Environmental Governance Project extends support to Siquijor to ...

2EDITORIALDiversity of support and goodgovernance..........................2PROJECT NEWSEnvironmental Governanceextends support.................1MSN: A Social Networkaims to sustaining............3FPE elects CCEF asCommittee Member ........4IPOPCORM Ending .............4Batalang-Bato MarineSanctuary...........................4SPR Expedition inBohol.................................5Prism Update: BuildingResponsible Families......5FEATURESGreenfest sa Sugbo............6Conservation Int’l Project:Establishing Partnershipsfor Coral Reef...................6Siquijor Provincial BantayDagat................................7CCE Foundation hosts PEWresearch...........................7MPA Feature...........................8Rotary Club signs MOA withCCEF....................................8CCE FOUNDATIONTIDBITSStaff Profiles.........................8New Publications................8Wishlist.................................8Editors:Dr. Alan T. WhiteMrs. Evangeline WhiteAtty. Rose-Liza Eisma-OsorioLayout and Design:Mrs. Evangeline WhitePaula LozadaManaging Editor:Sheryll TeschDr. Alan T. WhiteEditorialDiversity of support and good governance are essential foreffective managementThis issue again highlights the diversity of activitiesneeded to support sustainable coastal managementprograms in the Philippines, or anywhere. Articles rangefrom environmental governance and reproductive healthto progress in marine protected areas and building nationalnetworks of MPA practitioners. All these activities areessential to build long lasting and effective coastalmanagement.Nevertheless, although we are doing the right things, allis not well in some areas of our practice that offer poignantlessons. To draw from the report of the recent “SavingPhilippine Reefs” expedition to the Bohol Marine Triangle(BMT) area, we saw progress but also some distressingissues in this area where much attention has been focusedin recent years. To quote from the soon to be releasedreport:The results of our interviews with fishers, resortoperators, people’s organization members, and barangayofficials regarding their perceptions documentmanagement and enforcement problems. Poachingallegedly occurs in most of the sanctuaries. In most MPAs,the lack of enforcement is perceived as a consequence ofpoor institutional support in providing honoraria tosanctuary wardens. The encroachment of commercialfishers in municipal waters continues to be a threat inBohol among others. Another important issue is the sizeand boundaries of the sanctuaries or core zones.Although all of the sanctuaries surveyed have boundariesthat totally enclose the reef to some distance offshore, theactual boundary enforcement has wavered so that someboundaries only enclose the reef flat and not the entirereef crest and drop off where most reef fish reside. Ineffect, fishing is occurring within the intended core zonebecause of the poor placement of boundary markers.This recent development reflects a lack of strict adherenceto the original municipal ordinances resulting in a wronginterpretation by the locals and tourists. As example, thesnorkeling line at the Balicasag MPA along the reef crestmay be confused by fishers as the MPA boundary andjustify their fishing on the reef slope.Data collected during the 2007 expedition compared withprevious surveys in 2003, 1997, 1995 and earlier forseveral sites showed declining trends in fish densitiesand biomass in most sites. This indicates a need toimprove enforcement with stronger support from thelocal governments (LGs). To further draw from the BMT,it is recommended that:• MPA management conflicts are resolved amongmanagement groups and between stakeholdersso that MPA management groups areempowered.• Partnerships between LGs and communitygroups are strengthened and that LGs adoptthe MPA management plans developed withcommunity input.• Networking is initiated among MPAs withinthe BMT for management groups.• Simple and practical user-fee systems areimplemented with strong institutionalsupport.• MPA boundaries are assessed and fixed toMunicipal ordinance decisions.• Minimum size for all no-take sanctuaries inthe BMT is set at 10 hectares.• Education and awareness campaigns for thesanctuaries are continued.The observation that the offshore MPA boundariesenclose mostly the reef flat or crest and not the slope isworrisome because the primary benefits of the no-takesanctuary will be lost if this is the case. This isdetrimental to the fish stocks inside the MPA since manyof the larger sizes of fish reside along the crest to slope.If the larger sizes are depleted, this will lead to a nonfunctionalMPA.Thus, we must always return to the basics of ourknowledge and experience to ensure that the quality ofour work on MPAs and other coastal management toolsis not eroded. For BMT, all is certainly not lost sinceseveral of the MPAs, namely Tawala and Balicasag, aredoing well, and the overall coral cover in most of thesanctuaries is stable or improved. Nevertheless, wecannot escape from the need for “diversity of supportand good governance” to make our coastal managementsystems effective!Join or volunteer with CCE Foundation now if you wantto contribute to this ongoing work on Philippine coasts!Board Members and AffiliationsPresidentDr. Alan T. White(Senior Scientist, Global Marine Initiative,The Nature Conservancy)Vice-President/TreasurerMr. William Jatulan(Deputy Chief-of-Party, Fisheries Improved for SustainableHarvest (FISH) Project)SecretaryMrs. Evangeline White(Finance Consultant, Community Conservation Network)CRM AdvisorDr. Patrick Christie(School of Marine Affairs, U. of Washington)Visayas AdvisorMrs. Rebecca Pestano-Smith(IEC Coordinator, FISH Project)Community Work AdvisorMrs. Evelyn Deguit(Training Coordinator, FISH Project)Institutional Development AdvisorDr. Thomas J. Mueller(Independant Educational Consultant)