by Marvin Pamisa

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY β€” The Regional Project Implementing Unit (RPIU) 9 of the Fisheries and Coastal Resiliency (FishCoRe) Project convened Environmental and Social Safeguards (ESS) Focals from FMA Coordinating Units (FCUs) 7, 8, 9, 10, and 13 to finalize their respective Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMPs), as required by the World Bank, from October 1-4, 2024.

Marlou Fernandez, MARLIN Component Lead for RPIU 9, emphasized the writeshop’s significance, stating that it serves as a practical application of the previous ESMP capacity-building activities conducted by the National Project Management Office (NPMO).

β€œWe cannot move forward with FishCoRe, especially under MARLIN, without our ESMPs. It’s a critical requirement from the World Bank,” Fernandez noted.

Ibrahim Sanggoyod presented insights gathered from a series of scoping activities conducted by RPIU 9 in selected areas across the five FCUs. He highlighted common challenges faced by local government units (LGUs), such as tenurial issues.

The four-day writeshop featured intensive workshops, where FCUs revised and finalized their ESMPs, ensuring they were tailored to the proposed subprojects in their regions. Approved subprojects include the construction of Bangus Cage and Culture, Oyster Culture, Laboratory Facilities, Seaweed Farming, and Garungan Production.

Each FCU presented their ESMPs and received feedback from the ESS team and RPIU 9 leads. The finalized ESMPs were subsequently submitted to the World Bank.

Following this writeshop, another capacity-building session on project proposal writing is scheduled before the year ends, aiming to equip participants with the skills to craft project proposals that can be re-echoed to LGUs over the seven-year FishCoRe project timeline. (MPamisa//FishCoRe)