NAST PHL Holds Roundtable Discussion on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and Other Health and Wellness Risks from The Marine Environment
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The National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines (NAST PHL), through its Biological Sciences Division (BSD), conducted a Roundtable Discussion on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and other Health and Wellness Risks from the Marine Environment on March 31, 2015 at Hotel Jen Manila.
The RTD is the sixth in the series of discussions conducted in preparation for the 37th Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) on July 8-9 with the theme, “The Challenges of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs): Responding Through Multisectoral Action”. The RTD focused on vectors and pathways of common Philippine health and wellness risks and hazards from the marine environment. Researches, as well as monitoring and management schemes, were reviewed and discussed.
Acd. Antonio Miguel L. Dans, member of Health Sciences Division (HSD), discussed the rationale and objectives of the ASM and gave an introduction to NCDs. Acd. Dans stated the importance of enabling people to live a healthy lifestyle compared to merely educating them. According to him, environment plays a role on the prevalence of NCDs. While lifestyle was identified as culprit, being healthy is not a choice but rather an adaptation to the way the world was built.
NAST tackles Philippine Coastal and Inland Fisheries
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The National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines (NAST PHL) conducted a Roundtable Discussion on Managing Philippine Coastal and Inland Fisheries, on March 17, 2015 at Acacia Hotel Manila.
The RTD reviewed government policies and programs for the management of the country’s municipal fisheries. It also identified and recommended actions and strategies for the sustainable management of the country’s municipal fisheries for policy consideration.
Invited experts were Atty. Benjamin Felipe S. Tabios Jr., assistant director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR); Dr. Adelaida L. Palma, station chief, of the National Inland Fisheries Technology Center, BFAR; Ms. Liza M. Quirog, head of the Socio-Economic and Environment Management Cluster of the province of Bohol, who served as the representative of Bohol Governor Hon. Edgar M. Chatto; and Dr. Vincent V. Hilomen, executive director for Priority Programs and Coastal and Marine, Biodiversity Management Bureau, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-BMB), who served as the representative of Dr. Theresa Mundita S. Lim, director of DENR-BMB.
Resource persons from BFAR discussed the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998 or Republic Act (R.A.) 8550 as amended by R.A. No. 10654. Atty. Tabios discussed various programs on resource protection, resource enhancement, livelihood enhancement, post-harvest, infrastructure, and marketing support, and priority thrusts for aquaculture. He also highlighted the importance of science as the basis for their fisheries management. He also discussed the challenges faced by the implementation of the law and programs, particularly the environmental and economic challenges.
NAST leads Roundtable Discussion on the Philippine Marginal Seas
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A roundtable discussion (RTD) on the sustainability of Philippine Marginal Seas was conducted by the National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines (NAST PHL), in partnership with the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP), on March 24, 2015 at Hotel Jen Manila. The multidisciplinary group of scientists was joined by representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Justice, National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), the Coast Guard, UNESCO, and several NGOs in the first of a series of discussions to draft a road map for the sustainable use of the country’s archipelagic waters.
A marginal sea is defined as a sea or basin bound by islands, peninsulas and/or submarine ridges adjacent to an open ocean or other bodies of water. The Philippines is surrounded by large marginal seas such as the West Philippine Sea (also known as the South China Sea), the Philippine Sea in the East, and the Sulu Sea, the Sulu-Sulawesi Sea and Celebes Sea in the south.
National Scientist Lourdes J Cruz, professor emeritus of the Marine Science Institute at UP Diliman, stressed that the sustainable use of the country’s marginal seas is key to the survival and well-being of its people. She encouraged the participants to work together in providing the scientific basis for the prudent use of coastal and marginal sea resources as we face the challenges of food security, climate change, and natural disasters.