Two grassroots initiatives dedicated to preserving and protecting Laolao Bay\u2014considered a \u201ccommunity treasure\u201d for its lush greens, abundant marine ecosystem, and historic value\u2014were launched yesterday, paving the way for future generations to have the opportunity to enjoy one of Saipan\u2019s most important environmental and cultural sites.<\/p>\n
The \u201cOur Laolao Litter-Free On Land & Sea\u201d campaign and the Tasi Watch outreach program took off at the local non-profit group Mariana Islands Nature Alliance\u2019s hut in Laolao Bay, with the support of government officials, natural resources agency staffers, students, fishermen, and other community members.<\/p>\n
Our Laolao campaign aims to highlight stories from stakeholders or \u201cchampions\u201d who talk about the significance of Laolao Bay in their lives and in doing so, drum up support in making the bay litter-free. These stories are featured in the campaign website, during local events, or through local media.<\/p>\n
The campaign is a collaborative effort between the Division of Environmental Quality, Coastal Resources Management, Division of Fish and Wildlife, MINA, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, and the international non-profit organization SeaWeb.<\/p>\n
MINA\u2019s Tasi Watch outreach program seeks to have the users of Laolao Bay become the \u201cEyes of the Sea\u201d by becoming volunteers who will receive training to assist and enforce local and federal laws that protect coastal areas, and help ensure that resources in the bay are maintained for future generations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis campaign reinforces the authority of regulating agencies in positive ways that help the community to become better environmental stewards of the bay,\u201d said MINA executive director Sam Sablan, adding that the program also strives to reduce dependency on government services for natural resources management and conservation.<\/p>\n
Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos, who led the launching of the two initiatives, said that he is \u201ctremendously pleased\u201d that programs engaging community involvement are taking place besides physical improvements at Laolao Bay.<\/p>\n
Inos said both initiatives \u201care prime examples of efforts to inspire and empower community members to actively participate in conservation efforts and demonstrate the difference we can make when a community comes together for a good cause.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taunya DeBoer, adviser for Saipan Southern High School\u2019s Youth Environmental Ambassadors, said they support the initiatives because \u201cit aligns well with our mission statement.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cEverything that they\u2019re trying to do to make Laolao litter-free is exactly what we\u2019re trying to do. We\u2019re trying to do it at several different areas,\u201d she told Saipan Tribune.<\/p>\n
Gene Weaver, president of the Saipan Fishermen\u2019s Association president, said that the two initiatives are \u201ca step in the right direction.\u201d Not only would it help protect the resources, it would also improve the island\u2019s main industry which is tourism.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt takes the community to come together to conserve,\u201d said Weaver, who brought his children Tori, 7, and Garrett, 6. \u201cWe all have to do what we can to protect our own resources. If we don\u2019t do anything, there is not going to be anything left soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
For information about Our Laolao campaign, visit their website at www.ourlaolao.com or their Facebook page. Contact the campaign team through Jihan Buniag at 664-8522 or at jihanbuniag@gmail.com. For Tasi Watch, contact Shin Perez at 233-7333 or at minaoutreach@gmail.com. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Two grassroots initiatives dedicated to preserving and protecting Laolao Bay\u2014considered a \u201ccommunity treasure\u201d for its lush greens, abundant marine ecosystem, and historic value\u2014were launched yesterday, paving the way for future generations to have the opportunity to enjoy one of Saipan\u2019s most important environmental and cultural sites.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-159898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159898\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}