To enhance the institutional and planning capacities of stakeholders in targeted Global Environment Facility (GEF) areas, the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP)-Bicol and South Luzon team conducted a series of stakeholders’ consultation in Matnog and Bulan, Sorsogon on October 12-13, 2016.

The stakeholders’ consultations focused on the finalization of the proposals for the Fish Sanctuary and Marine Reserve Rehabilitation (FSMR) of the Community-Based Coastal Ecosystem Protection, and Biodiversity Conservation in Brgy. Calintaan, Matnog, Sorsogon as well as the Rehabilitation of the Butag Bay Fish Sanctuary and Marine Reserve in Butag, Bulan, Sorsogon.

Members of the proponent groups, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Councils (FARMCs), and Sangguniang Bayan of both municipalities participated in the consultations which also highlight the GEF sites’ proposed microenterprise sub-projects such as the Matnog Grouper Culture and Marketing and Matnog Seaweed Production & Marketing.

The Butag Bay FSMR in Bulan, Sorsogon and the Matnog FSMR in Matnog, Sorsogon are two of the five identified GEF project sites in Bicol listed as priority conservation areas in the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP). These areas are entitled to MPA rehabilitation and microenterprise sub-projects worth P5 million per site. The PRDP-GEF team will also facilitate various activities like helping the LGU and the communities develop the stakeholders’ technical and operational capacities, building strategic coastal and marine resource conservation awareness campaign, and strengthening local policy frameworks on biodiversity conservation, among others.

Fisherfolk in Butag, Bulan, Sorsogon are among the prospective beneficiaries of the Rehabilitation of the Butag Bay Fish Sanctuary and Marine Reserve in Butag, Bulan, Sorsogon as the proposed PRDP-GEF interventions in the area targets a 10 percent increase in fish biomass. (Photo by Annielyn L. Baleza, DA-PRDP RPCO V InfoACE Unit)

According to Teresita F. Blanqueza, PRDP-Bicol Natural Resource Management (NRM) Project Development Associate, the activity also aimed to institutionalize stakeholder engagement as part of the Project’s social and environmental safeguards mechanism. The “Integrated Environmental and Social Safeguards Framework” defines free and prior informed consultation as “consultation that occurs freely and voluntarily, without any external manipulation, interference, or coercion, for which the parties consulted have prior access to information on the intent and scope of the proposed project in a culturally appropriate manner, form, and language.”

Through free and prior informed stakeholders’ consultation, the community’s resource use, religious beliefs, and social patterns are being integrated in the sub-projects’ design.

“Sa community development, niyu-unite tayo at pinag-iisa. Pinag-iisa tayo ng isang samahan sa kabila ng ating mga pagkakaiba,” Ferdinand Cruz, NRM Specialist of PRDP South Luzon said.

Matnog and Bulan FSMRs were rated level 0 for failure to satisfy the requirements of Level 1 (MPA is established), based on the onsite re-validation of their Management Effectiveness Assessment Tool (MEAT) and Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool (METT) results. Cruz reiterated that PRDP-GEF interventions intend to raise the level of MPA management effectiveness by at least one level per year. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) categorize management effectiveness into four levels namely 1. Established, 2. Strengthened, 3. Sustained, and 4. Institutionalized.

PRDP’s budget allocation includes a P287 million grant from GEF, one of the trust-funded programs of World Bank Group, to address global environmental concerns. (Annielyn L. Baleza, DA-PRDP RPCO V InfoACE Unit)

PRDP South Luzon NRM Specialist Ferdinand Cruz enjoins the stakeholders of the Rehabilitation of the Butag Bay Fish Sanctuary and Marine Reserve in Butag, Bulan, Sorsogon to share their insights and support the implementation of the proposal to rehabilitate the marine protected area during a Stakeholders’ Consultation meeting held at the Brgy. Hall of Butag, Bulan, Sorsogon on October 13, 2016. (Photo by Annielyn L. Baleza, DA-PRDP RPCO V InfoACE Unit)