Stakeholders sign commitment to protect Subic Bay
February 8, 2010 11:20 am
SUBIC BAY FREEPORT, Zambales, Feb. 8 — Government agencies, private organizations and local stakeholders have recently signed a “Declaration of Commitment” to protect Subic Bay after the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) urged a joint conservation effort involving various sectors of the community here.
The declaration was signed over the weekend as an initial undertaking that resulted from the recent Subic Bay Water Summit, a two-day conference held at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center (SBECC) where multi-sector representatives discussed strategies for the conservation of local water resources and the protection of marine ecosystems.
The SBMA, through its Ecology Center, spearheaded the summit to help arrest the growing degradation of Subic Bay, which is considered as the economic lifeblood of the Subic free port and the nearby communities, SBMA administrator Armand Arreza said.
According to the declaration, the conservation of marine resources and the protection of rivers and coastal areas in Olongapo, Zambales and Bataan, “are indispensable to the continued social and economic well-being of those who live near or otherwise depend on the Bay, as well as to the sustainability of the life itself of the Bay.”
It also noted that pollution is the most serious threat to the water quality of Subic Bay.
While the bay is naturally endowed with a deep harbor and a diverse yet fragile ecosystem, it is “now being endangered by various human and development activities in the uplands, the surrounding communities and within the coastal areas,” the declaration stated.
With this, the summit participants resolved “to renew and reinforce our efforts toward the sustainable development and management of our local water resources in a manner that is technically and legally feasible, fundable and effective.”
Dr. Hoanh Hoang Nguyen, a soil and water specialist from Vietnam, identified at least 42 watersheds in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, of which 27 are drained by rivers directly into Subic Bay.
There is therefore “a need to control or reduce the sources of the pollutions that drain into the bay and the conversion of forestlands into cultivated lands or grasslands by informal settlers,” Nguyen urged in his presentation entitled “Total Catchment Approach to Land and Water Use Planning.”
Nguyen added that six land and water use issues have to be addressed immediately: conversion of forest land into dwelling, unregulated use of pesticides and fertilizers, annual grassland burning, livelihood from natural resources, fishponds and fish cages, and commercial and industrial activities inside core protection areas.
Arreza said the SBMA organized the water summit to come up with a common action plan to effectively protect the Subic Bay and the valued water resources in the locality.
Among those who signed the declaration of commitment were Olongapo City Mayor James Gordon Jr.; former Zambales vice governor Saturnino Bactad, who represented Zambales Gov. Amor Deloso; Pastolan Aeta village chieftain Conrado Frenilla; and Restituto del Rosario, a Gawad-Saka national awardee from Morong, Bataan. (PNA)
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