Background
The Philippines is considered a pioneer in the still evolving Coastal Resource Management disciplines. The country’s experience in CRM dates back to the early 1980s, when various sectors, alerted to the growing problem of environmental degradation in the coastal area, began to conceptualize and implement several projects designed to bring about sustainable management and use of coastal resources.
The 1987 constitution provides “the State shall protect the nation’s marine wealth and the rights of subsistence fishermen and local communities to the preferential use of marine and fishing resources.” This was further strengthened and operationalized by the 1998 Fisheries Code which adopted integrated coastal area management as a national strategy reinforcing local government mandate to manage municipal waters and requiring 15% of municipal waters as marine protected areas.
Over the years, the coastal resources have experienced unsustainable practices that caused pollution and habitat destruction resulting in significant loss of coastal support system. The destruction, coupled with destructive fishing practices, resulted further to decline in fisheries productivity and further aggravated the poverty situation in the coastal areas.
The CRM in the Ilocos-Pangasinan Region is a special project of the RDC. It has a Regional Technical Working Group that steers the region’s efforts in making the coastal resources sustainable. The RTWG provides technical assistance in the preparation of the CRM Plans of the coastal municipalities as well as the provinces. Monitoring and evaluation of these plans are conducted semestrally and is being reported to the RDC during its regular meetings.
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CRM 
IRIS Net
