Public Hearing on the Unified Rules and Regulations (URR)
for Fisheries of Taal Volcano Protected Landscape (TVPL)
The theme this year, Fish for Tomorrow, is the one that touches everyone.. it is making sure that there will be fish for the future. That is the message that Wetlands Caravan of the Society for the Conservation of Philippine Wetlands, Inc. (SCPW) is promoting to its next destination – Taal Lake. more about Wetlands Caravan >>
In celebration of the World Wetland Day, the different stakeholders of the Taal Lake in Batangas met on January 25, 2007 at the Sta.Teresita Covered Court and on January 26, 2007 at the Talisay Conference Hall for a public hearing/consultation to discuss the Unified Rules and Regulations (URR) for Fisheries of Taal Volcano Protected Landscape (TVPL). The draft URR presented to a public hearing before its approval to the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) had already been subjected to four consultations.
The public hearing aimed to harmonize the interests and priorities of the local people in the management of fisheries of the lake to ensure the conservation of the Taal Lake resources. Stakeholders from the municipalities of Agoncillo, San Nicolas, Taal, Lemery, Sta.Teresita, Alitagtag, Cuenca, Laurel, Talisay, Balete, Mataasnakahoy and the cities of Lipa and Tanauan participated in the discussions at the public hearing.
Taal Lake is part of the TVPL proclaimed by the government as protected area. As of late, it has been experiencing various environmental pressures, notably from fisheries, among others. The need for a unified rules and regulations in its management was seen to address these concerns. Being a protected area, Taal Lake has no municipal waters. A Technical Working Group, composed of sectoral representatives from aquaculture, capture fisheries, provincial environment and provincial planning representatives and all municipal agriculturists, was formed to help formulate the draft URR.
The adoption of the Unified Rules of and Regulation on Fisheries by the PAMB will make it a landmark policy that can be considered as best practice worthy of replication in other similar lake settings.
25 January 2007 at the Sta.Teresita Covered Court –
26 January 2007 at the Talisay Conference Hall –
Kilusan ng Kabataan para sa Karagatan:
Ecological Camp for the Youth of TawiTawi
Meanwhile, in the Island od Tawi-Tawi, World Wetlands Day was also celebrated. A Youth Ecological Camp was conducted for selected students on 19 February 2007 at Biha Biha Beach in Mapun. more about the celebration >>