U.S. Embassy Photo Release

June 20, 2007

 

U.S. Ambassador Kenney Visits U.S.-Supported Environment Programs on Coron Island; Focuses on Sustainable Livelihood Projects for Coron Citizens

 

U.S. Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney visited Coron Island, Palawan, on June 8 to tour U.S. Government-supported programs to protect the environment and secure development and livelihood opportunities for residents.  The U.S. Agency for International Development has several programs on the island that help residents who earn a living through fishing and fish trade make sure that their practices sustain the environment, thereby ensuring that their livelihood opportunities continue to grow and that the rich sealife surrounding Coron Island is protected for future generations.

 

One U.S. Government program is the Transforming the Marine Aquarium Trade (TMAT) project, which trains ornamental fish collectors to use non-destructive fish capture methods.  During her visit, Ambassador Kenney snorkeled with a group of collectors to learn about the environmentally friendly barrier-net fish collection method.  Collectors using this method are trained under USAID programs and certified by the Marine Aquarium Council (MAC) in Palawan.  Training with USAID and MAC includes 11 modules ranging from fishing gear to marketing and selling.

 

The program also focuses on the proper handling and packing of ornamental fish for shipment.  Pictured above, Ambassador Kenney holds an ornamental fish ready for transport after being caught in a sustainable manner.  Also pictured are (standing, L to R) MAC Palawan Area Manager Jeremias Bacones; Romy Cabungcal of USAID’s Fisheries Improved for Sustainable Harvest (FISH) project; and Department of Natural Resources officer Brenda Ermita.

 

Ambassador Kenney also attended a festival to mark the Tangay y ang Laud Calamian (Calamianes, I Love the Ocean) movement, which draws attention to coastal-marine issues and helps teach schoolchildren about environmental awareness.  Ambassador Kenney distributed prizes to grade-school winners of the On the Spot Painting Contest with the theme "Our Sea, Our Life," and joined Calamianes leaders in reciting the “Ocean Creed.”

 

The American people are also helping protect the environment and citizen’s livelihoods through USAID’s Fisheries Improved for Sustainable Harvest (FISH) project.  Through the FISH program, two marine sanctuaries were recently inaugurated on Coron Island that will allow the growth, maturation and spawning of fish and other marine organisms that can contribute to stable and sustained recruitment and repopulation of fish stocks in the adjacent areas.  The sanctuaries are the Balisungan Marine Sanctuary at Cabo Beach, Sitio Balisungan, Barangay Tagumpay and the Minugbay-Malbato-Tagpe Marine Sanctuary in Sitio Malbato, Barangay Bintuan.

 

Promoting sustainable fisheries management and conservation initiatives is also possible through mangrove rehabilitation, of which the U.S. Government is a proud partner.  USAID’s FISH program works with the DENR, the Rotary Club of Makati-Salcedo, and the Northern Palawan Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary on mangrove replanting in Barangay 5, Coron Island.

 

Other programs include assisting the Federation of Tagbanwa Tribal Communities in the Calamianes to assess and protect their coastal resources.  At Kayangan Lake, which is one of seven lakes within the ancestral waters and traditional fishing grounds of the Tagbanwa, the American people through USAID’s FISH program are working with the federation and the University of the Philippines to develop a coastal and fisheries management framework plan for these important ancestral waters. 

 

 

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