THE LOCAL government of Zamboanga thanked the United States Agency for International Development and Dr. Reynaldo Navacilla, Field Site Manager of USAID Protect Wildlife Project following the completion of management plans for Islas de Santa Cruz, Pasonanca Park and Watershed, the assessment of Once Islas here.
Mayor Beng Climaco and City Administrator Apple Go led local
officials and employees in thanking Navacilla, who was received a certificate
of commendation and a City Council resolution expressing gratitude for the
USAID program.
She
said the Protect Wildlife Project - a partnership between the United States and
the Philippines - donated complete sets of computer equipment to the local
government in an effort to further boost environmental and fishery protection
here.
The
donation was coursed recently through the Office of the City Environment and
Natural Resources (OCENR) and the Office of the City Agriculturist (OCA),
according to Climaco, adding, the equipment will help in the daily operations
of OCENR and OCA in maintaining their data base intended for recording,
retrieving and analysing data related to apprehensions, seizures and other
information related to enforcing environmental and fishery laws here.
Part of
the donation was environmental plans developed in partnership with the local
government and technical assistance from the USAID. The documents included the
Zamboanga City Central Mangroves Framework, Ayala Watershed Management and
Development Plan and Manicahan Watershed Management and Development Plan,
Zamboanga City Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and the Environment Code
of the City of Zamboanga.
The
P1.2-billion, five year, Protect Wildlife biodiversity conservation project was
launched in March 2017 by the U.S. government through USAID which partnered
with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and aims to help
protect and manage the country’s diverse habitats and species.
The
project is also designed to address biodiversity loss and illegal wildlife
trade in some of the most vibrant and vulnerable ecosystems in the country. And
it uses a comprehensive strategy that combines technical assistance for
government and civil society partners, partnerships for conservation financing,
behavior change campaigns and social marketing, science and technology, and
environmental law enforcement.
This
holistic approach promotes partnership among environmental stakeholders and
empowers those best positioned to address biodiversity loss and the illegal
wildlife trade.
Aside
from Zamboanga City, the provinces of Tawi-Tawi and Palawan, which host some of
the most bio-diverse habitats and unique species in the country, are included
in the project because they are also exposed to various human-induced threats
such as poaching and trafficking of wildlife, destructive fishing practices,
and loss of habitats from widespread conversion of forests, wetlands, and
mangroves to settlements and agricultural lands. (Zamboanga Post)
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