OVER SEAS -- The Online Magazine for Sustainable Seas

Sarangani

The learning area covers three municipalities (Alabel, Malapatan and Glan) along the 125-km coastline of Sarangani Bay, the municipalities of Maasim, Maitum and Kiamba, and one chartered city (General Santos City), or a total of 267 km of coastline, 67 barangays and a population of nearly 200,000 persons (1995). Coastal management problems identified here are typical of fast developing coastal areas. Most land areas have been converted to agriculture and fishponds, and very little of the coastal land retains natural vegetation. As a result, the Bay suffers from sedimentation. High fishing pressure has also been noted, and there are reports of the use of toxic substances and fine mesh nets, as well as the catching of juvenile fishes in some areas. CRMP enjoys strong local government support, which could very well spell the difference between sustainable development and further degradation of coastal resources in the area.

CRM Planning Begins
Following the completion of participatory coastal resource assessment (PCRA) training in the entire Sarangani learning area, CRMP shifts gears as communities begin planning for coastal resource management (CRM) using the primary data generated during the PCRA. Nine coastal barangays (villages) in General Santos and six barangays in Maitum have completed their CRM plan. "Planning at the municipal level has also begun," Learning Area Coordinator Hermenegildo Cabangon reported. "The CRM plan will be incorporated in each municipality’s (or city’s) five-year development plan."

In Sapu Cove, meanwhile, two barangays integrated their Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Management Councils (FARMCs). A two-day orientation on development planning was held there in preparation for a planning workshop on the Integrated Sapu Cove Coastal Development Plan to be held on April 13 and 14. §