Integrated Coastal Management in Negros Oriental:

Negros Oriental’s marine landscape and underwater seascape is famous for its dolphins and reefs attracting thousands of tourists each year thus, providing substantial income for local people. Most families in the coastal areas also depend upon fisheries for their livelihood and a greater number supplement their diet with protein from the catch from part-time fishing or gleaning of the shallows at low tide. Truly, Negros Oriental is a province with vast coastal resources which have great productive potential and play an integral role in the lives of the local people. Yet, despite impressive harvests, the marine resources are overexploited and marine habitats have been degraded over the last 50 years. Additional sources of income for fishers are scarce (Vogt 1997) and poverty is a pressing issue. Destructive fishing practices, siltation and lack of wastewater treatment facilities are degrading the marine habitats and depleting the resources. In an effort to combat habitat destruction and conserve the resources, Negros Oriental has been experimenting with coastal resource management (CRM) for the last two decades. The Coastal Resource Management Project (CRMP) is the latest and the mos