MAYOR Belen Fernandez, back from a speaking engagement in the United Nations from June 13 to 17, revealed it was the best practices of Dagupan that prompted the world body to invite her as one of the panelists to the United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Laws of the Sea.

In an interview on the day of her arrival last Wednesday, the mayor said it was the Ambassador of Peru who suggested that she be invited after seeing her presentation in the International Ocean Conservancy Convention in Chile last year and the ministerial conference of the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Cebu earlier.

The UN meeting, attended by leaders of various non-government organizations of different countries, focused on the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of marine debris, plastics and microplastics, as well as progress made in preventing reducing, and controlling pollution from all these, challenges, lessons learned and best practices.

Among the best practices of Ms. Fernandez shared with the delegates of the convention were the collection of plastic materials from homes of pupils and students and the recycling of these materials into school desks and tables; the “Gulayan sa Paaralan” which makes use of softdrink bottles and the conversion of plastic wrappers into pavers that can be readily harnessed for pathways during the flood season.

Another practice is the daily reminder of teachers to every school children in the city to save the disposed plastic containers to be sold to the junkshops.

The mayor said the program is akin to the “kinder energy” program in various advanced countries where children at a very tender age are taught to save their plastics to help prevent clogging of the drainage systems.

Ms. Fernandez also cited the efforts of her administration in removing illegal fish pens from the rivers numbering more than 390 to date.

The fish pens she said need 1.4 million bags of feeds annually and at least 20 per cent of these are not consumed by the fish and left to pollute the river system.

She pointed out at the panel forum that with the ordinance banning fish pens, these are removed and replaced with more environmental-friendly structures such as fish cages, fish traps and oyster beds and props.

When asked by the media what she will do with fish pens in rivers whose owners insist they have titles over the areas covered by the structures, she said she left the matter to City Administrator Farah Decano and City Legal Officer George Mejia to resolve the issue.

She said the convention stressed that prevention of potential marine pollution is easier and less expensive than removing the cause of pollution, which is why “we are now banning the construction if fish pens and demolishing those that are still in the water.”

The mayor said she was gratified by the expression of support from the delegates to enable Dagupan get its $80 million grant to bankroll a project that will convert garbage into diesel fuel and biogas under the Waste to Worth Program backed up by the U.S. State Department, Asian Development Bank and Procter and Gamble.

Up until the last day in office of President Benigno Aquino III, Ms. Fernandez said she remains hopeful a presidential proclamation will be issued segregating a portion of land at Tondaligan area as site of the Waste to Worth project. (Leonardo Micua)

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