Philippine Daily Inquirer
By TJ Burgonio
TF! Editorial Comment: In what is hopefully a replicable example of community-based conservation efforts, a locality in Bohol has administered a marine protected area that has yielded benefits for the past 10 years. As discussed in the article below, the initiative was recently recognized as the most outstanding marine protected area in the country.
MANILA, Philippines--After sundown, tourists would travel by boat to Jandayan Island off Bohol and go diving to look at the luminous seahorses swimming among corals in the dark waters.
For over 10 years, the seahorses have thrived in the waters off Getafe town in Jandayan, along with fish, corals and other marine life.
The fisherfolk and officials of Barangay Handumon helped make this possible. They banded together to put up, manage and protect a marine sanctuary out in the sea since 1995 despite meager resources and little support from the national government.
The sanctuary has been adjudged the most outstanding marine protected area (MPA) in the country by the MPA Support Network (MSN), a multisectoral alliance of organizations seeking to protect the marine environment.
"To a large extent, they have shown that they were consistently managing their areas," University of the Philippines' Marine Science Institute Prof. Porfirio Aliño, MSN coordinator, said after the awards held at the Celebrity Sports Plaza in Quezon City recently.
He added: "You need to show that it has been sustained for a long time. It's quite a challenge if you think that it has been sustained for 20 years."
According to Environment Secretary Lito Atienza, the establishment of the MPAs has not been a priority because these are seen as constraints on the fisherfolk's goal of maximizing fish yields.
"The finalists were able to shift this negative perception through practical and appropriate strategies," he said in a speech read on his behalf by Dr. Mundita Lim, director of the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau.
The MSN sees the MPAs, like the Handumon marine sanctuary, as crucial to protecting the country's dwindling marine resources.
After decades of illegal fishing, only five percent of the country's coral reefs are in excellent condition. On the other hand, only 30 percent of the original 450,000-hectare mangrove forests remain due to logging.
For the past 30 years, over 500 MPAs have been established in the country's municipal waters, but success in managing them have been "uneven," according to the network.
Most MPAs have been hobbled by weak governance, weak law enforcement and prosecution systems, lack of funds, insufficient logistical support, conflicting interests and lack of coordination.
But still, there are some that stand out for their sustainability and good practices.
The 50-hectare Handumon marine sanctuary is part of a large barrier reef in the waters of Bohol, teeming with fish, seashells and thick mangroves, according to the MSN.
It was delineated and established in 1995, an act made official by a municipal ordinance passed three years later.
Its establishment came naturally for mostly seaweed farmers and fishers who, years earlier, set up their Kapunungan sa Nagkahiusang Mananagat ug Lumulupyo sa Handumon (Kanagmaluhan) to protect the area from poachers and illegal fishers and reverse the dwindling trend in the fish population.
The Haribon Foundation also set up a Project Seahorse Foundation in Handumon to protect its population of seahorses.
"At first, there was resistance," said Elvira Buhol, president of Kanagmaluhan and village secretary of Handumon, who traveled by ship and plane from Bohol to receive the trophy and the P100,000 cash prize.
"Little by little, we managed to convince them by telling them that eventually fish will come back, and we wouldn't need to fish in the neighboring town's waters."
Posters on sanctuary rules were produced and fish wardens were trained on environmental protection.
Haribon trained the staff to make handicraft and eventually organize seahorse watching tours for locals and foreigners to finance the management of the marine sanctuary.
At least 2 percent of the earnings from Kanagmaluhan's handicraft industry, supplemented by barangay (village) and municipal funds, went to the maintenance of the sanctuary, according to the MSN.
Over the years, the fisherfolk and the village officials strongly enforced fishery laws and regularly undertook mangrove planting and coastal cleanups. They eventually turned the sanctuary into a marine research station.
The result: Increased fish catch.
"After five years, the fish started coming back and there was no need to fish in other fishing grounds," Buhol said.
The Sagay marine reserve in Sagay City, Negros Oriental, home to 60 genera of hard and soft corals, 107 fish species and giant clams, placed second.
The Twin Rocks fish sanctuary in Mabini, Batangas, which teems with a variety of reef fish and shellfish, placed third.
