Strengthening Good Governance and Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration in FMA 6, Coastal and Marine Areas in the West Philippine Sea

Location of Project’s Operation
Regions: Asia
Countries: Philippines
Other:

Lead Entities: Gerry Roxas Foundation, Jaime V. Ongpin Foundation, Inc
Organizational Type: Non-governmental organization (NGO)
Partners: Local Government Unit, Regional Government Agencies, Academic Institutions, Business Sectors, Peoples Organization, Civil Society Organizations

Status of Initiative

Start Date: 01/09/2022
Status: In Progress
End Date:

Description of Objective

Objectives:

a. Strengthen the La Union Local Implementation Team on fisheries management;
b. Enhance the capacity of Civil Society Organizations and other stakeholders to engage in local natural resource governance to manage the 12 marine protected areas of La Union;
c. Promote conservation-based enterprises to provide income-earning opportunities to fishermen in the Province of La Union.

Outputs:

1. Functional and committed Local Implementation Team (LIT),
2. Effective Communications plan with strategic tools to implement the Communications Education and Public Awareness Campaign (CEPA),
3. Developed a Conservation-based enterprise that will provide or augment income-earning opportunities to the fishermen in the Province of La Union

Outcomes:

1. Coastal and marine conservation governance to be more responsive to the needs of the coastal communities with safeguards in place for cases of natural system modification, reducing Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, and regulating tourism.
2. Coastal and Marine ecosystems (mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and coral reefs) conservation and protection of the demersal and pelagic fishes, sea turtles, and whales’ habitats.
3. Reduction of run-off of pollutants and wastewater flowing into the sea and promotion of sustainable agricultural and fishing practices.

Activities:

Organization and formalization of a local implementation team composed of multiple stakeholders, regular planning and coordination meetings of the local implementation team to engage them in the project, capacity building of all the project players, on environmental, design of a Communication, Education and Public Awareness campaign to support behavioral change, establishment of a database and Monitoring and Evaluation system for sharing science-based data.

Resources: Project Team with expertise in community development, leveraging from partner agencies – in kind counterparts and funding from donor agency

Nature-based solution?: Nature-based solution

Just Transition?:

Interlinkages?:

Which SDG?: SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns, SDG 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development, SDG 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development

Successes: Success: Strong partnership and engagement of the local stakeholders in the implementation of the activities of the project as defined in the Memorandum of Agreement.

Challenges: Short-term (3 years) project implementation to see the impact of the actions

Related Targets:

SDG 12 Target 2: Sustainable management and use of natural resources;
SDG 14 Target 14.1, protecting and restoring ecosystems, 14.3, sustainable fishing, 14.4, conserving coastal and marine areas
SDG 17 Target 17 H: Encourage effective Partnerships; Target 17 I: Enhance availability of reliable data

Synergies and Trade-offs: With a strong partnership with the local stakeholders on the ground, there is an established sense of ownership of the actions implemented to achieve the project goals and objectives. Policies are reviewed and updated to address the concerns of the community.

Learning/Recommendations: As the project progresses, aside from good and strong partnerships with the stakeholders, it is also important that all actions are aligned with all their plans and that these are brought to the attention of the people who are most affected to be understood and appreciated.

Please see the Facebook page link of the project: https://www.facebook.com/baybayelyu

Contact

Name: CORAZON P. SAJONAS
Role: DEPUTY DIRECTOR
Organization: Jaime V. Ongpin Foundation, Inc.
Email: [email protected]
Maria Rosario R. Lopez, Executive Director