Eastern Samar towns get marine biodiversity conservation aid

GUIUAN, Eastern Samar, April 21 (PNA) -- The Global Environmental Facility (GEF) of the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) offers hope for the fisherfolks in this province.

Department of Agriculture (DA) Eastern Visayas regional project deputy director Jenny Lyn Almeria said Eastern Visayas is lucky to included in the priority regions to be supported under the GEF.

In particular, it covers Guiuan coast which involves the marine protected areas of the municipalities of Guiuan, Mercedes Salcedo, Quinapondan and Lawaan.

“The listing of areas to be covered largely depended on the results of the overall assessment conducted by the World Bank and the commitment of the LGUs (local government units) and other stakeholders to support the project. Of course, topmost of the several parameters considered was degree of availability of coastal and marine resources,” she said.

The GEF is part of the package under PRDP aimed at protecting coastal and marine resource base in the targeted priority areas by preserving biodiversity and promoting fisheries resource management.

The GEF is backed by a financial grant from the World Bank in the amount of USD7 million, or around Php300 million.

On April 18-20, the DA regional project coordination office spearheaded the conduct of the GEF Initiatives Implementation Review Planning and Direction -setting for Eastern Samar Marine Protected Areas in Marabut, Samar.

Highlights during the two-day activity include the following: re-orientation on PRDP–GEF; PRDP implementation arrangement with different components and partner agencies; importance of coastal and marine ecosystems management using marine spatial planning, and marine protected areas Budget and plan preparation. (PNA)
LDV/SQM/DA-PR/egr