The MSN is composed of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, PAWB, Bureau of Local Governance Development, and the Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Resources and Development.
Other members include Conservation International, UP-MSI, Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation, WWF, Haribon, Pamana Ka Sa Pilipinas, Silliman University's Angelo King Center for Research and Environmental Management, Community-based Coastal Resource Management-Resource Center, Mindanao State University, Xavier University, Tanggol Kalikasan, Resources Environment and Economics Center for Studies Inc.
"All these show that if people are united and have a common vision and they see themselves as stewards of the areas, they can sustain these sanctuaries," Aliño said.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Nature girl is Mother Earth’s lawyer
By Tina Santos
Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines—Maria Paz “Ipat” Luna’s 5-year-old son, Alon, screams, “Secondhand smoking kills!” whenever he comes across a person puffing on a cigarette.
He also gets to eat in a fast food restaurant only when he is invited to a friend’s birthday party.
Alon’s habits reflect the kind of lifestyle his mother, an environmental lawyer working for Tanggol Kalikasan (Environment Defense) and the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (E-LAW), wants her family to lead.
Luna strongly believes that people should do something for the environment, whichever way they can.
That’s why apart from defending the environment in a court of law, she also practices what she preaches in her own household.
“The first lesson I try to impose on my son and I think he’s learning, is no wastage,” said the proud mom.
Luna added: “I told him that once he starts playing around with the shampoo, the soap and the water, he’s being wasteful. Those are very valuable resources and it’s hard to return them to the state where they may be useful again.”
The lawyer was forced to enroll Alon in a home school program for environmental reasons, too.
“Every time there was a party in his preschool, I found myself segregating all the trash that his classmates would leave behind. I thought he was learning things which I don’t allow at home,” she explained.
Luna however, admitted, that “after about 20 years of pushing myself how to live in an environmentally friendly way, it’s becoming harder and harder because each and every single decision has an impact on the environment now.”
“I try to make very careful purchases. Shopping for food takes hours because you have to keep considering whether or not what you’re buying is healthy and environment-friendly,” she said.
Thankfully, leading a pro-Mother Earth lifestyle is easier because of her husband, broadcast journalist Howie Severino, to whom she has been married for 13 years.
“I am glad I found a soul mate who is just as concerned about the environment and who doesn’t complain when I insist on using biodegradable soap, no pesticides or toxic chemicals in the house or a slow food diet. In fact, a good deal of the decisions I make about stepping lightly on the earth are arrived at together with him,” she told the Inquirer.
There are only two things Luna said she feels strongly about
—smoking and breast-feeding.
But unlike her son, she doesn’t scream about the harmful effects of smoking whenever somebody in her vicinity lights a cigarette.
“I say it nicely, like ‘I have asthma, can you please do it outside?’ But my son, he really screams. Though it’s true, smoking really kills. Every pack of cigarette is shortened life, probably a drain in the entire health care system which has also an environmental impact like breast-feeding,” Luna explained. “A person who was not breast-fed as a baby is prone to catching diseases,” she said, adding that she breast-fed her son until he was 4.
A volunteer counsel for breast-feeding organizations Children for Breastfeeding and Arugaan, Luna said her family has been boycotting a popular multinational food company because of its record in marketing a breast milk substitute.
These days, Luna, who is also an advocate of the Wildbird Club of the Philippines, spends most of her free time bird watching at the American Cemetery, enjoying the sunset or watching dragon boat racers in Baywalk or just biking around the CCP Complex.
Growing up in Lipa, Batangas, her parents’ hometown, Luna said her strong passion for the environment stemmed from her happy experiences during her younger days.
Little nature girl Ipat on the shores of Taal Lake with her kuya Benjie, now a cardiologist and dive doctor.
“I remember swimming at Taal Lake a lot. We spent many evenings near the lake enjoying the sight of fireflies gathered around the balete tree or walking in the lanzones orchard with my family,” she said.
Now she and Alon have been spending quality time on the same shores.
Ipat initially considered taking up medicine but eventually changed her mind and decided to pursue law after she won in a debate contest when she was a college sophomore.
“I shifted from BS to AB Psychology, then I went to law school at the University of the Philippines,” she said. “But I would still be an advocate of the environment or social justice had I gone into a different profession.”
