Aklan towns make headway for Green Philippines
BY VENUS G. VILLANUEVA

KALIBO, Aklan - Some Aklan towns have long started making headways to promote a green Philippines by coming up with pro-environment measures.
Promoting a green Philippines is one of PGMA’s Eight in 2008 anchor programs for 2008, her way of delivering her promise of social payback as a result of a strong economy.
In Aklan, the Green Philippine Highways project is being sustained by local government units and other involved agencies. The Green Philippine Highway in Aklan is a stretch of national highway from Caticlan, Malay, the jump-off point to Boracay Island and port of entry of RORO boats that ply the Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SRNH) to Cabangila, Altavas, the boundary of the province. The highway is planted along its sides with flowering and ornamental plants and various tree species.
One municipality which had come up with a novel idea of implementing its pro-environment approach is the town of Tangalan.
Tangalan, a town in the western part of Aklan, according to the Depatment of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) office here has come up with a declaration of its rivers, tributaries, water shed and forest reserve as protected areas.
This LGU initiative is in coordination with the DENR and the DILG.
According to the DENR, the main proponent of this initiative is Tangalan mayor Jed Tirol himself, because of his strong conviction that protecting the watershed means sustaining the Coastal Eco-Tourism Program of the municipality, one of the flagship industries and attractions of the town.
Tangalan also has a Marine Sanctuary and Coral Garden which will benefit much from the protective declaration. The sanctuary, established in 2003, hosts numerous species of hard and soft corals, sponges, shells, sea stars cucumbers and oysters, while the coral garden, a 10-hectare area located within the Marine Sanctuary, aims to rehabilitate an area previously decimated by dynamite and cyanide fishing.
Tangalan has a Municipal Environment Code already, according to DENR and so is Balete, a town in the eastern side of Aklan, while Kalibo, the capital town which also boasts of its successful Mangrove Reforestation Project is working for its own.
Aklan is also initiating moves to formulate its own provincial environment code, according to the DENR, and conduct of writeshops is now being set.