By Rey Anthony Chiu
Philippine Information AgencyAn event of historical significance took place today when four (4) governors of Central and Eastern Visayas signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to jointly protect, preserve and manage the Danajon Double Barrier Reef, the only documented barrier reef in the country and in the Southeast Asia region.
Governors Gwendolyn Garcia of Cebu (Ce), Carlos Jericho Petilla of Leyte (Le), Erico Aumentado of Bohol (Bo) and Damian Mercado of Southern Leyte (SoLe) led their respective delegation of mayors, regional directors of national government agencies and representatives of non-government organizations during the CeLeBoSoLe Growth Quadrangle Convention on Poverty, Population and Environment held at the Bohol Tropics Resort.
Located off northern Bohol and surrounded by the provinces of Cebu, Leyte and Southern Leyte, the 272- square kilometer Danajon Bank has a high degree of diversity in its marine flora and fauna and includes Southeast Asia’s largest man-made mangrove forest in Banacon Island off the shores of Getafe town in Bohol. It stretches across sixteen (16) municipalities and two (2) cities in the four (4) Visayas provinces. Cebu, Bohol and Leyte provinces belong to the so-called “Millionaires’ Club†in terms of population.
Over the years, the condition of Danajon Bank has become alarming due to extremely high fishing pressure, rapid population increase in the coastal towns around it and ineffective coastal resource management programs and policies.
The signing of the MOA automatically created the CeLeBoSoLe Council and Technical Working Group both of which is an inter-regional, multi-province and multi-agency body.
The agreement aims to address the issues and concerns affecting food security, poverty reduction, over population, maintenance of the biodiversity of Danajon Bank Barrier Reef, as well as enforcement and litigation of fishery laws through a participatory and convergence approach from among all the stakeholders of this rare natural asset.
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