Luna has worked on a wide range of environmental issues, including law enforcement, protected area management, environmental impact assessment and equitable access to resources.
Among the organizations she has been affiliated with are the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center, the Haribon Foundation for the Conservation of Natural Resources and a consortium called “NGOs for Integrated Protected Areas.”
Among the more well-known cases she has been involved in was the one involving the Arroceros Forest Park, a 2.2-hectare property described as Manila’s last lung.
In 2005, environmental group Winner Foundation sued then Manila Mayor Lito Atienza and the city government for constructing a teacher’s building inside the forest park.
“I handled the environmental administrative aspect, specifically concerning the trees that were removed in the area to give way to the building’s construction,” Luna said.
Winner withdrew in August the civil case against Atienza after his successor, Mayor Alfredo Lim, reopened the park to the public.
More recently, she found herself handling another case, this time concerning the 175-hectare bird sanctuary and eco-tourism area in the cities of Las Piñas and Parañaque.
Luna, whose cases are mostly pro bono, will receive at the end of the month an award for a paper she wrote about her group’s conservation efforts in Taal Lake.
The paper will be awarded the Kasimagaura Prize, a recognition given every two years by the Ibaraki Prefecture of Japan simultaneously with the holding of the World Lakes Conferences.
“The paper details our work in Taal Lake and the framework we are using to gather the stakeholders toward a workable management plan,” she said.
Luna happily noted that the public’s mindset about the environment has changed through the years.
“We can probably attribute the increasing interest because of recent disasters and the realization that climate change is upon us,” she stressed. “Definitely, a lot of people now want to do something good for the environment.”
Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines—Maria Paz “Ipat” Luna’s 5-year-old son, Alon, screams, “Secondhand smoking kills!” whenever he comes across a person puffing on a cigarette.He also gets to eat in a fast food restaurant only when he is invited to a friend’s birthday party.
Alon’s habits reflect the kind of lifestyle his mother, an environmental lawyer working for Tanggol Kalikasan (Environment Defense) and the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (E-LAW), wants her family to lead.
Luna strongly believes that people should do something for the environment, whichever way they can.
That’s why apart from defending the environment in a court of law, she also practices what she preaches in her own household.
“The first lesson I try to impose on my son and I think he’s learning, is no wastage,” said the proud mom.
Luna added: “I told him that once he starts playing around with the shampoo, the soap and the water, he’s being wasteful. Those are very valuable resources and it’s hard to return them to the state where they may be useful again.”
The lawyer was forced to enroll Alon in a home school program for environmental reasons, too.
“Every time there was a party in his preschool, I found myself segregating all the trash that his classmates would leave behind. I thought he was learning things which I don’t allow at home,” she explained.
Luna however, admitted, that “after about 20 years of pushing myself how to live in an environmentally friendly way, it’s becoming harder and harder because each and every single decision has an impact on the environment now.”
“I try to make very careful purchases. Shopping for food takes hours because you have to keep considering whether or not what you’re buying is healthy and environment-friendly,” she said.
Thankfully, leading a pro-Mother Earth lifestyle is easier because of her husband, broadcast journalist Howie Severino, to whom she has been married for 13 years.
“I am glad I found a soul mate who is just as concerned about the environment and who doesn’t complain when I insist on using biodegradable soap, no pesticides or toxic chemicals in the house or a slow food diet. In fact, a good deal of the decisions I make about stepping lightly on the earth are arrived at together with him,” she told the Inquirer.
There are only two things Luna said she feels strongly about
—smoking and breast-feeding.
But unlike her son, she doesn’t scream about the harmful effects of smoking whenever somebody in her vicinity lights a cigarette.
“I say it nicely, like ‘I have asthma, can you please do it outside?’ But my son, he really screams. Though it’s true, smoking really kills. Every pack of cigarette is shortened life, probably a drain in the entire health care system which has also an environmental impact like breast-feeding,” Luna explained. “A person who was not breast-fed as a baby is prone to catching diseases,” she said, adding that she breast-fed her son until he was 4.
A volunteer counsel for breast-feeding organizations Children for Breastfeeding and Arugaan, Luna said her family has been boycotting a popular multinational food company because of its record in marketing a breast milk substitute.
