OVER SEAS -- The Online Magazine for Sustainable Seas

Davao del Sur

The focus of CRMP’s efforts in Davao del Sur are six municipalities -- Padada, Hagonoy, Sulop, Malalag, Sta. Maria and Digos -- covering an area of 85,948 hectares with a population of 56,514 persons and a coastline stretching to 66 km. Five expansion sites have been identified -- Sta. Cruz, Malita, Don Marcelino, Jose Abad Santos and Sarangani Island -- covering an area of 190,499 hectares and a coastline of 191 kms. Majority of the residents in these coastal areas are engaged in fishing and derive their income mainly from fishing the nearby 65-sq km Malalag Bay. Intense exploitation of marine resources has caused the degradation of the coastal environment. Malalag Bay’s live corals once covered 1,020 hectares -- this area has been reduced to a mere 113.4 hectares, primarily because of the prevalence of illegal fishing practices but also partly because of chemical wastes from agriculture and fishponds. To reverse the trend, the government has imposed, since 1992, a gradual banning of compressors. A 50-hectare fish sanctuary has been established in the area, and public awareness of coastal issues is growing.

Consolidating PCRA Data
CRMP staff are now in the process of collating and consolidating the outputs of participatory coastal resource assessment in the Davao del Sur learning area. "We’re 75% complete in the collation of data and we’ve begun compiling the coastal area profile," reported Learning Area Coordinator Melchor Maceda. "The barangay (village) maps and diagrams are now about 75-80% done. We intend to put the maps together so that we only have one map for every municipality."

Training workshops on integrated coastal management (ICM) are now being organized in preparation for the next stage of the CRM process -- planning. "We will have three levels of ICM training," said Maceda. "The first will be for the heads of office at the provincial level, the second will be for municipal leaders, and the third for barangay (village) leaders. We have to convince these key players on the merits of what we’re encouraging them to do so they would push their officials to support the CRM plan."

Blue Hearts Parade
Davao del Sur went all out on February 26 for the CRMP-initiated provincial launch of the International Year of the Ocean (IYO), which kicked off in Cebu ten days earlier. Maceda said more than 4,000 people wearing blue hearts participated in a parade which signalled the opening of the day-long festivity. After the parade, participants exchanged blue hearts, then Governor Rogelio Llanos, assisted by USAID’s Dr. Ron Senykoff, unveiled a giant blue heart with the "I-Love-the-Ocean Creed" printed on it.

The program also included an IYO theme song (Ang Dagat ay Buhay) interpretation contest, which was won by the youngest participant, a Grade 2 pupil. "I distributed copies of the song to different schools, and many students here now know the song’s lyrics by heart," said Maceda. "It feels great to hear many people singing the song and to see so many people supporting the ocean’s cause."

More FARMCs Organize
Seven municipal Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Councils (FARMCs) in Davao del Sur, including five in the CRMP area, have been organized. The latest to join the list is Don Marcelino, a town outside the CRMP learning area, which recently completed the federation of its 10 village-level FARMCs and will induct its officers on April 15. Maceda said the goal is to federate all of Davao del Sur’s 11 FARMCs, "but we couldn’t do so if the FARMCs were not organized in the remaining four municipalities." He remains hopeful of achieving this goal, however, as only one municipality (Malita) has yet to start forming its FARMC. "The other three have actually begun the organization process."

Meanwhile, a survey of the fish cage area in the municipal waters of Sta. Maria in Malalag Bay is scheduled this month. The survey will determine the presence and quantity of leftover feeds that may have settled at the Bay’s bottom and determine its effects on marine life. "If there’s too much leftover feeds, we may recommend regulation," said Maceda. §