The Davao Gulf Management Council acknowledges the complexity and interrelatedness of the issues and concerns in the Gulf. In response to these issues and concerns, the DGMC shall implement eight program areas, namely:
Program Area 1: Habitat Management
This program area relates to interventions that would keep key natural and sub-natural habitats in the Gulf healthy and self-sustaining. These habitats include mangroves, soft-bottom communities, seagrass beds, sandy beaches, coral reefs, estuaries, sanctuaries, reserves, and marine parks. In terms of food chain, maintenance of these habitats is crucial in supporting plankton, invertebrates, marine vertebrates, and humans.
The sustainable use of these habitats should therefore be coupled with regular and reliable monitoring as well as specific research studies that would generate data on ecological relationships and impacts from long-time use of the resources for use by policy-makers, program or project implementers, academic and/or research institutions, among others. (View Details**)
Program Area 2: Fisheries Management
Fisheries has provided a number of significant benefits – from the mere subsistence of those directly dependent on it up to the regional economy, by generating employment and contributing to food security. However, the local fisheries in the Davao Gulf suffer from declining fish catch (Villanueva, 2004). An assessment in the 1990s revealed that catch decreased by half due to illegal fishing and environmental degradation. This has resulted to the movement of fishing grounds away from the seashore and loss of some species in the area (MSU-BFAR XI, 1999 and UPV-BFAR XI, 2001). Issues that have worsened the situation include a) encroachment by commercial fishing vessels into municipal waters; b) over-fishing worsened by the open access nature of the resource; c) absence of closed-open season for fishing; d) absence of a fishery development plan; e) low level of awareness of fisherfolks; and, f) weak law enforcement. (View Details**)
Program Area 3: Foreshore Management
Foreshore land is defined in RA 8550 as a string of land margining a body of water, the part of a sea shore between the low-water line usually at the seaward margin of a low tide terrace and the upper limit of wave wash at high tide usually marked by a beach scarp or berm.
Competition among various resource users is a significant issue in the foreshore land area. Industrial development and informal settlement encroach into the foreshore land, which serve as easements to allow natural processes to occur. This then creates a dilemma between development and foreshore protection. Confusion over priorities and conflict in uses of the foreshore stems from the following: a) the paucity of information on impacts of foreshore land development; b) the different jurisdictional authorities controlling the foreshore area; c) the non-complementation of water and/or land use plan, and d) the lack of setbacks and policy on permanent structures along the foreshore. Addressing these concerns may promote rationalization of foreshore land use. (View Details**)
Program Area 4: Coastal Tourism and Water Use
Tourism activities in the Davao Gulf are creating problems to the ecosystem. Various tourism facilities such as resorts and restaurants contribute to the pollution of the Gulf due to the lack of sanitary and sewerage systems. On the other hand, potential tourism areas remain undeveloped and inaccessible.
While some of the LGUs along the Gulf have completed their coastal zonation plan, many have yet to finish their plans. Competition among resource users is a significant issue in the coastal zone. Confusion over priorities and conflict in uses of the coasts stem from lack of accurate information on impacts of shoreline development and the lack of water zone plans to minimize resource use conflicts and complement the land use plan. Furthermore, the lack of integration between the coastal and marine management activities with the land use plans creates conflicting usage. (View Details**)
Program Area 5: Enterprise and Livelihood Development
The management area focuses on the promotion of enterprises that veer fisherfolks away from destructive fishing activities and overexploitation of fishery resources. It seeks to respond to the need of coastal communities for improved sources of income while ensuring the sustainability of coastal resources. In an environmental sense, it aims at diversity or lessening fishing pressure and dependence on coastal resources while allowing these resources to regenerate. (View Details**)
Program Area 6: Watershed Management
The tributaries of the Gulf carry soil eroded from open fields and quarry sites, sewage from human settlements and effluents from agricultural, industrial and mining activities. The booming economy in the region for the past decades has brought concomitant need for housing and residential spaces while the lucrative export demand for tropical fruits such as banana, pineapple, durian, and mangoes has led to expansion of farm lands even in forest and gullies. Sooner or later, the impacts of all these activities would manifest in murky and polluted rivers with silted and littered river mouths. The situation is aggravated by the thinning mangrove strips and wetlands which act as natural buffers for nearby seagrass beds, reefs and offshore waters. In the long run, any degradation in the watersheds can contribute to the deterioration of the water quality, life forms, and also the aesthetics of the Gulf especially in its estuarine areas. (View Details**)
Program Area 7: Waste Management, Pollution Control and Mitigation
The Davao Gulf is a major source of livelihood to fishing communities and the fishing industry and serves as habitat to many marine organisms. However, development in the region has contributed stress to the Gulf of which waste disposal, a crucial transboundary issue as evidenced by the presence of solid, liquid and gaseous forms of wastes in the Gulf, is a major concern. Hence, there is a need for waste management, pollution control, and mitigation. (View Details**)
Program Area 8:
Legal Arrangement and Institutional Development
Coastal Resource management (CRM) is an increasingly important issue in the Davao Gulf. It provides a tool for addressing the negative impacts of uncontrolled use of coastal resources. It also provides the essential processes for integrating policy and institutional components necessary to achieve sustainable development in the area in accordance with national policies and laws. It is within this framework that the local government units (LGUs) and the national government agencies (NGAs) exercise powers and assume responsibilities pursuant to their mandates under the law. (View Details**)
**In order to view the full details of all the management programs initiated by the Davao Gulf Management Council, grab your own copy of the DGMC Framework Plan 2005-2014 in their headquarters. Click here for the contact information.
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