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Executive Summary
The State of the Coasts of Batangas Province was
developed to assess the progress and impacts of ICM
implementation in the Province. This report was prepared
through the concerted efforts of stakeholders, namely:
national, provincial and municipal government agencies;
nongovernment entities; the private sector; universities;
and community groups. The contents of this report were
validated through site visits to 10 coastal municipalities for
field verification of information, and through interviews with
government and nongovernment stakeholders throughout
the Province. The results were reviewed and concurred by
stakeholders during the final SOC workshop, which was
conducted on 24 June 2008 in Batangas City, Philippines
(Annex 1). The major findings and recommendations
of the stakeholders in the Province of Batangas are
summarized below.
Governance of Marine and Coastal
Resources in Batangas
Policies, Strategies and Plans
The Province has shown significant progress in expanding
its management strategies for sustainable development
of the coastal and marine areas over the past 14 years.
Starting in Batangas Bay in 1994, ICM programs now
cover the entire coastline of the Province. It is emphasized,
however, that in order to fully achieve the overall goals
and objectives of the Provincial Strategic Environmental
Management Plan (SEMP), municipal governments should
be encouraged to integrate the action programs identified
in the SEMP into their municipal development plans. At
present only one municipality has taken this important step.
Institutional Arrangements
The Batangas Bay Region Environmental Protection
Council (BBREPC) serves as the only forum in the Province
to harmonize the overlapping responsibilities of provincial
agencies, as well as the three levels of government (i.e.,
national; provincial; and local) regarding coastal and marine
resource management and to incorporate the interests of
stakeholders in policy and decision-making.
The establishment of the Provincial Government-
Environment and Natural Resources Office (PG-ENRO)
has provided the Province with a lead agency with the
mandate and capacity for coordination of action programs
and initiatives among different sectors, national and
local government agencies and other stakeholders for
the management of the marine and coastal resources of
Batangas.
To this end, it is important that PG-ENRO, the Secretariat
for the BBREPC, maintain a regular meeting schedule of
the Council (e.g., annually or bi-annually). Furthermore,
considering the geographic expansion of the ICM
program to the entire coastline of the Province, the
previously submitted proposal for a three-tiered Batangas
Environmental Protection Council (BEPC) needs to be
raised as a priority consideration of the Sangguniang
Panlalawigan (Provincial Legislative Board) in the interest of
sustainable development in the Province.
Legislation and Enforcement of Laws
There are sufficient legal instruments in the Province
to fully enable the implementation of ICM, and to guard
against unsustainable use of marine and coastal resources.
But, there is a need for strengthening the enforcement of
State of the Coasts of Batangas Province
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