Youth Ecological Camp for Lake Buhi

The peoples’ growing motivation for eco-tourism and having been adjudged as the Cleanest Lake in a nationwide Clean and Green Program in 1996, has kept Lake Buhi clean, healthy and thriving for now. The municipality and the community is eager to keep it that way. Not only for their livelihood dependence on it, but also of the pride of Lake Buhi as the home of the Sinarapan.

A strategy for maintaining the pride and stewardship  of the people for Lake Buhi’s beauty and richness is through the informed participation of its young generation. The continued awareness campaign and participation of the youth in the Lake Buhi’s watershed’s projects and activities can offer a sustainable approach in the conservation of the lakes biodiversity and culture in the years to come.  This could create  wider partnerships that will compliment the management efforts of the communities with the local government in the watershed.

Paghiro Kabataan para sa Kapalibutan

An Ecological Camp was conducted on 05-07 May 2008.  Participated by the Sangguniang Kabataan leaders of the Municipality of Buhi, the eco-camp aimed to –

1. for the participants to become more aware of their important  role and stake in environmental protection of the Lake Buhi’s watershed, particularly on lake conservation,
2. to enable the participants to identify the environmental concerns in the watershed and come up with doable action plans to address them through their active participation in the lake conservation activities, and
3. to enable the participants to come up with a common Vision for Lake Buhi that will guide their future advocacy, conservation projects and continuing stewardship for the lake and its resources.

The participants were able to discuss the major environmental problems in their locality and its effects on Lake Buhi, and propose solutions to these problems.  Action plans of the participants were presented to the local government authorities present during the Closing Program.

The holding of the 3-day Eco-Camp was spearheaded by Center for Ecosystems & Protected Area Management and the Society for the Conservation of Philippine Wetlands, in cooperation with the Local Government of Buhi and the SK Federation of Buhi, and support from the business sector such as Unilever Philippines and Pepsi.