MOST local government units (LGUs) within the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape (TSPS) still do not have an updated or long-term Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) and Integrated Coastal Resource Management Plan (ICRMP), an ocean-conservation advocacy group said.
Oceana Philippines is calling on LGUs that share jurisdiction over the 521,000-hectare protected seascape between the provinces of Cebu and Negros to come up with CLUPs and ICRMP to strengthen the Tañon Strait against destructive human activities.
While crafting their CLUPs and ICRMP, LGUs should also declare a moratorium on development projects that threaten one of the country’s most important fishing ground and priority conservation areas, Gloria Estenzo Ramos, vice president of Oceana Philippines, said in an interview.
Tañon Strait, declared as a protected area by virtue of Presidential Proclamation 1234, signed by President Fidel V. Ramos on May 27, 1998, pursuant to RA 7586, or the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act, is threatened by “unbridled” development and other destructive human activities, such as unchecked commercial-fishing operations until now, she warned.
The proclamation placed the entire Tañon Strait Protected Seascape under the administrative jurisdiction of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). LGUs, according to Ramos, need to do more to help enforce various environmental laws, such as the RA 9147, or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act; and the RA 8550, or the Philippine Fisheries Code.
Destructive development projects, particularly the ones that require massive land reclamation, she added, should be stopped to conserve the Visayas’s most important coastal ecosystem.
“Why are LGUs in charge of protecting the municipal waters are not implementing these laws? They have no updated or long-term CLUPs. LGUs should be doing that,” Ramos said.
She added the Office of the Ombudsman should look into the failure of the LGUs to protect the Tañon Strait in the same breadth it is now moving against LGUs that failed to implement the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
“Unfortunately, Tañon Strait, there are coal-fired power plants, mining, depot of oil and gas. Water in Tañon Strait is contaminated with mercury,” Ramos said.
Oceana Philippines is batting for the approval of the General Management Plan for Tañon Strait (GMPTS) that was crafted by the various stakeholders, led by the DENR Region 7 (Central Visayas) last year.
In an interview, DENR 7 Regional Director Isabelo Montejo said GMPTS for Tanon Strait is now waiting for final approval of the environment secretary. He expects LGUs to come up with an updated CLUPs and ICRMP to be in harmony with the GMPTS.
According to Oceana Philippines, Tañon Strait is one of the most important habitats for dolphins and whales in the Philippines. Of the 27 dolphins and whales found nationwide, 14 species have been observed in Tañon Strait.
Meanwhile, the DENR is hosting a conference that aims to strengthen efforts toward sustainability of protected areas in the country. Around 200 protected-area managers and stakeholders from LGUs, indigenous communities and civil society are taking part in the conference in Mandaluyong City, from April 26 to 28.
source: Business Mirror
