By: Gregorio A. Tavera

JAGNA – CARING for this town's coastal resources is not just a decision by the town executives and a local Coastal Resource Management Workshop participated by multi-sectors assure townspeople of a participatory governance. Local legislators, town planners, barangay executives and environment advocates sat down and crafted an environmental management plan during the workshop March 23. Bohol Environmental Management (BEMO) representatives and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) pooled expertise and presented issues for resolution during the activity. There during the workshop were barangay captains for the town's 14 coastal communities along with the Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator (MPDC) Engr. Ronnie Galabo.

Jagna Mayor Exuperio Lloren earlier designated two Sangguniang Bayan (SB) members: Pacheco Ll. Rances and Andrew Tadena to sit during the workshop. Planning workshop facilitators include Remy Regacho, BEMO sector head of CRM, Engr. Marcial Ogay, DENR-CRM and Narding Vallejos, CRM sector. The facilitators also clarified unclear items on the CRM plan last the previous year's formulation based on the participatory coastal resource appraisal (PCRA). The PCRA, Bemo's Regacho hinted, needs a monitoring and evaluation of accomplishments based on the targets under specific timetable. Furthermore, SB member Rances, who also chairs agriculture committee in the council bared the municipal plan to fund for a training of fish wardens for each barangays. The move hopes to augment the manpower that the different coastal community people's organizations give safeguard the seas from againstillegal fishers.