Download PDF Copy - PEMSEA.org

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Total populationMang Jury and the rest ofthe fishing community wereencouraged to help maintain theMPA as members of Bantay Dagat(Sea Watch) 1 . A series of capacitybuildingactivities were conductedin the community to provide themembers with information on theenvironment and fishery laws, aswell as the values of and threatsto the marine coastal resources.For Mang Jury, the transition wasnot an easy decision. It took fouryears before he became convincedto join the Bantay Dagat. He thenrealized that even if he did not getpaid for the extra work he woulddevote to Bantay Dagat, he neededto protect the resources, not onlyfor his family’s benefit but for thebenefit of all fisher-families andtheir children’s children.Securing the futureMang Jury has been serving asa member of Bantay Dagat for10 years now. Again, he catchesabout 10 kg, sometimes 50 kg, of fish a day. These fishes arebigger and economically important, such as gulyasan (skipjack), tulingan (frigate tuna) and tambakol (yellow fin tuna),instead of tamban (Indian sardines), galunggong (roundscad), dilis (anchovies) and pusit (squid) that he caughtduring the time of blast and commercial fishing. The resultsof a five-month (December 2006 to April 2007) fish catchmonitoring program conducted by the World Wide Fund forNature (WWF) Coastal Resources and Fisheries ConservationProject supported Mang Jury’s observation. The studyrevealed that gulyasan registered the most frequentlycaught fish, totaling 22,265 kg in Tingloy and 2,776 kg inMabini (WWF-Philippines, 2007).Mang Jury proudly attested that there is no more blastPercent1009080706050403020100199519961997Poverty, malnutrition, education and population1998Poverty incidence19992000Elementary school participation rateTotal populationNumber of fishing families in Batangas 9,107 (2003) 15,935 (2007)Fisheries production 20,133 MT (2005) 26,257 MT (2007)From 1995 to 2007, the population of Batangas Province increased by almost 600,000 people.Despite this large increase, economic and social conditions in Batangas Province improved asevidenced by the decrease in poverty incidence, decrease in the proportion of undernourishedchildren below five years old, and higher elementary and secondary school participation rate(Provincial Government of Batangas, Philippines and PEMSEA, 2008).2001Year20022003fishing in Mabini, and any commercial fishers who dareenter the municipal waters are immediately apprehended.The local fishing communities in Mabini realize theresponsibility and implications of being stewards of the sea,and are quick to report and take action against violations.The once-degraded coral reefs have recovered. Thishas resulted in an additional source of income for thecommunity by boosting ecotourism in the area, particularlythrough dive sites. Local fishers earn extra incomeby ferrying divers to the coral reefs. As Bantay Dagatmembers, these fishers also police the actions of the divers,ensuring that they abide by the regulations established forsustainably managing the reefs, as well as pay dive fees,which are used to support the operations of Bantay Dagatand other environmental management programs of themunicipalities of Mabini and Tingloy.200420052006Malnutrition rate (children below 5 years old)Secondary school participation rate20072,500,0002,000,0001,500,0001,000,000500,0000Sightings of charismatic species like dolphins, manta rays,sea turtles and whale sharks have also increased in thewaters of Batangas. This indicates a better state of theirnatural habitat and less stress from illegal activities in thearea.200019942005Mang Jury said, “I will continue to fish the waters ofBatangas and would not mind being a fisher my entire life.As long as I remain industrious and continue to preservethe marine environment, my family will not go hungry. Thesea is the main source of our livelihood and sustains theeducation of my children.” Unable to go to school himself,he sees to it that the wealth of the sea continues to providefor the education of his two daughters, one a collegesophomore and the other a high school senior.1The Bantay Dagat is a civilian fisheries patrol force made up of volunteers who try to keep a 24-hour watch on municipal waters up to 15 km from the shore.2
