The Negros Occidental provincial government launched its 1st Provincial Local Conservation Area Management Summit to advance river basin conservation with a new adaption technique at the Provincial Capitol Social Hall in Bacolod City, on Monday, June 27.
The summit, which is part of the 30th Provincial Environment Month celebration, highlighted the Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) technique as a high-tech yet cheaper solution to the aquatic environment problems, Julie Ann Bedrio, Provincial Environment Management Office head, said.
The EbA technique requires the integrated management and multi-level participation among different sectors like the LGUs, private sector partnerships and the local stakeholders, a press release from the Capitol said.
Part of the project implementation includes the conservation of the Ilog-Hilabangan River, a 2,000 sq. km. wide basin, which is among the priority protected areas of the provincial government.
The four major outputs in the project include coordinated implementation that will provide reliable and quality water supply and disaster risk management; creation of financial instruments to support ecosystem-based measures; valuation instrument that is included in government policies; and an inclusive and accessible knowledge and information relevant to ecosystem services.
The summit also tackled the existing interventions already in place, the effects of the aquatic ecosystem health among the locals, the best practices of the LGUs, and the calls for strengthened regulation of marine biodiversity.
Some of the major problems of the province’s water bodies were also discussed, such as illegal practices like kaingin, hunting of wildlife and illegal fishing in upland areas, and solid waste management and pollution in urban areas.
The EbA project is partially funded by the German Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, through its International Climate Initiative.
The event was attended by Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz, Site Coordinator for Visayan Sea – Dr. Andrea Leonor Barcelona, LGU environmental officers, academe representatives and private organizations.*