These days, Luna, who is also an advocate of the Wildbird Club of the Philippines, spends most of her free time bird watching at the American Cemetery, enjoying the sunset or watching dragon boat racers in Baywalk or just biking around the CCP Complex.
Growing up in Lipa, Batangas, her parents’ hometown, Luna said her strong passion for the environment stemmed from her happy experiences during her younger days.
Little nature girl Ipat on the shores of Taal Lake with her kuya Benjie, now a cardiologist and dive doctor.
“I remember swimming at Taal Lake a lot. We spent many evenings near the lake enjoying the sight of fireflies gathered around the balete tree or walking in the lanzones orchard with my family,” she said.
Now she and Alon have been spending quality time on the same shores.
Ipat initially considered taking up medicine but eventually changed her mind and decided to pursue law after she won in a debate contest when she was a college sophomore.
“I shifted from BS to AB Psychology, then I went to law school at the University of the Philippines,” she said. “But I would still be an advocate of the environment or social justice had I gone into a different profession.”
Luna has worked on a wide range of environmental issues, including law enforcement, protected area management, environmental impact assessment and equitable access to resources.
Among the organizations she has been affiliated with are the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center, the Haribon Foundation for the Conservation of Natural Resources and a consortium called “NGOs for Integrated Protected Areas.”
Among the more well-known cases she has been involved in was the one involving the Arroceros Forest Park, a 2.2-hectare property described as Manila’s last lung.
In 2005, environmental group Winner Foundation sued then Manila Mayor Lito Atienza and the city government for constructing a teacher’s building inside the forest park.
“I handled the environmental administrative aspect, specifically concerning the trees that were removed in the area to give way to the building’s construction,” Luna said.
Winner withdrew in August the civil case against Atienza after his successor, Mayor Alfredo Lim, reopened the park to the public.
More recently, she found herself handling another case, this time concerning the 175-hectare bird sanctuary and eco-tourism area in the cities of Las Piñas and Parañaque.
Luna, whose cases are mostly pro bono, will receive at the end of the month an award for a paper she wrote about her group’s conservation efforts in Taal Lake.
The paper will be awarded the Kasimagaura Prize, a recognition given every two years by the Ibaraki Prefecture of Japan simultaneously with the holding of the World Lakes Conferences.
“The paper details our work in Taal Lake and the framework we are using to gather the stakeholders toward a workable management plan,” she said.
Luna happily noted that the public’s mindset about the environment has changed through the years.
“We can probably attribute the increasing interest because of recent disasters and the realization that climate change is upon us,” she stressed. “Definitely, a lot of people now want to do something good for the environment.”
Monday, September 24, 2007
Young spinner dolphin finds its way to Quezon province
By Belly M. Otordoz, Correspondent
LUCENA CITY: A long snouted spinner dolphin (stenella longirostris) was caught in Purok San Roque, Barangay Talao-Talao on Friday.
The dolphin was seen swimming near the shoreline about 11 a.m. by Tonyfer Kabilaw, 19 years old, and his father Romeo Kabilaw, 47 years old, both fishermen of said barangay. They caught the dolphin and tied it to a small boat. Angelo Bandillo, a member of Kabalikat Civicom-Auxilliary; also a resident of said area asked for the assistance of Tanggol Kalikasan for fear that the dolphin might be in danger because of the presence of some scars in the dorsal portion.
Atty. Sheila de Leon, area director of Tanggol Kalikasan, together with two colleagues immediately went to the area to document the incident and reported to PAWB-Quezon, BFAR-Quezon and the Office of the Provincial Veterinarian.
De Leon said that catching, selling, purchasing and possessing, transporting and exporting of dolphins is prohibited under Wildlife Act No. 9147 and Fisheries Administrative Order 185. As an endangered species, this long-snouted dolphin is also included in the Cites List.
SPO1 Jover Martinez and another officer, both from the Sub Office of 404-D MPP (PAC) inside PPA Commercial Port of Lucena City inspected the dolphin and said it was 5 feet in length and is more or less 20 kilos in weight.
According to Dr. Elma Ladiana from the Office of the Provincial Veterinarian, this dolphin is still juvenile and the scars in the dorsal portion are mild and superficial. She suggested that the dolphin be released immediately to avoid additional stress from human contact. She also said that maybe the dolphin was separated from its family while migrating to another habitat.
