Youths train in Subic jungles for ecosystem-based disaster management

SUBIC BAY FREPORT — This bustling industrial-commercial zone still plays an important role in educating residents on environmental protection and climate-change mitigation by providing real-life outdoor classrooms for ecosystem-based training.

Recently, some 60 members of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) from communities around the Subic Bay Freeport participated in a disaster-risk management training that focused on the importance of ecosystem and biodiversity in mitigating climate change.

Dubbed as EcoDRRM, or Ecosystem-Based Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, the US Embassy-sponsored project sought to empower participants through outdoor workshops on the pivotal contributions of mangrove, forests and seagrasses to climate change mitigation.

The three-day training conducted under the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI), brought youth leaders from Olongapo City, Castillejos, Zambales and Morong, Bataan to various ecosystems in the Subic Bay Freeport that served as backdrop for the program.

The activity was spearheaded by a team of United States-Philippines exchange alumni who won the Small Grant Competition and was given funding to support the conduct of the EcoDRRM project.

Rhea Jane Mallari, an environment officer at the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Ecology Center and team leader of the project, said the participants heard lectures on disaster risk management, community risk mapping, climate change adaptation, and other related topics on the first day.

The second day then took the participants to a mangrove area at Sitio Sabang in Morong, Bataan, where they planted mangrove saplings and learned about how the mangrove and seagrass eco-systems serve as bio-shield for natural disasters.

At Day 3, the youth participants trekked the Pamulaklakin forest where they learned about the importance of forests in disaster prevention and received demonstrations on jungle survival, preparing healthy foods during evacuation, and relieving stress during disaster.

Mallari and fellow US-PH exchange alumnus Patrick Escusa said the participants all hailed the project as “a great learning experience that gave them helpful insights on disaster-risk mitigation.”

“We are very happy that the project succeeded in capacitating the youth in DRRM preparedness and prevention through ecosystem management, and imparted the culture of proactive response rather than reactive response to disasters,” Escusa said.

“We will continue the program by assisting and ensuring that the SK officials will apply what they learned from the training-workshop by conducting their own city or municipal-wide EcoDRRM projects,” Escusa added.

The EcoDRRM project was the latest in a long line of activities here that made use of Subic’s biodiversity to train workers and facilitators in environmental protection and resource conservation.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said Subic Freeport’s vast forest, marine, and freshwater resources provide a diverse ecosystem that makes for realistic learning.

“This is why many researchers and academics chose Subic for the conduct of their studies,” Eisma noted. “And as the country’s first eco-urban center, Subic is ideal for these activities and the SBMA is ever supportive of these projects.” (HEE/MPD-SBMA)

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SK leaders listen to a lecture on the importance of mangroves and seagrasses to climate change mitigation.

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SBMA welcomes hosting of int’l ecotourism meet in Subic

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has welcomed the scheduled staging here of the Subic Ecotourism Festival, which will bring together a powerhouse cast of international experts in the field of ecotourism to discuss global best practices.

SBMA Administrator Wilma Eisma said the festival is slated on May 29 to June 1 at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center under the aegis of the International School of Sustainable Tourism (ISST) and the Department of Tourism.

“We’re very much delighted in hosting this event, because we take pride in the Subic Bay Freeport being one of the few remaining places with very high biodiversity in the country today,” Eisma said.

“We will be happy to share with the participants in this forum the challenges and successes that we have experienced in the field of ecotourism since Subic was established as a free port in 1992,” she added.

According to ISST president Mina Gabor, the event will be biggest of its kind in the country as it will bring together the leaders of the Global Ecotourism Network (GEN) and its regional subsidiary, the Asian Ecotourism Network (AEN).

“The event will be a rare opportunity for delegates to learn from and network with the best practitioners in the industry,” said Gabor, a former Tourism Secretary who pushed ecotourism during her tenure, making it a byword in the industry years later.

“Given the fact that the Philippines’ tourism industry is driven largely by its natural attractions, it is important to balance economic benefit, conservation and respect for local communities which the GEN board members are greatly recognized for,” she added.

The festival has been scheduled here in line with the declaration by the United Nations World Tourism Organization of 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.

The event will gather together ecotourism experts like Glenn Jampol and Tony Charters, GEN chair and vice-chair respectively, and general board members Robert Holmes of Australia, Hitesh Mehta of Kenya, Masaru Takayama of Japan, Nabil Tarazi of Jordan, and Albert Teo of Malaysia.

