Capability building of Local Government Units (LGUs): A tool towards the sustainable management of lakes in the Philippines

Abstract

Under the Local Government Code (LGC), the management jurisdiction over the municipal waters lies with the local government units (LGUs). To enhance the capability of the LGUs as resource managers, in partnership with the other stakeholders of the lake, four training sessions were conducted in mainland Luzon, Palawan, central and eastern Visayas, and Mindanao. The training curriculum consists of four modules dealing with lake ecosystem, man-environment interaction, resource rehabilitation, and social aspects of resource rehabilitation. The outputs of these trainings were 134 potential lake management practitioners consisting of 52.2% LGUs, 22.4% national government agencies (NGAs) and academe, and 25.4 % Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Management Councils (FARMCs) and fisherfolks; and action plans for the management of 15 lakes and one reservoir highlighting development priorities. About 83% of the participants considered the contents of the training modules sufficient and effective showing that the training was able to improve the level of understanding of the lake ecosystem, increase awareness on the vulnerability of the resource to the impacts of human activities, and provide a venue for the integration of sectoral initiatives on lake management.