---

       The protection and rehabilitation of the inland and coastal environment has been strongly recognized as a necessary step in decelerating further marginalization of poor farmers and fisherfolks, degradation of ecosystems, and depletion of resources and the non-viability of the industries based on them. In many experiences, it has been proven that the active and meaningful participation of communities in the protection and management of the environment stands as a truly viable option. Along the major coastlines of the Philippine archipelago, it is hoped that such experiences may be replicated. The effective protection and rehabilitation of the inland and coastal environment often depends mainly on the poor communities, whose resource base for survival is being threatened. But active and meaningful participation lies in the degree of environmental awareness of the people.

       The present enormous environmental and social problems, besetting our communities are indicative of the need to enhance the people’s awareness of environmental protection and knowledge on management. The resources continue to decline due massive exploitation. More and more resources that are economically and ecologically important to the people are becoming scarce. This condition is, unfortunately, reflected in the environmental situation of the island-municipality of Anda, Pangasinan. 

       Recognizing this need, the CBCRM Resource Center at the UP College of Social Work and Community Development is currently implementing a community-based coastal resource management program with the poor fishers and farmers of Anda.

       Current trends of development in the island-municipality of Anda call for extensive campaigns on environmental awareness and education. Wanton and unchecked establishment of fish-pens, employment of destructive fishing methods (e.g. dynamite, cyanide, and fine-meshed nets), conversion of mangrove areas into fishponds, and poor implementation of environmental laws are just some of the issues identified that affect the state of the island’s environment.

       The Anda CB-Program started mid-year of 1997. It is intended to cover eight out of eighteen coastal Barangays of Anda, Pangasinan. CBCRM, as a strategy for sustainable development, seeks to empower people to manage, protect and rehabilitate their coastal resources in order to sustain the well-being of the environment while at the same time maintaining its carrying capacity for people’s basic needs. In this regard the program is facilitating the formation of local organizations and help develop their capabilities to undertake sustainable resource management and livelihood projects, together with the community’s invaluable realization that they have a need to undertake an organized action towards that goal.
 

---