After three attempts to guide the dolphin off shore, Diosdado Dico, fisherman and also a resident of said barangay, finally succeeded in releasing the dolphin at 3 p.m. He said he just repeatedly massaged the belly of the dolphin and after that it went off shore.
Spinner dolphins are found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, where they are restricted to tropical or subtropical regions.
LUCENA CITY: A long snouted spinner dolphin (stenella longirostris) was caught in Purok San Roque, Barangay Talao-Talao on Friday.
The dolphin was seen swimming near the shoreline about 11 a.m. by Tonyfer Kabilaw, 19 years old, and his father Romeo Kabilaw, 47 years old, both fishermen of said barangay. They caught the dolphin and tied it to a small boat. Angelo Bandillo, a member of Kabalikat Civicom-Auxilliary; also a resident of said area asked for the assistance of Tanggol Kalikasan for fear that the dolphin might be in danger because of the presence of some scars in the dorsal portion.
Atty. Sheila de Leon, area director of Tanggol Kalikasan, together with two colleagues immediately went to the area to document the incident and reported to PAWB-Quezon, BFAR-Quezon and the Office of the Provincial Veterinarian.
De Leon said that catching, selling, purchasing and possessing, transporting and exporting of dolphins is prohibited under Wildlife Act No. 9147 and Fisheries Administrative Order 185. As an endangered species, this long-snouted dolphin is also included in the Cites List.
SPO1 Jover Martinez and another officer, both from the Sub Office of 404-D MPP (PAC) inside PPA Commercial Port of Lucena City inspected the dolphin and said it was 5 feet in length and is more or less 20 kilos in weight.
According to Dr. Elma Ladiana from the Office of the Provincial Veterinarian, this dolphin is still juvenile and the scars in the dorsal portion are mild and superficial. She suggested that the dolphin be released immediately to avoid additional stress from human contact. She also said that maybe the dolphin was separated from its family while migrating to another habitat.
After three attempts to guide the dolphin off shore, Diosdado Dico, fisherman and also a resident of said barangay, finally succeeded in releasing the dolphin at 3 p.m. He said he just repeatedly massaged the belly of the dolphin and after that it went off shore.
Spinner dolphins are found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, where they are restricted to tropical or subtropical regions.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Police seize illegal timber aboard fish truck
By Delfin Mallari Jr.
Southern Luzon Bureau
LUCENA CITY, Philippines -- A delivery truck carrying illegal logs in a town in Quezon province was seized by authorities, police has said.
Police said the truck, which had “Fish Dealer” printed on both sides of the vehicle, instead contained an estimated 7.08 cubic meters (3,000 board feet) of undocumented narra flitches hidden under stacks of empty styropore boxes.
These were seized by combined elements of police forces and environmental group around 1:00 a.m. Thursday along the Maharlika Highway diversion road in the nearby town of Pagbilao.
The police and volunteer fish examiner group Tagasuri ng Isda sa Quezon (TNIQUE), were conducting regular checkpoints against traders of illegally caught fish when they intercepted the Izusu Forward truck (plate no. UAL 672).
The police ordered the truck driver, Blandino Estrobillo, resident of Gubat, Sorsogon, to open the back of the vehicle for inspection but he refused and insisted that there was nothing illegal in his cargo.
Zenaida Bernal, coastal and marine program officer of Tanggol Kalikasan-Southern Luzon, said the driver and his three truck helpers kept on insisting that they were only carrying several boxes of “tamban” to be delivered to a smoked-fish factory in Manila.
“But we sensed something fishy [with the cargo] because if it’s really fish, there ought to be water dripping from the vehicle, but there was none,” Bernal said.
When the driver finally agreed to open his truck, piles of narra timber covered by canvass were found concealed behind a single layer of styropore boxes. Rows of boxes atop the vehicle also covered the illegal pile.
The suspects failed to present transport documents for the cargo which prompted the checkpoint personnel to confiscate the delivery truck and the lumber.
The suspects, now detained at the Pagbilao town jail, disclosed that the cargo originated from Bulan, Sorsogon and was to be delivered to still undisclosed furniture shops.