Other foreign speakers are Lizzie Corke of Conservation Ecology Center Australia, Paul Niederer of ASSOB International, Tan Thi Su of Sapa O'Chau (Vietnam), Imtiaz Muqbil of Travel Impact Newswire, Kaetwa Muangasame of Mahidol University International College, Greg Duffel of Bond Asian Ventures Limited, Ary Suhandi of Indecon Indonesia, and Randy Durband of Global Sustainable Tourism Council.

Meanwhile, local speakers will include DENR Biodiversity Management Bureau director Teresa Mundita Lim, National Commission on Culture and the Arts-School of Living Traditions executive director Rico Pableo Jr., National Commission on Indigenous Peoples socioeconomic and special affairs director Marie Grace Pascua, ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity executive director Roberto Oliva, Cebu provincial tourism officer Boboi Costas, Philippine Airlines SVP for operations Ismael Augusto Gozon, and El Nido Resorts head of sustainability Mariglo Laririt.

Gabor said the event is designed for government policy-makers, infrastructure development executives, tourism, travel and hospitality professionals, and faculty and students. Festival participants also conduct a case study for the development of an ecotourism project in the Subic Bay Freeport area.

The Subic Bay Freeport, which sits on a large portion of the Subic Forest and Watershed Reserve, is touted to be one of the few places in the Philippines with high biodiversity. It has a total of 745 plant species belonging to 429 genera and 122 families, and a total of 122 wildlife vertebrates from 99 genera and 57 families.

The Subic Freeport is also home to several rare animals that include seven bird species like the Philippine Fairy Bluebird (Irena cyanogaster), two mammal species like the Striped Shrew Rat (Chrotomys minbdorensis), one reptile specie, and two amphibian species. (HEE/AMD/MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS (clockwise):

[1] Sailboats romp on fresh breeze at the Subic Bay Freeport, a leading eco-tourism destination in the country today, which will host the 2017 Subic Ecotourism Festival on May 29-June 1.

[2] Long-tailed macaque monkeys play at a housing area in the Subic Bay Freeport, a leading eco-tourism destination in the country today, which will host the 2017 Subic Ecotourism Festival on May 29-June 1.

[3] Fruit bats roost on trees at the Subic Bay Freeport, a leading eco-tourism destination in the country today, which will host the 2017 Subic Ecotourism Festival on May 29-June 1.

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Subic Grande Island Resort conducts underwater clean-up

Grande Island Resort, one of Subic Freeport's leading tourism players, recently held an underwater and coastal clean-up in the waters of Subic Bay as part of the international observance of Earth Day.

The volunteer divers were able to haul some 30 kilograms of non-biodegradable waste materials composed mostly of plastic wrappers.

Miss Subic Bay Tourism first runner-up Martina McKinsey also joined the volunteer divers in the recent clean-up as part of the pageant’s environmental advocacy.

According to Grande Island managing partner Thomas Garcia, who led the underwater clean-up, the resort conducts periodic clean-up of the beaches up to neighboring Chiquita Island.

He said that the resort’s diving program will incorporate clean-up of the seabed to maintain the balance of the island's marine ecosystem, which is one of the best in Subic Bay.

The island resort also plans to enhance underwater diversity by setting up a viable artificial reef system. Subic Bay is one of the dive sites closest to Metro Manila and is known for World War II shipwrecks and pockets of coral gardens.

Garcia noted that Grande Island's environmental and recreational activities will form part of its corporate social responsibility.

Formerly known as Fort Wint, a naval fortification during the American Occupation, Grande Island Resort is situated some kilometers off the Freeport at the mouth of Subic Bay. It offers a wide array of water sports and outdoor adventure activities such as horseback-riding, trekking, mountain biking and zip line.


PHOTOS:
[1] A volunteer diver holds a sackful of garbage collected from the bottom of the sea near Grande Island in the Subic Bay Freeport during an underwater clean-up.

[2] Volunteer divers, along with Miss Subic Bay Tourism first runner-up Martina McKinsey, show their collection of non-biodegradable waste materials hauled from the bottom of the sea during an underwater clean-up around Grande Island, a popular resort in Subic Bay Freeport.

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SBMA launches awareness campaign on climate change adaptation

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), through its Ecology Center, has launched an awareness campaign on climate change adaptation in upland communities adjacent to the Freeport.

SBMA Chairman Roberto Garcia said that the campaign aims to educate residents on the impact of climate change world-wide, as well as in their locality, and how to minimize it.

