Developments in Malampaya Sound
Environmental
Science for Social Change (ESSC) has been working in the Malampaya Sound area in north western
Palawan since June 1998.
It was one of eight sites nationwide being
considered for inclusion in the National Integrated Protected Areas
Programme (NIPAP), a special project of the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) with a supporting grant
from the European
Commission.
Getting
Communities Involved
The NIPAP approach acknowledges the
importance of local communities and aims at community participation
in planning and implementing programs designed to protect and
conserve habitats and biodiversity. Local communities have the
opportunity to share their knowledge, articulate their concerns, and
help formulate local policies. This local knowledge is assimilated
and utilized when planning the sustainable development of the
natural resources in the area.
It is easy to talk about involving
communities, but difficult to achieve. But it can be done.
One tried
and tested way is through community mapping. By its very nature it
demands the participation of a broad cross section of the community.
During the mapping process, communities depict their area, their
community life, and share their rich knowledge of the local
environment. Since NIPAP wanted communities involved, they invited
ESSC into Malampaya in 1998 to facilitate community mapping for the
Inner Sound area, which comprised seven coastal barangays.
Not all stakeholders, however,
wanted to be included in NIPAP because it conflicted with their more
narrow interests. Such disagreements in
communities are not infrequent, but community mapping by
clarifying problems provides the basis for solving them. Despite
some disagreement, it was, however, obvious that a comprehensive
program to protect the overall environment and the common good of
the inhabitants—not just the interests of the powerful few —
needed to be formulated and implemented, if the endangered
ecosystems were to be saved.
Change
in Project Scope
ESSC’s original assignment was to
include only the seascape area of the Inner Sound and seven coastal
barangays, four of which depended on fishing and three on farming.
But as
this work progressed, NIPAP, for political reasons, had a change
of heart and seriously entertained the idea of dropping Malampaya
Sound from the country’s list of protected areas. However, a
pre-feasibility study conducted by ESSC, a sustained dialogue with
Local Government Units, and the support and recommendation of other agencies,
convinced NIPAP to reconsider, and not only did NIPAP put Malampaya
Sound back on its list of priority sites, but it also extended the
area to include both the Inner and Outer Sound—both sea and
landscapes.
The pre-feasibility study of March
1999 showed that the waters of the entire Malampaya Sound needed
protection. To accomplish this, the surrounding landscape had to be
included. The landscape was of critical importance and integral to
the whole environment because of the farming activities in the
uplands. Since the area consisted of a watershed and a fishing
ground, any approach to protection and management would have to be
inclusive. The environment is interconnected. The rivers from the
catchment area drain into the sound and the farmers use a lot of
agro-chemicals, which eventually find their way into the sound and
diminish its productivity.
Based on the pre-feasibility study,
the proposed Malampaya Sound Protected Land and Seascape was
extended to encompass an area of approximately 200,000 hectares —
112,000 hectares of seascape and 88,000 hectares of landscape —
with a population of some 40,000. ESSC conducted community mapping
in 28 barangays, 22 of which were finally recommended for inclusion
in NIPAP. Out of these 22 barangays, 18 are under the jurisdiction
of the municipality Taytay and 4 within the municipality of San
Vicente. The Malampaya Sound is
roughly 217 kilometers north of the Provincial Capital, Puerto
Princesa City. Fishing is the chief occupation of the inhabitants
with some 70% of the people engaged in it.
In June 2000, the DENR Secretary recommended that the
President proclaim the entire Malampaya Sound a Protected Area.
Resource Degradation
The Sound is one of the richest
fishing grounds in the Philippines.
Important ecosystems include mangroves, coral reefs, sea grass
beds, and a number of endangered flora and fauna species with
national and international significance. Given the rich and diverse
resources of the area, if properly managed, all the inhabitants
should enjoy a reasonably prosperous life, but for years the
resources have been declining due to the use of unsustainable and
destructive resource extraction methods. Even today cyanide and
dynamite fishing are being employed. Mangrove areas continue being
converted into fishponds and rice fields. Mangroves are being cut
for firewood, charcoal production, building materials, and for the
construction of temporary coral reefs.
