ILOILO City – With its local government units conscious of solid waste management, the island province of Guimaras won’t experience what Boracay Island underwent – closure for six months of rehabilitation due to environmental neglect – according to Gov. Samuel Gumarin.
The five towns of Guimaras – Jordan, Buenavista, Nueva Valencia, San Lorenzo, and Sibunag – each has a sanitary landfill to manage garbage, Gumarin said in a press conference yesterday after delivering his State of the Province Address at the Guimaras provincial capitol.
The governor opened his SOPA with a litany of achievements in environmental management.
The province, known for its beaches and pristine waters, reaped national and international recognition for its environmental protection initiatives. These included the Environmental Excellence in Local Governance Award from the Department of Interior and Local Government in 2017.
Guimaras also became the first province in the Visayas to be declared coal-free by environment watchdog Greenpeace International. It was conferred with the Seal of Climate Leadership.
Another citation, the Climate Reality Leadership Award, hailed Guimaras for promoting renewable energy – it has a wind farm generating electricity in San Lorenzo – and making an official stand rejecting coal-fired power plants.
“All these awards recognize our efforts to combat climate change and unclean sources of energy,” said Gumarin.
The province also has an integrated coastal management program running for over a decade already and is now its “key development strategy” institutionalized through Provincial Ordinance No. 2018-06.
“This is amplified by our target enactment of a Sewer and Septage Ordinance and the establishment of a waste treatment facility,” said Gumarin.
Establishments will soon be required to have their own sewerage system.
Gumarin also took pride in Guimaras’ hosting of the international conference “Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia – Network of Local Government” on Nov. 29.
Guimaras, he added, has been strengthening its 12 Marine Protected Areas in partnership with communities.
The governor cited a recent fish survey showing an increase in density – from 204 percent to 213 percent.
Coral cover, too, increased from 12 percent in 2015 to 19 percent in 2017, said Gumarin.
He, however, revealed what he termed as “an eye opener for the Guimarasnon” – 354 sacks of garbage were collected during a province-wide coastal clean-up.
The garbage included cigarette butts, food wrappers, bottle caps, fishing lines, diapers, beverages bottles, and straws.
Gumarin called for a stricter implementation of the province’s anti-plastic ordinance.
“I am strongly encouraging all Guimarasnons to do your fair share in protecting our environment. The one plastic straw we throw away could kill a sea turtle. Let us protect Guimaras. This is our island. This is our home,” he stressed./PN
Pero super dumi na ng dagat ng Guimaras. Me and 2 of my friends went there last Sept for a vacation and we were very disappointed of the trash in the water. Nanghinayang kami kasi ang ganda sana ng dagat pero andaming basura! We suspect na yung mga island resorts nag tatapon ng basura sa dagat kasi di naman isolated sila and mahirap pock upin ang basura nila. Nakakalungkot at nakakadiri na makitang lumulutang ang mga plastic wrappers, diapers, napkins at kung ano ano pa. So i think, Guimaras needs to be rehabilitated too pag hindi unaksyon ang goberyo nito. Maawa kayo sa kalikasan at kinabukasan ng bayan nyo.