Pilar in Top 10, needs online votes

CEBU, Philippines - The island municipality of Pilar in Cebu was chosen as one of the ten finalists in the Global Solution Search for Top Community-Based Marine Conservation Projects sponsored by Rare Conservation and National Geographic.

This qualifies the municipality to win $20,000 if chosen to be the overall winner in the ongoing search via on-line voting and a video exposure on National Geographic’s Ocean website.

There were more than 100 entries submitted from 48 countries while three entries come from the Philippines.

Of the country’s three entries, only the municipality of Pilar made it to the top ten and is one of the two finalists from Asia.

Pilar is a fifth class municipality that is part of the Camotes group of islands in the Province of Cebu and is composed of 13 barangays.

As its entry, the municipality showcased the Pilar Municipal Marine Park (PMMP) situated in Ponson Island and bounded by barangays Lower Poblacion and Villahermosa.

Located in what is considered a priority conservation area for reef fishes, the region was previously threatened by compressor fishing and illegal intrusion of commercial fishing boats.

Pilar Vice Mayor Eufracio Maratas, Jr. said that in addressing the threat, the PMMP established an innovative multi-stakeholder co-management scheme, which implemented activities that allow the completion of the life cycles of the diverse pelagic resources found in the area.

Maratas visited Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia yesterday to seek the Capitol’s support to encourage the public to vote online.

“We are very excited and this contest can give our work a great boost,” Maratas said.

The public can vote for the winner at www.solutionsearch.org or at www.rareplanet.org and go to the “Solution Search” tab.

The on-line voting started Wednesday right after the announcement of top ten finalists and will run up to December 24, 2011.

The winners will be announced on January 6, 2012 and the awarding will be held in Washington, D.C. in the Unites States of America.

“For too long the conservation community has focused on problems, but there are a lot of working solutions in remote parts of the planet,” said Brett Jenks, president and CEO of Rare, in a statement.

Rare, is an organization using social marketing to advance conservation with local communities, in partnership with National Geographic.

The first ever Solution Search: Turning the Tide for Coastal Fisheries sought applications from organizations worldwide that could demonstrate proven innovations to benefit coastal communities and marine ecosystems.  (FREEMAN)