THE NEWLY created Cebu Provincial Biodiversity Council (CPBC) will begin drafting this month the Cebu Biodiversity Strategic Plan as it called for a “holistic approach” to help address environmental issues in the province. “We should not be bound by city or provincial jurisdictions,” Architect Socorro B. Atega, CPBC member representing the group Cebu Uniting for Sustainable Water, said during the council’s first meeting on March 6. The CPBC was formed through an executive order signed by Governor Hilario P. Davide III in August last year. The executive order states that the council should assist the provincial government in “overseeing and monitoring” environmental protection programs, and further “mobilize coordinating bodies.” “We have protected areas that need to be strengthened,” Ms. Atega said in a statement released by the Cebu provincial government. There are currently nine municipalities in the province that have Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA), namely: Alcoy, Argao, Dalaguete, Alegria, Malabuyoc, Balamban, Catmon, Carmen, and Tuburan.

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