercial fishing, busy shipping lanes, exclusive dive resorts, subsistence fisherfolk communities, and sprawling industrial parks like the one in this photo.