Senior Superintendent Hernando Zafra, Quezon police chief, said he ordered Quezon police investigation and intelligence operatives to conduct regular checkpoints along the Maharlika Highway to stop the illicit activities of traders.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has yet to document the total volume of the timber seized.
Quoting the initial assessment from the DENR staff, environmentalist lawyer Sheila de Leon from Tanggol Kalikasan, said the amount of confiscated timber could reached up to P1 million, including forest charges.
The issuance of special permits for the cutting and transporting of narra has been suspended by the DENR.
Narra is used for high-class furniture and cabinets, decorative veneer, interior wall paneling, feature flooring, among others.
Last month, the combined police operatives and Tanggol Kalikasan volunteers also confiscated a total of 11.4 cubic meters (4,831 board feet) of illegally-cut lauan wood, said to have come from Camarines Sur, on board a t10-wheeler truck in Atimonan town.
Originally posted at 11:59am
Southern Luzon Bureau
LUCENA CITY, Philippines -- A delivery truck carrying illegal logs in a town in Quezon province was seized by authorities, police has said.
Police said the truck, which had “Fish Dealer” printed on both sides of the vehicle, instead contained an estimated 7.08 cubic meters (3,000 board feet) of undocumented narra flitches hidden under stacks of empty styropore boxes.
These were seized by combined elements of police forces and environmental group around 1:00 a.m. Thursday along the Maharlika Highway diversion road in the nearby town of Pagbilao.
The police and volunteer fish examiner group Tagasuri ng Isda sa Quezon (TNIQUE), were conducting regular checkpoints against traders of illegally caught fish when they intercepted the Izusu Forward truck (plate no. UAL 672).
The police ordered the truck driver, Blandino Estrobillo, resident of Gubat, Sorsogon, to open the back of the vehicle for inspection but he refused and insisted that there was nothing illegal in his cargo.
Zenaida Bernal, coastal and marine program officer of Tanggol Kalikasan-Southern Luzon, said the driver and his three truck helpers kept on insisting that they were only carrying several boxes of “tamban” to be delivered to a smoked-fish factory in Manila.
“But we sensed something fishy [with the cargo] because if it’s really fish, there ought to be water dripping from the vehicle, but there was none,” Bernal said.
When the driver finally agreed to open his truck, piles of narra timber covered by canvass were found concealed behind a single layer of styropore boxes. Rows of boxes atop the vehicle also covered the illegal pile.
The suspects failed to present transport documents for the cargo which prompted the checkpoint personnel to confiscate the delivery truck and the lumber.
The suspects, now detained at the Pagbilao town jail, disclosed that the cargo originated from Bulan, Sorsogon and was to be delivered to still undisclosed furniture shops.
Senior Superintendent Hernando Zafra, Quezon police chief, said he ordered Quezon police investigation and intelligence operatives to conduct regular checkpoints along the Maharlika Highway to stop the illicit activities of traders.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has yet to document the total volume of the timber seized.
Quoting the initial assessment from the DENR staff, environmentalist lawyer Sheila de Leon from Tanggol Kalikasan, said the amount of confiscated timber could reached up to P1 million, including forest charges.
The issuance of special permits for the cutting and transporting of narra has been suspended by the DENR.
Narra is used for high-class furniture and cabinets, decorative veneer, interior wall paneling, feature flooring, among others.
Last month, the combined police operatives and Tanggol Kalikasan volunteers also confiscated a total of 11.4 cubic meters (4,831 board feet) of illegally-cut lauan wood, said to have come from Camarines Sur, on board a t10-wheeler truck in Atimonan town.
Originally posted at 11:59am
Saturday, January 6, 2007
Farmers turn to fishing in wake of farms’ destruction
By Delfin Mallari Jr.
Inquirer
LUCENA CITY—With their farms devastated by successive typhoons, displaced farmers are now turning to the sea for livelihood.
Glenn Forbes, coastal and marine program officer of environmentalist group Tanggol Kalikasan, said the trend among farmers in the coastal towns of Quezon and Marinduque provinces is to once more paddle their way back to Tayabas Bay.
