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Keeping the Peace
FISH Project/Roger Irilis
These men were on
opposite ends on setting
up a marine sanctuary
in their village. Here,
in a mediation meeting
facilitated by a USAID funded
project, they sit
side by side and take a
moment to pray for the
peaceful resolution of
their conflict.
The strategy of restoring the
natural productivity of marine
resources by prohibiting or limiting
access to them is well-proven and
has become widely accepted in
the Philippines. But setting up a
marine sanctuary can still present
challenges.
An effort by the local government
of Panglima Sugala, in Tawi-Tawi
Province in southern Philippines,
to set up a marine sanctuary
almost led to a shootout between
those supporters and opponents of
the initiative.
To ease the potentially explosive
situation, a USAID-funded project
there, which advocated for the
sanctuary, arranged a mediation
meeting between members of the
opposing sides. Not everyone
left the meeting completely sold on the sanctuary, but all parties
agreed to exercise restraint and allow the intiative to continue
without further trouble.
The benefits of protection have since become evident in higher
fish catches and incomes for many stakeholders. Today, the
sanctuary has become a showcase of community cooperation,
guarded and protected by the community’s men and women,
young and old alike.
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