Local government executives meet environmental challenges head on

Not too long ago, the muni-cipality of Linamon was one of the dirties in the province of Lanao del Norte. Today, though, it is not only the cleanest in the province. Its BALAK Program, which stands for "Basura Atras Linamon Abante sa Kalambuan", was adjudged one of the trailblazing programs in the recent Galing Pook Awards.

"Show me a dirty municipality and I will show you a dirty mayor," was one remark coming from neighboring towns that irked the Mayor Cherlito Macas "I didn’t take that laughing and so may constituents and I moved on as one and did our best to remove that dirty image," he reveals.

In the town of Lanuza in Surigao del Sur, around 250 fisher folks were adversely affected by the constant encroachment of commercial fishers from neighboring municipalities, who employed illegal means to increase their catch. But the Lanuza fisher folk, ten thousand in all, were not to be denied the gift from the sea. Standing as one with their local chief executive, Dr. Algerico Irizari, they guarded their shores and helped enforce strict environment laws. Thus, was born the Lanuza Sagip Karagatan Program.

Irizari, appealed to the people by "making them realize that the resources around were ours, and that we all share the responsibility of managing, protecting, conserving and promoting their sustainable utilization."

"While we have not totally eradicated the problem of illegal fishing, we have effectively reduced it to an extent that allows our fisher folk bigger catch and therefore, greater take-home income," he says.

To Sakina Pendatum Bernan, Mayor of Gen. Salipada K. Pendatun town in Maguin-danao, "the conservation and protection of Ligawasang Marsh is our top concern if our people are to survive.

"Ligawasan, where our municipality is located, is part of our lives, our traditions and our culture. It is a sanctuary of fauna including crocodiles and birds. In the 1970s, it was affected by a long drought and it has not been able to recover since, making life difficult for my townspeople."

Bernan has gone beyond local resources, seeking the assistance of DENR and the Mindanao Development Foundation, among other NGOs and agencies. "They have given palm tree and other seedlings, which we pass on to the people. We bind them into a contract, which requires them to plant the seedlings, but they can keep the eventual harvest, so they can be benefited economically," she says, admitting that "we try to solve the long-term problem of nature conservation, at the same time try to help them too in their immediate livelihood requirements."

Bernan, Macas and Irizari are only three of the 183 local chief executives who participated in a special course on governance and accountability held last year and initiated by the Philippines-Canada Local Government Support Program (LGSP) through its Local Chief Executive Development Management Program (LDMP).

With environmental protection as one of the key areas identified by the LGSP, the local chief executives who attended the workshop made sure to prioritize the care preservation and conservation of nature in their executive agenda. When the three attended the recent reunion of the participants in last year’s workshop, they shared their success stories in nature conservation and protection.

According to Macas, "the secret to this is to look beyond one’s term. If you’re only after getting reelected, you’ll fill your time with activities that have immediate results. But when you think of the future, of the generations to come, you realize that you first have to befriend nature, and its every manifestation in your surroundings. It’s the only way you can assure your children and their childen of a happy future."