Red tide, which appeared in early
1998, showed clearly that the ecosystem was in serious trouble and
that the process of eutrophization was well under way. Major
contributing factors were the deposits of agricultural chemicals
from the farms, pollution from fish pens, and unregulated dumping of
solid and domestic waste. The chemical and herbicide deposits affect
the marine life and the corals in the area. Fishpond and fish pen
owners also cause the destruction of the marine resources on which
other fisherfolk depend.
Laws not Implemented
National laws, DENR administrative
orders and memorandum circulars, provincial and municipal ordinances
and resolutions, that ban certain methods of fishing, and even the
presence of the Bureau of Fisheries
and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Barangay Liminangcong, and
the presence of the Coast Guard and the Maritime Police, have failed
to put a stop to dynamite and cyanide fishing.
People Cooperate
By the end of 1998 community
mapping had been completed in seven coastal barangays surrounding
the Inner Sound, and by the midyear of 2000, it had been completed
in the 28 barangays surrounding the Inner and Outer Sound. This
effort was supported by the Protected Area Superintendent (PASu),
its staff, and had the cooperation of barangay officials in each
barangay, the cooperation of the Malampaya Sound Small Fishermen
Producers Cooperative (MSSFPC) and of the Ya Boses Ka Katutubo of
Sitio Yakal in New Guinlo. Participants included: professionals,
businessmen, barangay captains, barangay officials sitio leaders,
fisher folk, farmers and indigenous people. Such widespread and
intensive cooperation should have a lasting impact on the social
dynamics in the area.
Concerns
Community mapping revealed that
people are concerned about the following: tenure, resource use
rights, livelihood sustainability, fluctuation in prices for fish
catch, possible tax and license fee increases, good farm to market
roads, alternative livelihood and capital, poor health services,
lack of electricity, and high in-migration. The fisher folk and fish
pen operators are over dependent on Manila buyers for loans and cash
and are compelled to sell their products at dictated prices. These
are the major concerns of the people. These are the concerns that
any meaningful plan would have to address,
Clarifying Roles
When it came to local governance and basic services, it was
necessary to clarify the roles and jurisdictions among NIPAP, Local
Government Unit,
and the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD). This was
achieved through public and participatory consultation by all
stakeholders.
Maps and Meetings
Since the stakeholders agreed to
have the entire sound area included in NIPAP, nine public hearings were
held. The 22 barangays were well represented. Before these meetings
took place, the maps from the 22 barangays had been digitized,
validated, verified, and an integrated technical map produced. This
integrated technical map covered the entire sound and its
hinterland. An integrated technical map that includes 22 branagays
gives each community an opportunity to realize, perhaps for the
first time, its position in relation to other communities.
Communities were able to see interrelationships and
interdependencies, and how cooperation would benefit all.
During the public hearings, the Initial Protected Area Plan (IPAP)
was presented. The Management Zones on both the terrestrial and
aquatic sections of the PA were also presented and validated.
Comments and suggestions on management zones have now been
integrated in the draft management zones. Allowable and
non-allowable activities in each zone where also clearly
identified.
The Protected Areas Management
Board
The Protected Areas Management
Board (PAMB) is responsible for the overall management of the PA.
The board has representatives from the LGU, government agencies,
line agencies, NGOs, POs, the business sector, and with strong
representation from the fishing, farming and indigenous communities.
In short, all stakeholders are well represented.
Conclusion
The Malampaya Sound community
mapping project has national significance for a number of reasons.
First, the extent of the area covered - 200,000 hectares of
sea and landscapes - is significant in itself.
Second, Malampaya is a combination of sea and landscape with
an unusually rich biodiversity. The sea-landscape is vitally and
integrally connected and this governed the approach. Third, the
number and diversity of people involved, 40,000 in 25 barangays
makes it almost a miniature Philippines — migrants from Bicol,
Panay, Cebu, Masbate, Negros, and the indigenous Tagbanua people.
About 90% of the people who now inhabit the area are migrants.
Fourth, this project proves that where government, agencies, and
communities work together with a clearly defined goal, even
complicated issues can be resolved. Fifth, the project shows that
the democratic process does work, provided people are given the
means to really participate and given the opportunity to articulate
their views in a meaningful way. Sixth, the long term success of the
Malampaya project now depends on the people themselves. Communities
have been consulted at every stage, they have participated in
drawing up the general management plan, they have come together, and
now it is up to them to make it succeed.