SEMP and ICM Plans in Batangas ProvinceYear Description Coverage Status1996 SEMP(1996-2020)2004 ICM Plan(2004-2023)2005 SEMP(2005-2020)2006 Verde PassageManagementBatangas BayRegion (BBR)Balayan Bayand AdjacentBays Region(BABR)BatangasProvinceFrameworkPlan (SEMPis a majorcomponent)Mang Jury further noted, “But, no matter how much weprotect the resources of our community, these could nothave paid off if our neighbors would not protect theirresources as well. For as long as the different municipalitieshave the same principles and objectives, these conservationefforts will work.”A Tale of Two Bays: ParallelCoastal Management InitiativesConservation efforts in the Provinceof Batangas, particularly in BalayanBay, to address the declining fishresources and fast-degrading habitatsdate back in the late 1980s. SeveralNGOs (e.g., Haribon Foundation, Centerfor Empowerment and ResourceDevelopment) came to the aid ofMabini and Tingloy, lobbying for theestablishment of the first MPA inthe province in 1991. The NGOs alsostarted organizing different people’s orfishers’ organizations (e.g., SamahangPangkaunlaran ng San Teodoro, Inc.and Samahan ng Mangingisda para saKaunlarang Pangkapaligiran), as well asmobilization of the Bantay Dagat.At around the same time, in theadjacent Batangas Bay, integratedcoastal management (ICM) was beingintroduced (1994) as part of theGlobal Environment Facility/UnitedNations Development Programme/International Maritime Organization(GEF/UNDP/IMO) Regional ProgrammeAdopted by the 12municipalities and 2 citiesin the BBRAdopted by the 12municipalities in theBABR and by theProvincial DevelopmentCouncil (PDC) in 2005Adopted by the ProvincialLegislative Body in March2007Formulated and adoptedby the TWG (EO 578) in2006The following case study presents the evolution of theimplementation of integrated coastal management (ICM)in Batangas Province and how this holistic managementframework has put together the various efforts towardsconserving coastal resources and achieving sustainablelivelihood for Mang Jury and the fishing communities.14.314.214.11413.913.813.713.613.513.4CalataganMang Jury further noted, “But, no matterhow much we protect the resources of ourcommunity, these could not have paid off if ourneighbors would not protect their resources aswell. For as long as the different municipalitieshave the same principles and objectives, theseconservation efforts will work.”Nasugbufor the Prevention and Management of Marine Pollution inthe East Asian Seas (now the Partnerships in EnvironmentalManagement for the Seas of East Asia or PEMSEA). Thiseffort was focused on the development and demonstrationof ICM as a management framework for pollutionprevention and management of the Batangas Bay region.At that time, Batangas Bay was being developed as aninternational deepwater port and industrial area. Thefocus of the ICM project was to facilitate environmentalprotection and management of the bay area using ICM asa management process for strengthening interagency andmultisectoral coordination and cooperation in the planningand development of the Batangas Bay region.One of the major outputs of the Batangas Bay project wasthe Strategic Environmental Management Plan (SEMP 1996-2020), which served as the road map for the developmentof the bay without compromising the marine and coastalenvironment and natural resources. The SEMP provided theplatform by which the various sectors came together with acommon vision for the development of their coastal areas.Putting in place the legal and institutional mechanism fortranslating the SEMP into action was also one of the majorachievements of the project. The Batangas Bay RegionEnvironmental Protection Council (BBREPC) was establishedthrough Provincial Ordinance 001 (1996). The Councilserves as the governing and policymaking body for theimplementation of the SEMP. This multisectoral body alsoprovides the forum for coordination, conflict resolution,BalayanMabiniLemeryBauanTingloyMPAs of BatangasNew sites (8)Reestablished/expanded sites (11)For re-delineation (11)Managed by Batangas City (3)Verde IslandLoboSan Juan13.3120.4 120.5 120.6 120.7 120.8 120.9 121 121.1 121.2 121.3 121.4 121.5 121.63
Page 1: Case StudyVol. 1 No. 1 October 2009
Page 5 and 6: program to the other bays, thereby
Page 7 and 8: facilitate the deployment of police

Download PDF Copy - PEMSEA.org

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?