“Most of the farmers in the coastal towns of Bondoc Peninsula in Quezon province and Marinduque are also fishermen. Temporarily shifting back to full-time fishing to earn a living would not be difficult for them. They still remember the basics (of fishing),” Forbes told the Inquirer.
He urged the government to extend support to the displaced farmers-turned-fishermen by providing them with basic fishing equipment.
“The concerned government agencies can form a cooperative and provide it with fishing boats and fishing paraphernalia for the use of the typhoon victims,” Forbes said.
Typhoon “Reming” has battered the island province of Marinduque with more than 40,000 families displaced while widespread crop destruction and damage to fishing boats has disrupted the livelihood of most islanders.
Dependence
The coastal towns of Mulanay, San Narciso, San Andres and San Francisco took the brunt of three successive typhoons that destroyed most farms in the area.
“But with the help of concerned government agencies and private sector, the typhoon victims are now slowly recovering from the tragedy. Most of them only need basic fishing equipment to survive. They can’t forever depend on others,” Forbes said.
The environmentalist group asked government authorities to conduct sustained anti-illegal fishing operations in Tayabas Bay, particularly against big-time commercial fishing vessels.
He said despite the efforts of volunteer fish wardens, environmentalist groups, policemen and local government officials to stop illegal commercial fishing in Tayabas Bay, the multi-sectoral groups could not catch up with the fast and modern fishing vessels.
Ignored law
“Our motorized outrigger boat is no match (against the) commercial fishing vessels,” Forbes said.
Republic Act No. 8550, or the Fisheries Code of 1998, prohibits commercial fishing vessels from operating within 15 kilometers of municipal waters.
But this has been often ignored by commercial fishers who continue to operate with impunity in prohibited fishing areas to the disadvantage of fishermen.
Janet Geneblazo, Tanggol Kalikasan information officer, said despite their sustained anti-illegal fishing operations in Tayabas Bay and along the highway route being used by traders of illegally caught fish, the unlawful operation continues unabated.
Inquirer
LUCENA CITY—With their farms devastated by successive typhoons, displaced farmers are now turning to the sea for livelihood.
Glenn Forbes, coastal and marine program officer of environmentalist group Tanggol Kalikasan, said the trend among farmers in the coastal towns of Quezon and Marinduque provinces is to once more paddle their way back to Tayabas Bay.
“Most of the farmers in the coastal towns of Bondoc Peninsula in Quezon province and Marinduque are also fishermen. Temporarily shifting back to full-time fishing to earn a living would not be difficult for them. They still remember the basics (of fishing),” Forbes told the Inquirer.
He urged the government to extend support to the displaced farmers-turned-fishermen by providing them with basic fishing equipment.
“The concerned government agencies can form a cooperative and provide it with fishing boats and fishing paraphernalia for the use of the typhoon victims,” Forbes said.
Typhoon “Reming” has battered the island province of Marinduque with more than 40,000 families displaced while widespread crop destruction and damage to fishing boats has disrupted the livelihood of most islanders.
Dependence
The coastal towns of Mulanay, San Narciso, San Andres and San Francisco took the brunt of three successive typhoons that destroyed most farms in the area.
“But with the help of concerned government agencies and private sector, the typhoon victims are now slowly recovering from the tragedy. Most of them only need basic fishing equipment to survive. They can’t forever depend on others,” Forbes said.
The environmentalist group asked government authorities to conduct sustained anti-illegal fishing operations in Tayabas Bay, particularly against big-time commercial fishing vessels.
He said despite the efforts of volunteer fish wardens, environmentalist groups, policemen and local government officials to stop illegal commercial fishing in Tayabas Bay, the multi-sectoral groups could not catch up with the fast and modern fishing vessels.
Ignored law
“Our motorized outrigger boat is no match (against the) commercial fishing vessels,” Forbes said.
Republic Act No. 8550, or the Fisheries Code of 1998, prohibits commercial fishing vessels from operating within 15 kilometers of municipal waters.
But this has been often ignored by commercial fishers who continue to operate with impunity in prohibited fishing areas to the disadvantage of fishermen.
Janet Geneblazo, Tanggol Kalikasan information officer, said despite their sustained anti-illegal fishing operations in Tayabas Bay and along the highway route being used by traders of illegally caught fish, the unlawful operation continues unabated.
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