The campaign includes educating residents on how to prevent forest and bush fires and what they can do to help bring back the healthy environment and the forests, Garcia added.

Accordingly, the campaign, which started at Barangay Mabiga in the town of Hermosa, Bataan, was a kick-off to a series of seminars to be held in four barangays outside the perimeter fence of the Freeport. These include the upland communities of Mabiga, Tipo, Bangal, and Pastolan, which serve as buffer areas under the SBMA’s “social fencing” program.

Participants in the one-day awareness campaign seminars included members of farmers’ associations in the four upland communities.

Garcia explained that the local farmers’ associations serve as a vital component of the SBMA Community-Based Forest Management (SCBFMA) system, which watches over the forests and helps protect them against bush and forest fires, illegal cutting of trees, and illegal hunting of animals and birds near and inside the fenced areas of the Freeport.

The SCBFM program also aims to promote the biodiversity of the forests through tree-planting projects and the implementation of livelihood programs that are not dependent on forests such as kaingin, and charcoal-making.

Hermosa Mayor Danilo Malana, who joined the launch of the awareness campaign, lauded the SBMA and the team from Ecology Center for conducting the awareness campaign, saying it was very timely.

“It is very important that we start protecting and preserving our fast diminishing forest areas that give livelihood and food to many of our farmers,” he said.

The mayor, who is known as an advocate of environmental protection, added that there is a need to boost the awareness of residents on how badly climate change affects people’s lives and livelihood so that they could start adapting to it to secure their future. (RAV/MPD-SBMA)

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Community leaders and officials of Brgy. Mabiga, Hermosa in Bataan province pledge to protect the environment during a Climate Change Symposium conducted recently by the SBMA Ecology Center. (AMD/MPD-SBMA)

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Conference helps strengthen REDD+ safeguards

With a conference on “Operationalizing REDD+ Safeguards in Southeast Asia and the Pacific,” held recently in Subic Bay Freeport, stakeholders from the Philippines and countries of the Asia-Pacific region made an important step toward safeguarding forests and the rights of indigenous communities and peoples.

The conference was organized by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH in collaboration with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and Climate Change Commission (CCC).

National experts from government agencies, non-governmental organizations and academe along with experts from Germany, Lao PDR, Indonesia, Vietnam, Fiji and the Pacific Islands, Mongolia and India exchanged insights on how to avoid unintended social and environmental risks that may arise due to REDD+, how to strengthen governance and how to achieve “co-benefits” for biodiversity conservation and improved livelihood.

A field trip to the ancestral domain of the Aeta Ambala tribe at Mount Santa Rita gave an additional practical example of a particularly successful conservation agreement—the joint management agreement with Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority that combines effective participation, benefit-sharing mechanisms and transparent governance.

“Parties have to provide information on how they address safeguards before they can receive results-based payments from REDD+,” lawyer Alaya de Leon from the Ateneo School of Government said, summarizing the current challenge for countries emerging from the recent decisions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The conference took place within the framework of the international climate and forest protection mechanism “Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation” (REDD+) with cost-effective conservation, sustainable management of forests and the enhancement of carbon stocks.

With the decision to link finance to safeguards, there is a clear direction for countries to go for compliance.

The conference was opened by NCIP Commissioner Dionesia O. Banua, who pointed out that most of the forest areas in the Philippines are in ancestral domains.

DENR-Forest Management Bureau Assistant Director Mayumi Quintos-Natividad emphasized that the conference provided a relevant opportunity for sustainable development in the Philippines.

NCIP Executive Director Marlea Muñez said the event was a landmark for implementing the Philippine National REDD-Plus Strategy, an integral part of the National Climate Change Action Plan and a contribution of the Philippines to safeguard the world’s forests and climate, led by the DENR and CCC.

REDD+ was internationally adopted in 2007, and in 2010, the 16th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC decided on related safeguards with the need to take local livelihoods and ecological aspects explicitly into account to fully benefit from REDD+ measures without negative impacts.

These safeguards need to be converted into national frameworks by the implementing countries. At the same time, this challenge gives early adopters like the Philippines the opportunity to shape the ongoing international discussion through exemplary solutions.

The conference focused on all three key aspects of the current debate with the Free, Prior and Informed Consent as a social safeguard; finance, benefit sharing and anti-corruption as governance safeguards; and biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services as an environmental safeguard.

