Activities restricted at new marine reserve

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GUIMARAS – The Sangguniang Bayan of Jordan has declared as a marine protected area (MPA) the waters of Barangay Sinapsapan.

Under Municipal Ordinance No. 004-2017, the MPA is from the village’s Sitio Casita to Sitio Balingasag spanning 24.49633 hectares.

Within the core zone of the MPA, fishing of any kind or manner or collecting of shellfish shall not be permitted, and anchoring of all kinds of boats without an anchor buoy is not allowed.

The ordinance likewise provides that the area will be exempted or restricted from construction of any permanent structure made of concrete materials.

Destruction, stealing and vandalizing of buoys, signage and guardhouse structures are strictly prohibited.

Further, the navigation or passage of all boats and all eco-tourism activities shall be regulated.

The people of Barangay Sinapsapan, during public consultations on July 15, 2016 and Jan. 18, 2017, unanimously agreed to establish the MPA.

M eanwhile, the provincial government of Guimaras is making strides in conserving and protecting marine resources and coastal marine habitats.

Several sectors forged an agreement recently to protect the MPAs in Guimaras through a network called GAPAS or the Guimaras Alliance of Protected Areas and Sanctuaries.

A memorandum of agreement (MOA) was signed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and representatives of the towns of Guimaras namely, Buenavista, Jordan, San Lorenzo, Nueva Valencia, and Sibunag.

National government agency heads, people organizations representatives and the academe likewise signed the said agreement

The agreement is expected “to strengthen the commitment of the parties to effectively reduce the stress and the threats to the marine ecosystems in Guimaras” through the budget allocation of P21 billion.

In his speech during the Induction of Environmental Planners by PH Institute of Environmental Planners (PIEP) recently, Guimaras governor Samuel Gumarin cited the importance of protecting water and marine resources.

“Our country has more water jurisdictions than land territory for we are in an archipelagic state. Our marine resources will predictably assume the higher factor of sustainable economic development in the future – the very reason why our coastal resources have to be protected and managed,” he said.

Environment concerns are embedded in the Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plan (PDPFP), the long term developmental blueprint of the province.

Likewise, new elements have been incorporated to enhance the provincial development vision of Guimaras considering the province’s potentials, one of which is eco-tourism. (Guimaras PIO/PN)
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