Towns coastal resource management capacities enhanced
The Banate Bay Resource Management Council, Inc. (BBRMC), composed of the municipalities of Barotac Nuevo, Barotac Viejo, and Banate, are embarking into activities to enhance their capabilities in coastal resource management.
The initiatives are part of a three-year Capacity enhancement program with the assistance of Japan international Cooperation Agency (JICA), with IC NET experts.
A press release from the Iloilo Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) said that the BBRMC is now in the middle of the first phase of the undertaking, where the council is starting to work on issues and establish a sustainable utilization of the coastal resources.
PPDO Information Officer Jigger Labergue said the sessions include environmental surveys on oceanography, and for mangrove and sea grass, while BBRMC personnel conducted a coastal resource survey with the University of the Philippines in the Visayas, to determine the impact of economic activities on the available resources in the area.
Labergue said the first phase of the project will extend until August this year, after which the second phase will start with a trainers’ training and planning workshops, including project modeling, until December 2008.
The third phase will cover the revision of the master plan and the comprehensive coastal management plan, and formulation of strategies which will be implemented in January 2010.
Major strategies of the project will provide for efficient technical transfer of BBMRCI operations, including staff, utilization of existing projects and contacts and with strong consideration for the active participation of the residents.
Labergue said these actions are intended to sustain the gains and benefits of the council’s operations and from its stakeholders. (PIA 6/ESS).