All participants agreed to collaborate further on exchanging experiences and strengthening capacities of countries in the region for compliance with international standards to reap the benefits of REDD+. (BusinessMirror)

http://businessmirror.com.ph/index.php/en/features/biodiversity/28995-conference-helps-strengthen-redd-safeguards

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Fishers’ group joins SBMA in advocacy vs. plastics

Fisher folks in the Subic Bay Area have joined the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) in its advocacy against the use of plastics and other non-biodegradable products that pollute the environment.

During the celebration of the “Araw ng Mangingisda” last Saturday, members of the Subic Bay Integrated Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (SBIFARMC) said they have rallied to the call by the SBMA for a ban on plastics as their contribution to the cause of environmental protection and sustainable development.

The SBMA had enforced a “No Plastic Bag/No Styrofoam” policy among retail establishments inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone starting January 1 and has put in place stiff penalties for repeated violations.

“Ito ngayon ang adbokasya ng IFARMC na nais naming iparating sa mga residente, lalo na iyong mga nakatira sa tabi ng mga ilog (This is now the IFARMC's advocacy that we would like to convey to residents, especially those living by the riverside),” said SBIFARMC chairman Restituto Del Rosario.

“Ang mga itinatapon na plastic sa mga ilog ay pumapatay sa yamang-dagat na ikinabubuhay natin. Kaya huwag sana tayong magtatapon ng basura, lalo na ang mga plastic, sa ilog at sa dagat (Plastics that are thrown into the river kill marine resources, which is our livelihood),” Rosario appealed.

He added that in conjunction with its advocacy project, the fishermen’s group will plant mangrove trees and undertake regular coastal clean-up drives along the coastlines and in the sea off Barangay Baraka in Subic, Zambales and Barangay Barretto in Olongapo City.

SBMA chairman Roberto Garcia said the agency will continue to support SBIFARMC in its projects to prevent illegal fishing and to preserve marine biodiversity in Subic Bay.

“The SBIFARMC is our major partner in securing and preserving marine biodiversity here. We are glad that we are again together in this advocacy against the use of plastics and Styrofoam materials that pollute the environment,” Garcia said.

The SBIFARMC is an organization representing fishermen from communities around Subic Bay — the town of Morong in Bataan, the municipalities of San Antonio and Subic in Zambales, and Olongapo City.

The council, which is supported by the SBMA through its Ecology Center, has been deputized by the Philippine Maritime Police and Philippine Coast Guard, and recognized by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) as a partner against illegal fishing.

With financial assistance from the SBMA, the SBIFARMC has been able to implement various projects, such as the manufacture and installation of 60 artificial reef modules in the coastal areas of Morong, Subic Bay, and San Antonio, Zambales.

The SBMA assistance has also provided livelihood projects to SBIFARMC members and benefited their children through a scholarship program.

In the recent “Araw ng Mangingisda” celebration, the SBIFARMC organized a three-kilometer fun run to raise funds for its upcoming advocacy projects.

The fun run also helped raise awareness on environmental protection and marine resources conservation. (RAV/MPD-SBMA)

PHOTO:
Participants break out from the starting point during the fun-run organized by Subic Bay fisher folks during the “Araw ng Mangingisda” celebration on Saturday.

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SBMA, volunteer divers seed Subic Bay with giant clams

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) joined the global celebration of World Oceans Day on Wednesday by seeding an endangered species of giant clam at the Ilanin Bay marine sanctuary in this free port.

The SBMA Ecology Center, along with 12 volunteer divers from various dive shops in the Subic Bay area, “planted” 72 giant clams (tridacna gigas) species to help enhance marine biodiversity in Subic Bay.

The volunteer divers were from Boardwalk Dive Center, Johan’s Scuba Dive, Ocean Adventure, PNP Maritime Command, SBMA Harbor Patrol, SBMA Intelligence Office, and SBMA Ecology Center.

Ilanin Bay was chosen for seeding of giant clams after an examination by volunteer biologists showed the presence of giant clams in the area, which also passed the physical and biological criteria for a seeding bed, said Ecology Center manager Amethya Koval.

The visibility of the seeding area from the shore would also make it easy for authorities to guard it against illegal poachers, Koval added.

The giant clam “seeds”, which measured 15 centimeters in diameter, can actually grow up to 1.54 meters in diameter and weigh up to 258.55 kilos, biologists said.

