In a small fishing village in Batan, Aklan marine scientists are working with community residents to make the area environmentally sustainable, that is, to make it an ecologically balanced, high-yielding fish harvest village.
Experimental ponds at the Aqua Culture Instititute, UPV College of Fisheries, Iloilo
The scientists from the College of Fisheries at the University of the Philippines, Visayas (UPV) together with the local government and members of the private sector, plan to operate a model aquaculture village in Batan which is located at UPV�s Batan Land Grant, a property acquired by the university for fisheries research and demonstration.
In 1988, the Food Systems Development Project (FSDP), a Canadian government-assisted project which worked with the three barangays in the area, constructed a 6.5 hectare fishpond for aquaculture technology demonstration and dissemination. The FSDP terminated on June 30, 1994 and the Batan Mariculture Station was established in its stead.
UPV continues where FSDP�s community development left off, supporting the existing fisherfolk groups, women�s associations, and multipurpose cooperatives. It invites cooperatives to lease and co-manage 40% of the UPV 106-hectare Batan property, the remaining area of which is used for research, training, and technology demonstration.
The university�s Institute of Aquaculture, the institution in charge of the Batan Mariculture Station, hopes to improve the community�s fish production through the sustainable aquaculture technology that it has developed in the past 15 years. The technology, specifically applied to milkfish, tilapia and prawn culture, makes possible the intensive production of the fishes through fertilization and feeding. Research results have shown that it is possible to harvest 1,000 kg./hectare as demonstrated by the tests conducted by the UP scientists at the Brackishwater Aquaculture Center in Leganes, Iloilo.
Through this technology, UP experts expect to raise fish production levels in the Batan communities which currently stand below 500 kgs./hectare a year.
The scientists are concerned that the current low production in the area is not enough to compensate for the loss of mangroves. They realize that the rampant conversion of mangrove areas into fishponds has caused the displacement of community residents who live near these areas and who earn their living from the mangroves. The residents have been forced to seek employment as laborers, guards and caretakers.
By inviting the fisherfolk organizations and cooperatives to manage and run the fishponds, UPV will provide access to entrepreneurial opportunities and advanced fish technology. The UP experts, with the help of Pahinungod volunteers, also plan to instill social and environmental awareness while helping to upgrade their management skills.
Ongoing studies at the Station include research on the taxonomy of molluscs, which is being done in collaboration with the Japan Society for the Promotion of Sciences; and the development of culture techniques for mudcrabs in pens, a project being funded by the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research.
by Joji B. Balcita
From The Office Of Alumni Relations: UP Alum Reports
UP ALUMNUS AT CENTRAL LUZON STATE UNIVERSITY
Dr. Fortunato Battad, BSA�57, MS�62, PhD�73, is the present President of the Central Luzon State University, one of the leading agricultural institutions in Asia. He assumed the position in May 1992. He is one of those people in the country who had the rare opportunity of heading 5 state colleges and universities namely the Pampanga Agricultural College, Mountain State Agricultural College, Benguet State University, Nueva Vizcaya State Institute of Technology, West Visayas State University and Central Luzon State University.
The Sigma Rho fraternity of the University of the Philippines, Northern California chapter held a Holiday dinner-get-together at the Faultline Brewing Co. in Sunnyvale on Friday, December 27, 1996. After dinner, the brods repaired to the elegant, large home of brod Felix Montecillo, LLB�77 in Mountain View (really, this is Cely Montecillo�s, BSIE�79 home) where they partook of Cely�s fine coffee, chocolate, and brownies and discussed the politics of the day until the wee hours of the morning. The Southern California chapter held their Holiday get-together in Las Vegas, at the Las Vegas home of brod Eduardo T. Ayson, Jr. LLB�73, December 28 through the New Year. The chapter invited members of both Northern California and New York. Brod Raul Dan M. Sagullo, BSBA�72 of the Northern California chapter attended the affairs, which was a rousing success. Planned activities in 1997 are: a regular monthly meeting, pot lucks, fund-raising events; meeting to decide on Sigma Rho USA-sponsored summit; summer camp(August); holiday party(December). The Sigma Rho also has chapters in New York and in Canada.
ANNUAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE
The Crisostomo B. Garcia and Cristina C. Garcia Annual Award for Excellence of $4000 was given to Dr. Elizer A. Albacea, Director of the Institute of Computer Science, College of Arts and Sciences, UP Los Banos.
2 UP Manila DOCTORS WIN TOYF AWARD Dr. Arturo Pesigan, dean of the UP Manila School for Distance Education and faculty member of the College of Public Health, and Dr. Rafael Bundoc, coordinator for research of PGH and a faculty member of the College of Medicine, both won the 1996 The Outstanding Young Filipinos (TOYF) award in the field of Medicine. The award was presented by President Fidel V. Ramos last February. This is the second year that UP Manila, and two faculty members at that, won the award. In 1995, Dr. Carmencita Padilla, director of the UPM Ugnayan ng Pahinungod, and Dr. Julius Lecciones of the Department of Pediatrics of the College of Medicine-Philippine General Hospital, were also voted TOYF awardees. The award was then called Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM). Also chosen TOYF awardee in the field of public service was Mayor Eddie Dorotan of Irosin, Sorsogon, also a practicing physician and an alumnus of the College of Medicine.
PHARMACY, NURSING GRADS TOP BOARD EXAMS ANEW
Ten graduates from the UP Manila College of Pharmacy and five from the College of Nursing made it to the top ten in the Pharmacy and Nursing Board Examinations held last month. Both colleges maintained their 100% passing records which they have been holding for the past years.
IN MEMORIAM:
JOSE GARCIA VILLA �Doveglion� Passes away. Jose Garcia Villa, AA�27, died at the age of 88 on the eighth of February 1997. He received the National Artist for Literature award in 1973. Villa was known for his comma poems, and was regarded by some as the finest Filipino lyric poet. His last poem, �The Anchored Angel�, was written way back in 1953. His only collection of stories, �Footnote to Youth: Tales of the Philippines and Others�, was published in 1933. He resided in the US for nearly 7 decades, but chose to retain his Filipino citizenship. He died in New York at 88.
Excerpts of the UP Alum Reports were sent to Friends via email. The Reports are prepared and sent out monthly by the Staff of the Office of Alumni Relations, Office of the Vice President for Public Affairs. They can be contacted by E-mail: [email protected] & URL- http://www.upd.edu.ph/oar/ or by tele/fax Tele/fax (632)929-8226.
