Banate Bay, a common fishing ground of the municipalities of Anilao, Banate and Barotac Nuevo all in the province of Iloilo, Philippines, has traditionally been recognized as one of the richest fishing ground in Panay Island. The past decade showed that the harvest from the bay have significantly declined due to widespread over-exploitation and habitat degradation driving the marginal and sustenance fisherfolks to live a miserable life.
Various agencies and institutions in the Philippines have done a wide array of coastal management programs, yet public concern is still inadequate. This was due to the contemporary top-down planning and bureaucratic procedures effecting minimal intervention in the municipal level. With the passage of the Local Government Code of l991 otherwise known as RA 7160, the Local Government Units were able to address their own problems despite limited resources.
Premised on the belief that coastal resource development can cut across beyond political and territorial boundaries, the Local Government Units (LGU) of Anilao, Banate and Barotac Nuevo, all in the Province of Iloilo, initiated by the Former Mayor of Anilao, Hon. Ramon A. Antiojo signed the Banate Bay Resource Management Agreement of 1996 on February 28, 1996 to (refer to the photo above) jointly manage the Bay and meet common area development plans through the Banate Bay Resource Management Council, Inc.
In 1998, another Memorandum of Agreement was signed between BBRMCI and 11 government agencies and academes in the Philippines as Technical Working Group namely the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) , Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Reserve (BFAR), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), University of the Philippines - Visayas (UPV), Iloilo State College of Fisheries (ISCOF), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Provincial Government of Iloilo, Philippine National Police (PNP) and Southeast Asia Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC). In the year 2000 the Philippine Maritime Group (PNP- Marig) also joined the TWG.
In 2002, Barotac Viejo, a municipality adjacent to Banate joined the council along side with another bay to protect - Barotac Bay.
In 2007, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) joined the advocacy of the council through a 3-year assistance on its project.
For fourteen years now, Banate-Barotac Bay Resource Management Council, Incorporated have changed lives in caring for the seas.
In 1998, another Memorandum of Agreement was signed between BBRMCI and 11 government agencies and academes in the Philippines as Technical Working Group namely the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) , Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Reserve (BFAR), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), University of the Philippines - Visayas (UPV), Iloilo State College of Fisheries (ISCOF), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Provincial Government of Iloilo, Philippine National Police (PNP) and Southeast Asia Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC). In the year 2000 the Philippine Maritime Group (PNP- Marig) also joined the TWG.
In 2002, Barotac Viejo, a municipality adjacent to Banate joined the council along side with another bay to protect - Barotac Bay.
In 2007, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) joined the advocacy of the council through a 3-year assistance on its project.
For fourteen years now, Banate-Barotac Bay Resource Management Council, Incorporated have changed lives in caring for the seas.
