DENR to draw up conservation plan for Tañon Strait Published: July 25, 2013. Latest update: July 25, 2013. From the Department of Environment and Natural Resources The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is partnering with an international conservation group to draw up a blueprint for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development of the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape (TSPS) in Central Visayas. The TSPS, which lies between the islands of Negros and Cebu, is among the country’s top ten major fishing grounds where about 26,000 fishermen operate. It has also been regarded as an important migration corridor for whales, dolphins, and other marine mammals, making it a preferred destination for whale-watchers, conservationists, and wildlife enthusiasts. Through its Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB), the DENR signed a memorandum of understanding and cooperation with RARE, Inc. to formulate a master plan that would ensure local fishermen employ sustainable fishing practices within the 310,800-hectare marine protected area, which is a primary source of livelihood for coastal villages along the coasts of Cebu and Negros islands. RARE is an international public policy research and advocacy group working in over 50 countries through its “Pride Campaign” that facilitates the establishment of collaborative approaches and cross-cutting solutions to environmental challenges in coordination with communities, industry, and government. The agreement was signed by PAWB Director Mundita Lim and RARE president and CEO Brett Scott Jenks during a simple ceremony held at the PAWB grounds in Quezon City on Thursday, July 25, 2013. Lim said the pact formalizes the joint initiative of the DENR and RARE to identify common areas of interests and cooperation acceptable to all stakeholders, focusing on issues surrounding access to and control over resources within the TSPS. She said the signing comes at an opportune time as the output of the undertaking will form part of a single project document called “Strengthening the Marine Protected Area to Conserve Marine Key Biodiversity Areas” to be submitted to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) within the year. The UNDP, in turn, will endorse the document to the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) for funding for the implementation of conservation activities in five of the country’s important marine spots, namely: TSPS, Verde Island Passage, the Davao Gulf, Surigao Bay, and Palawan. According to Lim, the DENR-RARE partnership will broaden the consensus among multi-sectoral coalition groups working to justify marine conservation activities in the area while providing sustainable livelihood projects in order to decrease pressure on Tañon Strait “whose reach, especially in terms of its life support services, do not recognize political boundaries.” “Given its wide coverage, the establishment of the Tañon Strait as a marine protected area in 1998 has opened up alliances, both at the national and local levels, that have placed stakeholders on the opposite sides of issues concerning conservation, utilization and development of the area’s resources,” Lim explained. Tañon Strait was placed under the National Integrated Protected Areas Systems (NIPAS) Act of 1992 after then President Fidel V. Ramos signed Presidential Proclamation No. 1234 on May 27, 1998, declaring it as a protected seascape in recognition of its extraordinary abundance and diverse assemblage of dolphins, whales, and other marine species. Located between the islands of Negros and Cebu, the strait connects the Visayan Sea to the Bohol Sea and has a total coastline of 452.7 kilometers. It is bounded by 36 coastal municipalities and cities of Cebu, Negros Occidental, and Negros Oriental. Lim said the undertaking will pave the way for the establishment of a consistent plan of activities for the protection and sustainable utilization of resources that directly responds to issues on livelihood dependence and displacement, resource-use patterns and access rights within the protected area. “Livelihood dependence on coastal resources, particularly on fisheries, reflects a significant portion of the socioeconomic scenario that affects public support and compliance for conservation policies and initiatives in the TSPS,” Lim pointed out. She added, “In real terms, the plan intends to support the social and economic needs of the communities involved, improve TSPS’s marine biodiversity and also to provide economic opportunity.”
Posted on: Thu, 25 Jul 2013 09:38:34 +0000
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