By Claro A. Lanipa
PAGADIAN CITY – To provide the
stakeholders with additional knowledge and assistance in terms of managing and
protecting the marine ecosystem, a two-day orientation workshop on Coral
Triangle Initiative (CTI) and Sustainable Coral Reef Environment Management
Program (SCREMP) was recently conducted by the Protected Areas Wildlife and
Coastal Zone Management Services (PAWCMS) of the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources (DENR)-9 at the Farmer’s Haven, Dao this city.
Regional Executive Director Arleigh J. Adorable said
“owing to the fact that our country is located within the Coral Triangle, an
area which is considered the richest concentration of marine life in our planet
that extends from the Philippines to Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea,
Solomon Islands and Timor Leste, there is a need to develop various
interventions in order to protect marine biodiversity in our country.”
“Let us support the CTI as this is a multi-lateral
partnership of six countries to safeguard marine and coastal biological
resources of the region for future generation and protect the eco-region from
over fishing, destructive fishing practices, unsustainable coastal development,
pollution and impacts of climate change which destroys the richness of the
Coral Triangles,” Adorable said.
Director Adorable believes that with the implementation
of the Sustainable Coral Reef Ecosystem Management Program (SCREMP)in the
region, it can help protect and rehabilitate the coral reef ecosystem.
“Hopefully, with the active participation of the
participants and stakeholders, we can incorporate these things in the region’s
Coastal Resources Management Plan (CRMP),” he added.
The workshop was attended by participants coming from
different fields of local governance, project management, marine biologists,
scientists and scuba divers from all over the region.