The Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff approved the renewal of Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between Palawan Council for Sustainable Development and Malampaya Foundation Incorporated (MFI), Nov. 24.
Since 2012, MFI has been implementing community-based marine biodiversity conservation and coastal resource management programs, with strong emphasis on local capacity building, marine protected areas (MPA) establishment/expansion, MPA management and enforcement strengthening, ecological monitoring and rehabilitation, and various socio-economic projects in close coordination with its partners and stakeholders.
Between PCSD and MFI, the MOA will further pursue conserving and enforcing measures to protect marine ecosystems in Northern Palawan, with emphasis on MFI’s focal sites such as the Malampaya Sound Protected Landscape and Seascape; El Nido Taytay Protected Landscape and Seascape; Municipality of El Nido, Linapacan, Coron, and Culion.
Through the MOA, it will also capacitate MFI in partnership with PCSD to effectuate efforts and programs in its Social Mobilization and Advocacy, Socio-economic Improvement, Ecological Assessment, and Ecological Enhancement/ Rehabilitation.
Both parties will jointly implement community-based sustainable coral reef rehabilitation projects such as marine protected area establishment, selective and permitted coral rehabilitation, restocking, and other appropriate and technologically sound reef restoration actions in select sites in Northern Palawan, and agree to maintain existing ties and collaborative efforts by virtue of RA 7611 or the Strategic Environment Plan Law.
The MOA, which shall carry the program entitled “Integrated Coastal and Marine Resources Management Programme for Northern Palawan,” aims to restore degraded coastal and marine ecosystems through ridge-to-reef/ecosystem approach by applying active and passive management interventions that will increase ecosystem resilience to the effects of changing climate.
It also seeks to bring back the flow of goods and services provided by healthy lowland forests, reefs, seagrass beds, mangrove forests, and clean coastal waters to improve the production of the fishery sector and enhance the recreational experiences in the tourism industry, and capacitate local communities and community leaders in the management of their environment and natural resources.
The joint MOA between PCSD and MFI shall remain in force until December 31, 2024.