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First Posted on Inside Mindanao: November 8, 2006

Lake People, the Maranao, Stand Up to Protect Lake Lanao
By Ellen Red

MARAWI CITY, LANAO DEL SUR-The Maranao, which literally means "People of the Lake", for generations, have bound their identity to Lake Lanao.

Lake Lanao, which is located in the province of Lanao del Sur, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), has a surface area of 357 square kilometers. Its maximum depth is 112 meters.

At the lakeside of Lake Lanao, the Maranaos built their houses, mosques, fish cages, fishponds, and rice fields.

In her message during the Conference-Workshop on Environmental Conservation held last month in Marawi City, Bai Omera Dianalan Lucman said, "Our identity as Maranaos, Dwellers of the Lake, lies in the protection of this valuable natural resource (Lake Lanao)."

Ms. Lucman is the president of the Philippine Muslim Women Council (PMWC). The PMWC organized the 2-day Conference-Workshop on Environmental Conservation, with the theme: "Stewards of Mother Nature, Stand Up to Protect Lake Lanao."

"We depend our livelihood, our very existence, even our identity to Lake Lanao. If Lake Lanao disappears, we lose our identity because by the word Maranao, we mean the people of the lake," Bayan Balt told Inside Mindanao.

Mr. Balt is the chairman of Ranao Claims Against the Power Plants (RCAPP).

"Lake Lanao sustained the Maranaos forefathers' simple way of life for generations," Pipalawan Naga told Inside Mindanao.

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