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About the Search As a means to identify municipal models of CRM, and to recognize them so that others can learn from and be inspired to follow them, the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) and the Coastal Resource Management Project (CRMP) launched the biennial Search for Best Coastal Management Programs on October 9, 1997 during the 1997 National LMP Convention. Under a Memorandum of Agreement signed in August 1997, LMP and CRMP, sharing a common interest in promoting good coastal management practices, agreed to "jointly develop a work program, screening process, and guidelines for the implementation" of the Search. The Search has five major objectives:
The term ‘Best CRM Program’ is taken to mean the total package of management tools, projects, approaches, techniques, and values employed by each municipality in the performance of its role as steward of the coastal resources under its jurisdiction. More than the performance of the local officials managing, overseeing or supporting CRM, the Search recognizes institutional performance and thus emphasizes the sustainability and totality of the programs over the specific merits of their components or of any project a municipality may now be pursuing related to coastal resource use or conservation. Selection Process A National Search Committee (NSC) undertakes a multi-stage evaluation of the nominations. The composition of the NSC is as follows:
The rules and mechanics of the Search are described in detail and published as guidelines made available through LMP, CRMP, the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). These are summarized as follows:
Self-Help Guide The Search was conducted for the first time in 1997-1998 , and the next call for nominees is scheduled for January of the year 2000. This is a self-help guide for coastal municipalities who wish to assess what stage they are in implementing CRM. The questions and parameters provided for each stage are based on the criteria used to evaluate nominees for this Search and can serve to prepare you for the next Search. The stages outlined here correspond to 5 stages of CRM development: Stage 0 - There is no program in the coast area nor in the watershed area. Know the status and value of your resources using the simple assessment guide. Stage 1 - There are several projects relating to CRM. These might include marine sanctuaries, and mangrove reforestation; however, these were planned independently. Stage 2 - Physical planning and institutional infrastructure for CRM is established. Stage 3 - Interventions acquire a holistic and integrated perspective with monitoring. Stage 4 - Planning cycle is complete and working!
Know what stage your municipality is in and plan to achieve the highest stage! Stage 0: No CRM program — the assessment phase I. What is the status of our coastal resources? A. Look at the trends — is fish catch much lower now than it was 5 years age? 10 years ago? Are we catching less-valued species? Is there large-scale conversion of mangroves? Are the coral reefs healthy? Are there illegal activities that continue to destroy critical habitats? B. Look at the major threats — is the coastal population increasing? Is the number of fishers increasing? Is development, e.g. housing and industry, pushing towards the coast? Is there a mushrooming of tourist facilities? What’s happening in the uplands? Mining, continued forest degradation activities? What’s happening in the lowlands? Is agriculture dependent on inorganic fertilizers? II. Are the coastal communities directly dependent on the use of coastal resources? A. Yes? Then, CRM becomes imperative to ensure their livelihood! III. How much economic value do communities gain from the use of coastal resources? A. Estimate value of fish catch especially those of coral-dwelling species, mangrove crabs and shells, poles and other wood products. How many tourists visit? How much do they spend? How much do boat owners charge for dive trips? Again, look at the trends! IV. What happens when these resources are destroyed? A. For coral reefs: loss of aesthetic value, loss of fish habitat, loss of protection against waves---LOSS OF INCOME, LIVES and PROPERTY! B. For mangroves: loss of habitat for fish and shrimp juveniles, crabs, loss of source of wood products and medicines, loss of silt aggregation function, loss of buffer against storms---LOSS OF INCOME, LIVES and PROPERTY! C. For fisheries: loss of food and the most economical source of dietary protein---LOSS OF INCOME AND LIVES! Stage 1 – Fragmented projects along the coast I. Are there conservation/protection projects (marine sanctuaries, mangrove reforestation etc.) in our municipality? II. Are they funded by donor agencies or NGOs? III. Is some form of support provided by local leadership, e.g. in the maintenance of these facilities? Enforcement of local ordinances? IV. Does the community and local government have a role in the establishment and maintenance of these facilities? Stage 2 - Physical planning and institutional infrastructure for CRM is established I. Is planning adhered to? (For a step-by-step guide to CRM Planning, move on to the next section!) II. Does our municipality have an organizational structure that balances development and protection of our coastal resources? III. Are the scope of action and responsibility of each functional department in our municipality clearly defined? IV. Is the access to and control over the coastal resources of our locality by the different local departments and/or community sectors carefully planned, monitored and regulated as needed? V. Are peoples’ organizations established, recognized and participating in planning? VI. Do laws, regulations and policies on managing these projects exist in our municipality? Are they consistently applied? VII. Is a desk/telephone hotline in place to respond to stakeholders’ concerns and complaints on issues regarding our coastal projects? Are simple (easy-to-follow) procedures in the processing of complaints, suggestions and requests for assistance from the public being used? VIII. Is there a continuing training program for members of people’s organizations in our municipality on managing our projects/resources? IX. Are team-based and participatory processes being used in the planning and implementation of coastal activities in our municipality? Stage 3 - Interventions acquire a holistic and integrated perspective with monitoring I. Do we have to develop projects in our watershed areas? What are these projects? II. Are there inter-LGU endeavors in place between my municipality and the other municipalities in our area? What is the extent (number) of our inter-LGU networks? III. Are there ordinances institutionalizing CRM principles in our municipality? IV. Are there effective channels of communication between the government and the public (fora, community bulletins, etc.)