By PNA
The Philippines’ Tubbataha Reef Natural Park Act from 2010 has won silver in the 2012 Future Policy Awards as one of the
world’s most inspiring and innovative ocean protection policies.
The 2012 Future Policy Award highlights the challenges faced by the world’s oceans as well as
exemplary solutions to protect them. It also provides the opportunity to raise awareness of the issue and increase practical action.
The Philippine’s award-winning Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park Act ensures the
effective management of the Tubbataha reefs, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and hotspot of coral reef biodiversity, by strengthening the legislative mandate of its managing bodies.
The management of the Natural Park by the municipal authorities and NGOs has been lauded because of the
excellent condition of the reefs, particularly when compared with neighbouring sites.
In addition, Tubbataha has demonstrated that with
carefully planned management, local communities need not bear the burden of
closed protected areas, but can be their primary beneficiaries; as a nursery site for fish, the reef supports local artisanal fisheries.
The Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park Act has been hailed as a
model of coral reef conservation and already similar legislation has been enacted in the neighbouring Apo Reef.
The three winning policies which most effectively contribute to the protection of oceans and coasts were announced by the World Future Council on September 26 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The Micronesian Republic of Palau was proclaimed the winner in recognition of two
outstanding marine policies while the Philippines and Namibia took home the two silver awards.
“With the Future Policy Award we want to cast a spotlight on policies that lead by example. The aim of the World Future Council is to
raise awareness for exemplary policies and speed up policy action towards just, sustainable and peaceful societies,†said Alexandra Wandel, Director of the World Future Council, an international policy research organisation that provides decision-makers with effective policy solutions.
The winning policies will be celebrated during an awards ceremony on October 16 at the 11th Conference of the Parties to the
Convention on Biological Diversity in Hyderabad, India.
The ceremony will be convened by the World Future Council, the UN Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), The Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with support from the Okeanos Foundation.
Jury member Pauline Tangiora, Maori elder and World Future Councillor, states: “National policies have to consider the needs of local communities and incorporate their
traditional knowledge of the ecosystems and the
natural resources these communities depend on – to ensure the sustainable use and management thereof.â€
The Republic of Palau won the Future Policy Award for two outstanding policies, which are politically bold and tailored to the needs of
local people and the
environment.
Their effects are being felt globally and they have inspired regional legislation in neighbouring countries. Palau’s Shark Haven Act of 2009 was the first of its kind and will serve to protect over a hundred
species of deep water and reef sharks in Palau’s waters.
Its effect has already been powerful. A number of other countries including Honduras, the Maldives and the Bahamas have since enacted similar laws and banned shark fishing in their national waters. Dr. Carl Safina, President and Cofounder of the Blue Ocean Institute, comments: “The ecological effects of the shark ban may not be visible yet, but the
biological effects are immediate: the sharks are still alive.â€
Palau’s second outstanding marine policy is the Protected Areas Network (PAN) Act that was initiated in 2003. It has all the elements of successful management for people and environment. Following the concern of the weakening traditional system of protection, the government implemented a countrywide system of connected protected areas including
fringing reefs, lagoons, a sardine sanctuary and mangroves.
Local communities and states manage these in the traditional fashion, but with added financial, technical and institutional support from the government. To date, 35 protected areas have been designated, with a goal of protecting 30 percent of the
near-shore marine environment and 20 percent of the terrestrial environment by 2020.
The second Silver Award went to Namibia’s Marine Resources Act (2000) for instituting an ecologically and economically viable
fishing industry. While Namibia inherited heavily over-exploited, unregulated fisheries when it gained independence in 1990, access to the fisheries is now fully controlled and heavily monitored at sea and in the harbours.
Fishing companies are required to apply for a license and quotas for the eight main commercial species are set annually. Stocks are carefully monitored, and if they fall below a critical threshold, a moratorium is set and
fishing is banned until it can be established that the fish stock has recovered.
Food security is ensured for the most vulnerable; the government actively
supports fish consumption by making it available at reduced prices for disadvantaged groups.
Ãrni Mathiesen, Assistant Director-General of FAO's Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, comments: “Humanity depends on the sustainable management of the world’s marine living resources and their environment to realise the Human Right to Food, especially for the 900 million
chronically hungry people."
"
Fish provides three billion people with at least 20 percent of their animal protein, with nearly 40 percent of those people in low-income food-deficit countries. Fisheries and aquaculture support the livelihoods of more than 10 percent of the world’s population. This is why it is so important to promote policies that successfully address the multiple threats to the
oceans.â€
An international jury composed of
experts from academia, politics, international bodies, civil society and
indigenous groups from all five continents assessed the nominations against the World Future Council’s Seven Principles for Future Just Lawmaking.
Honourable mentions were bestowed upon South Africa’s Integrated Coastal Management Act, 2008 and The State of California’s Ocean Protection Act, 2004. A total of 31 policies from 22 countries were
nominated for the award.
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