The clam seeds were purchased from the Marine Science Institute of the University of the Philippines in Bolinao, Pangasinan with money raised from the “Takbo para sa Taklobo” fun run that was organized by the SBMA Ecology Center last year.

“We raised some P54,000 from registration fees in the fun run, and that’s what we used to buy giant clam seeds, as well as for other incidental expenses like food for volunteers during the seeding process,” Koval said.

“If the seeding project turns out to be a success, the Ecology Center will organize more ‘Takbo para sa Taklobo’ fun runs to help fast track our mission of saving these beautiful creatures from extinction,” she added.

Meanwhile, SBMA administrator Armand Arreza said the project is part of the agency’s vision of making the Subic Bay Freeport an eco-urban center that effectively blends industrial development with ecological tourism.
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“Eco-tourism is one of our biggest industries here, and Subic Bay is among the dive sites that are frequented by tourists because of its historical shipwrecks and ecological biodiversity,” Arreza said.

“While we have these natural attractions as assets, we recognize the need to also help in protecting and propagating marine species like the endangered giant clams,” he added. (SBMA Corporate Communications)

PHOTO:
Volunteer divers from the SBMA Ecology Center and different dive shops in the Subic Bay area seed the Ilanin Bay marine sanctuary in the Subic Bay Freeport with giant clams in an effort to enhance marine biodiversity.

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Subic fisher folk launch artificial reef project

Members of fishing communities in the Subic Bay area, in cooperation with local government units and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), recently launched a concrete artificial reef project that was designed to augment traditional fishing grounds in their localities.

Spearheaded by the Subic Bay Integrated Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Management Council (SB-IFARMC), the project consisted of a total of 1,800 units of culvert pyramid-type concrete blocks formed into 60 artificial reef modules.

The P2.3-million project was made possible through the Environmental Guarantee Fund (EGF) of the SBMA, which has allotted a P4-million financial assistance to fishing communities affected by development projects in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

The concrete modules will be installed at various sites identified by fishermen in the towns of Subic and San Antonio in Zambales, Olongapo City, and Morong town in Bataan.

The project launch was attended by Zambales vice governor Ramon Lacbain II, SBMA chairman Feliciano Salonga, SBMA administrator Armand Arreza, Olongapo City mayor James Gordon Jr., and Subic municipal secretary Dick Otero, BFAR-3 assistant director Lilian Garcia, former SBMA director Angela Garcia who represented Bataan Gov. Enrique Garcia, and representatives from the Police Maritime Group and the Philippine Coast Guard.

SB-IFARMC chairman Laureano Artagame said that the artificial reef project was designed to mitigate the effects of development in the area, as well as to rehabilitate fishing grounds destroyed by unscrupulous fishermen who employed dynamite, cyanide and other destructive fishing methods.

“Your presence here today is a solid manifestation that you support us in our mission, and that we all believe that we can still regain the bountiful biodiversity of Subic Bay through this initiative,” Artagame said.

For his part, SBMA chairman Feliciano Salonga stressed the positive impact of the artificial reef project on the marine environment, and urged Subic Bay stakeholders to strengthen their commitment to conservation.

“We are here to implement a solution,” Salonga said. “And the fact that we are here together only indicates a strong likelihood that the solution we are trying to implement would succeed to the benefit not only of the stakeholders in Subic Bay, but also the marine environment from which we all derive our livelihood.”

“I hope that with this artificial reef project, we shall succeed in promoting a higher marine biodiversity in this area and a better, healthier marine environment for fishing, recreation, tourism, and related businesses,” Salonga also said.

Former SBMA director Angela Garcia said, meanwhile, emphasized the need for environmental protection alongside with activities designed to gain economic development.

“These steps are important to ensure that the vision for the sustainable management of our resources is translated into reality. I do hope that our continued efforts and commitments will reach far to regain back the bountiful resources of our municipal waters,” Garcia added.

Aside from launching the artificial reefs, the SB-IFARMC also commissioned into service two newly built motorized bancas that local volunteers will use as patrol boats for their monitoring, control and surveillance activities. (SBMA Corporate Communications)

PHOTO: SBMA administrator Armand Arreza (2nd from left) cuts the ceremonial ribbon during the launching of the artificial reef project of the Subic Bay Integrated Fisheries and Marine Resources Management Council in Subic, Zambales. Joining him are Subic municipal secretary Dick Otero (left), SB-IFARMC chairman Laureano Artagame (right), and representatives of local fisher folk and the BFAR regional office.

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