DENR inspects Noveleta’s salt beds, Ternate’s fish sanctuary

    Publishing date: Wednesday, Jul. 04, 2007 (11:38 AM) | 

With the onset of the rainy season, the salt beds of Noveleta town in Cavite have been converted to sprawling fishponds. Soon, fishermen expect the arrival of diverse migratory birds that have made the area their favored feeding and roosting ground.

Salt-making is one of the oldest livelihoods in Noveleta and was once a major contributor to the town’s economy. However, with massive pollution of Manila Bay, the industry was severely affected that only a few townsfolk could sustain the business.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) recently inspected Noveleta’s salt beds as well as a major fish sanctuary in Ternate, Cavite, as part of its long-term efforts to clean up the Manila Bay and develop its coastal and marine resources.

Aside from Noveleta’s salt beds, the DENR officials also visited the 13-hectare Bulaklakin Reef Fish Sanctuary near the Paniman Beach Resort in Barangay Puerto Azul, Ternate, which was established as a sanctuary in 2005. The sanctuary, which also serves as a seaweed farm for local fishermen and community members, has been set up by the local government with the help of the DENR, the provincial government, and non-government organizations.

DENR officials believe that the sanctuary will enhance not only Ternate’s coastal and marine resources but also those of other communities along the coastline of Manila Bay.

The three components of the sanctuary program are partnership and governance, pollution management, and protection of resources and habitats.

The Bulaklakin reef has likewise been proposed for the small grants program of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) by the Anak ng Dagat, a people’s organization, for its community-based management projects.

The DENR is also conducting a comprehensive flood mitigation study for Cavite’s lowland areas where three rivers - - Canas, San Juan and Imus – traverse. The study is in partnership with the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

DENR Secretary Angelo T. Reyes said monitoring of stakeholders’ performance on the implementation of the operational plan for the Manila Bay coastal strategy will continue in pursuit of the DENR’s aim to “provide a productive and wholesome