last week a group of divers saw one thresher shark cruising in beatrice. we were happy to heard abt that and hopeful for the batangas government in keeping their duties and responsibilities to protect endangered species.

i dont want to blame the lgu but who should take the initiative in the conservation of biodiversity? (tagged as the center of center of global marine biodiversity) Is it the lgu, the conservation group, the resort owners, the divers group, the fishermen, the teachers, the doctors, the students? let’s go further… the national agencies? let’s call the president down there to resolve the problem and initiate the conservation and protection. sino at paano ba talaga?

if there were really efforts to protect the sharks, we are willing to help.

we were happy to know that at least 1 thresher shark was still down there in the waters. if they dont want to stop the hunting and selling (at lleast) regulate the catching of the sharks. what do we expect from this government? to wait until there were nothing more left in the waters? do we pray to high Heavens that they spare or leave us some for future generations until we would know what to do about it? or even act for it?

hey, we pay taxes and environment fees and other users fees where do our payments for all of these fees go? do the fishermen pay taxes and other fees everytime they get fishes in the waters?

i also have to do odd jobs just to augment some of my financial needs. nasusunog din and balat ko pag nagguguide ako sa diving groups.

the issue here is how do we “conserve biodiversity”?

We need to look at the situation from different perspectives and employ holistic approaches to create partnerships among the various stakeholders and lessen the pressure on biodiversi. Antagonizing them with threats of harsh punishments drives their operations underground, making it more difficult to monitor and merely perpetuates the vicious cycle. the conservation of biodiversity is a responsibility of everyone, not just of the LGU, or of the conservation groups nor of the direct resource users. One thing is certain about the situation in batangas, we dont have enough information to make an informed and guided decision.

A public dialouge has been initiated between the government and the fishing communities of batangas, which should provide a platform to air issues and problems as well as oppurtunity for reaching out and exchanging ideas and possibly discuss measures. we need to keep an eye on this situation and see the developments as they happen.