? V. Do we have mechanisms installed to evaluate the impact of development projects and other activities on different ecosystems? VI. Are there mechanisms that promote open communication and collaboration with other LGUs and the different national agencies (MOAs, MOUs, regular forums, etc.)? VII. Are there joint venture arrangements existing between the government and the private sector to support our projects in our coastal areas? VIII. Do we have a land use plan? Does the land use plan address the need to maintain the ecological balance in place in our municipality? IX. Do we have a CRM plan? Does our CRM plan link watersheds and coastal areas? X. Is there a monitoring evaluation plan for CRM activities? XI. Do we routinely monitor activities in coastal areas? Stage 4 - Planning cycle is complete and working I. Is there a continuing capacity-building program to strengthen government-non-government relationships? II. Are there adequate monitoring and feedback systems in our municipality which really work? III. Does a "unified development plan" exist in our municipality? Does it incorporate CRM principles that are endorsed/approved by all government sectors, including the politicians, local government staff, and representatives of national government agencies? IV. Are there joint venture arrangements existing between the government and the private sector to support CRM initiatives? V. Do we have investment support for our CRM programs? VI. Do we practice a values-oriented information campaign (using local media and other channels) that incorporates CRM principles? VII. Does our leadership program incorporate CRM principles? CRM includes many activities – often complex ones – that are carefully arranged in plans. A plan can arrange actions to solve very specific problems such as the degradation of a small mangrove forest, or may organize all the required actions to manage the coastal resources in one or more municipalities covering 100 kilometers or more of coastline. Regardless of the size, scope and complexity of a plan, there is a planning process and certain basic ingredients. Various programs in the Philippines and abroad have, through experience, helped us determine what is essential in the CRM process to achieve results in both the short and long term. The basic planning and implementation cycle is composed of eight phases. We enumerated questions through each of these phases which could guide municipalities in planning their CRM program and/or check on the extent of their ongoing CRM program through CRM interventions. Phase 1: Program preparation Have we ... determined the boundaries and scope of the program? ... made work plans / budgets? ... assigned personnel for the program? ... secured consensus on overall approach? Phase 2: Secondary information gathering Have we ... compiled existing maps, reports, data, etc? ... interviewed information sources? ... compiled existing laws, agreements, plans, etc? ... reviewed other sources of information? Phase 3: Field assessment/study: Participatory Coastal Resource Assessment (PCRA) and other research Have we ... trained practitioners? ... conducted PCRA mapping and data collection? ... contracted special research studies on fish stock assessment, habitat condition, water quality, enterprise and others? Phase 4: Database and profile development Have we ... set up data storage and retrieval system? ... compiled coastal environmental profiles? ... used profiles as planning base? ... refined boundaries and further research needs? Phase 5: Prioritize issues and analyze causes Have we... conducted community and municipal-based planning sessions? ... prioritized issues for management? ... determined causes of issues? Phase 6: Policy and plan formulation Have we... conducted planning workshops to determine objectives, strategies, and actions? ... determined clearly stated goals, objectives, and indicators? ... established a mechanism for interagency coordination? ... determined the composition of the management council? ... initiated preliminary plan implementation and CRM interventions? Phase 7: Plan/project implementation and enforcement Have we... designed pilot projects? ... tested the projects? ... formalized and set up the management council? ... secured support as required? ... strengthened local law enforcement? ... passed ordinances to institutionalize CRM process and interventions? ... increased implementation effort? Phase 8: Monitoring and evaluation Have we ... trained a monitoring and evaluation team? ... monitored environment and ICM process and feedback to database and plan? ... evaluated program results and feedback to plan? *Typical interventions include: - Annual LGU budget allocation for CRM - Active resource management organizations - Participatory coastal resource assessment - Profiling and database - CRM plan preparation and adoption - Water use zoning - Functional marine sanctuaries - Passage/implementation of fisheries and coastal management ordinances - Alternative enterprise development - Community-based forest management agreements - Registration and licensing program - Operational Bantay Dagat - Information, education, communication programs League of Municipalities of the Philippines The League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) was created by virtue of Republic Act 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991. It is the organization of the 1,540 municipalities in the Philippines. As an organization, LMP serves as venue for the municipalities to articulate, ventilate, and crystallize issues affecting municipal government administration, and secure solutions to these issues through proper and legal means. The powers and functions of LMP are as follows:
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