Related News
The present conditions of the marine resources in the Philippines indicate high degree of degradation due to natural phenomenon and different human-induced activities which leads to overexploitation of natural resources, habitat destruction, and marine pollution. The decline of the country’s marine resources were attributed to the lack of integrated framework for coastal resource protection at the local and national level, low level of public awareness, and the socio-economic situation in the coastal communities. To prevent further deterioration of the country’s marine resources, Integrated Coastal Resource Management (ICRM): Ridge to Reef is one of the management strategies adopted in the Philippines to sustain the productivity of the country’s resources. ICRM, defined as the process of planning, implementing, and monitoring coastal resources through collective action and sound-decision making to ensure the sustainable use of marine resources of the Philippines.
However, unlike the upland and terrestrial resources, the regulation for the use of the coastal resources were proven to be insanely difficult as these resources are considered as a common property available to all. Which is why the ICRM emphasizes the importance of community involvement and support as the coastal communities rely on the bounties provided by the marine ecosystem thus, making the coastal communities the de facto managers of coastal resources.
As the passing of Local Government Code in 1991, the authority over the marine resources became decentralized and gave the Local Government Units (LGUs) more authority for the management of the coastal resources within their jurisdiction. The transfer of authority poses several challenges and can be best met by a concerted effort that involves the coastal communities in resource management and forming effective partnerships between concerned government units, non-government organizations (NGOs), and the academe.
With the proclamation of Tañon Strait as a protected seascape in 1998, the LGUs within the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape gained an ally for the efficient and effective coastal management and protection. Although the LGUs retains most of the authority in managing the marine resources, the TSPS can still assist the LGUs by providing necessary data and relevant information to its stakeholders.
The Coastal Management Zoning Workshop and Integrated Coastal Management are among the supports to the LGUs along the coastal areas of TSPS. During the Coastal Management Zoning Workshops. Coastal communities designate which portions of their coastal area will be strict protection zones and which are multiple use zones. The involvement of the community is very crucial for this workshop as they are the conscientious trustees of the coastal resources. Integrated Coastal Management on the other hand aims to achieve sustainable use and management of the resources in the coastal areas by making the necessary data available to the community which will then be used by the community to evaluate the success of the CRM plan.
The Integrated Coastal Management and Coastal Management Zoning of TSPS are still on-going activities and must be sustained until the remaining LGUs have completed and integrated in their Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Among the 42 cities and municipalities surrounding the TSPS, 27 cities and municipalities had already been assisted for their coastal management zoning and 5 municipalities have been assisted for the integration of coastal management to the LGUs Comprehensive Land Use Plan.
