Thirty youth members from the local government unit of San Joaquin, a second class municipality located 53 kilometres in the southernmost part of the province of Iloilo, benefited from the two-day training on marine conservation conducted by the UP Ichthyophilic Society (UPIS) on May 4-5, 2019.
Entitled “Reef Rangers 2019,” the activity taught the participants the importance of biodiversity, its protection and conservation. It also enabled the youth to identify various issues and challenges on the decline of biodiversity in their locality and to formulate solutions to these problems.
UPIS, a socio-academic organization of the College of Fisheries an Ocean Sciences (CFOS), UP Visayas (UPV), invited speakers for the participants to learn about marine ecosystems' ecology and conservation.
They were Ms. Angel Queenee Dequito, faculty member of the Institute of Aquaculture, CFOS; Mr. Marvin Gonzales, MS student of CFOS and former Fisheries/Coastal Resource Management Officer in Mindoro; Ms. Precious Nikola Gaurana,island Manager of Danjugan Island, Negros Occidental; and Prof. Sheila S. de Leon, faculty member of the Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanoloy (IMFO), CFOS.
Dequito lectured on biodiversity while Gonzales talked about ecosystems. Gaurana discussed sustainable living systems. Prof. de Leon and Gonzales spearheaded the workshop that was followed by the film showing of short documentaries.
These activities were held at the CFOS audio visual hall, UPV Miagao campus on May 4.
The following day, May 5, the youth volunteers were introduced to mangroves, beach forest, seagrass, and corals and other various interactive and fun activities at Nogas Island, Anini-y, province of Antique. Nogas Island is a marine sanctuary rich in biodiversity.
The youth volunteers were the same group of participants to the Reef Rangers 2018. They were from UNBOUND San Joaquin Chapter. UNBOUND is a non-profit international organization founded by lay Catholics grounded in the Gospel call to put the needs of the marginalized and vulnerable.
The south of San Joaquin is a coastline facing the Panay Gulf where marine sanctuaries have been declared as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
Last year, the training focused on developing the skills of the participants in the identification of marine life (corals, invertebrates, and fish). They were also educated on the importance of coastal protection and awareness and discipline in handling marine life.
UPIS is looking forward for a productive Reef Rangers training in the future. (With sources from UPIS)
