Some 80 participants from the 13 coastal municipalities in the province attended the event.
Participants include Municipal Planning and Development Coordinators (MPDCs), Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Officers (MENROs), municipal police chiefs, Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) staff, Community Environment and Natural Resources Offices of Ipil and Buug towns, Coastal and Marine Management Section (CMMS), and representatives from non-government organizations (NGOs).
The five-day workshop, which was supervised by DENR’s Coastal and Marine Management Division (CMMD), discussed measures on how to effectively manage each municipal coastal zone based on the department’s Integrated Coastal Management Program. Success stories and other experiences were also shared during the workshop.
Ms. Neneth T. Ordoño, chief of DENR-9’s Protected Area Wildlife Coastal Zone Management Service said in an interview with the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) that the activity was conducted so that each coastal municipality will come up with its own ICM plan.
“This ICM plan will serve as a guide to our local chief executives and our local officials in the implementation of several programs concerning the conservation and protection of our coastal resources,” she explained.
She also said that issues and concerns from watershed areas as well as on riverbanks down to the coastal areas were also given attention and would be included in the plan.
“The provincial and municipal government shall make a draft which they will present to all stakeholders and multi-sectoral groups for their comments. After which, the technical working group will work on it,” she concluded.