Eight (8) coastal municipalities in La Union implemented area specific action plans (ASAP) from 2020 to 2022. ASAP was formulated after the topic discussions in the environmental governance webinar conducted for the coastal municipalities in La Union where LGU department heads are the participants. Municipalities included are Rosario, Santo Tomas, Agoo, Aringay, Bauang, San Fernando, San Juan and Bacnotan. Seventeen projects were implemented to support their resource management, environmental law enforcement, and information education campaigns.

Projects are the following:

  1. Rosario: agroforestry project and updating of 10-year solid waste management plan;
  2. Santo Tomas: Mangrove enrichment, community empowerment on solid waste management project and community-based water impounding and distribution system;
  3. Agoo:Greening Agoo through community engagements project entitled a) Bunga Para iti Pamilya (fruits for families) b) Bougainvillea kay Ganda! c) Panagpaadu it Lokal nga Kaykayo (propagation of native tree species);
  4. Aringay: Ridge to Coast Greening Project such as a) aftercare greening of municipal disposal facility, b) beach forest development and c) mangrove rehabilitation;
  5. Bauang: Sustaining coastal resilience in the municipality of Bauang, La Union such as a) Increasing coastal greens thru mangrove reforestation, b) empowering of Bantay Dagat members;
  6. San Fernando: Provision of Water Hose in Support of Small-Scale Irrigation Project and support to Poro MPA enforcement;
  7. San Juan: Bantay Dagat capability support and support to pawikan conservation;
  8. Bacnotan: Beach Forest Development Project.

Each LGU signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMMSU) and Tanggol Kalikasan to ensure the sustainability of those projects. The implementation of ASAPs improved and increased public and private participation in the protection, conservation, and management of the resources. These initiatives are part of the Environmental Justice Sector Reform in the Philippines Project (EJSRP) Phase 2 and were initiated by the IEG-DMMMSU with the support of the US Department of Interior International Technical Assistance Program (USDOI-ITAP) and International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).