A 5-year, multidisciplinary ecology and environmental survey project between UP Diliman’s The Marine Science Institute(MSI) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) was signed by (standing from left) Project Manager Dr. Miguel Fortes, MSI Director and Project Director Maria Lourdes SD McGlone, Dr. Ariel Blanco from the Remote Sensing and Modeling Team (College of Engineering) and Dr. Fernando Siringan from the Geochemistry Team (MSI). In front are UPD Chancellor Sergio S. Cao and JICA representative Naoko Yago.
UP Diliman, through The Marine Science Institute (MSI), and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed on Feb. 25 a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for a 5-year program involving the survey of tourist destinations in the country.
The P742-million project, called Integrated Coastal Ecosystem Conservation and Adoptive Management under Local and Global Environmental Impacts in the Philippines (CECAM) aims to gather ecological and environmental data on key tourism locations in the country not only for scientific but also policy-making purposes.
The MSI is teaming up with the concerned government agencies such as the Department of Natural Resources, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and Department of Science and Technology for the project. It will also work in collaboration with other research institutions, such as UP Visayas and Mindanao State University.
According to Project Manager and Marine Ecology Team leader Dr. Miguel Fortes, five initial study sites have been identified, namely: Bolinao, Pangasinan; Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro; Taclong, Guimaras; Naawan and Lopez Jaena municipalities in Misamis Oriental and Laguna Lake. Results and data gathered will be made available to conservationists, other researchers and the national government.
The project is headed by UPD Chancellor Sergio S. Cao as the chair of the Joint Coordinating Committee, the highest decision making body of CECAM.
—Anna Regidor