With these, the environment and livelihoods of local or traditional farming and fishing communities came under massive threat and dis-location.

[1] In the mid-1980s, Northern Mindanao emerged to become one of the three major growth centers in southern Philippines, with Cagayan de Oro as its commercial and industrial hub.

The coastal city of Cagayan de Oro, fronting Macajalar Bay, became a major industrial port and an entry point for new migrants and settlers.

But rapid economic growth also spawned increased land speculation, illegal logging, sea piracy, destructive fishing and mining practices, shipping and industrial pollution.

[2][3] Today, the presence of many industrial projects in and around Cagayan de Oro, continue to spew large amount of pollutants into the bay.