By Meliusa Marie Kitche and Ria Duana Roble, MMC

The Xavier University – McKeough Marine Center (XU-MMC) through its German Technical Cooperation (GIZ) funded project entitled ER-PROGRAM or “Enhancing Resiliency to Climate Change in Macajalar Bay” in partnership with Macajalar Bay Development Alliance (MBDA) conducted a two-day Marine Protected Area (MPA) Network Training and Planning Workshop. It was the 2nd of the series of MPA trainings held at Philtown Hotel, Cagayan de Oro city on October 29-30, 2013 as a follow up activity to the MPA Management Training conducted last September 10-12. It was participated by the MPA Managers of LGU-members of MBDA, ICM/MPA Management Committee, MBDA Technical Working Groups (TWGs) on Habitat and Resource Management, Information, Education and Communication (IEC), Law Enforcement, Monitoring & Evaluation, and Policies and Governance, IFARMC officers, Private Sector, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and PNP-Maritime.

One of the outputs of the activity was a draft action plan for the MPA Network management of MBDA in its aim towards the establishment of a network of MPAs and strengthening the management of the network to address declining fish catches and degrading condition of marine ecosystems (mangroves, seagrass beds and coral reefs) in Macajalar Bay. The training highlights that networks of MPAs are increasingly valuable management tools since they provide more protection of our marine resources than a set of individual, unconnected MPAs. Essentially, an established and well-managed MPA network can improve and sustain the ecological, social and economical benefits, not just for the people nowadays, but also for the sake of future generations.

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