“Coastal Tourism in Puerto Galera Biosphere Reserve:

Cutting the Hands That Feed?”

Plenary Presentation

Miguel D. FortesMarine Science Institute CSUniversity of the Philippines

Introduction

What is Puerto Galera: ...to its people ...to the Philippines ...to the world

To its people:...it is life...a home...a future

To the Philippines:

...it is home to one of the country’s highest natural sources of biodiversity

coral reef

seagrass bed

mangroveforest

...and to the world

Puerto Galera was at the

crossroads of pre-Spanish

trade linking the Philippines

to the Near East, India,

China, Indochina,

Sumatra & Java

Puerto Galera Bay...one of the most beautiful bays in the world!

Puerto Galera Bay…

…one of the most beautiful bays in the world! (and it was just voted the number one among these bays!

TOURISM DEVELOPMENT CONCERNS

AND ISSUES IN PGBR

STRENGTHS:

1.!Abundant coastal & terrestrial resources

2.!Natural, Cultural & Historical potentials

3.!Potentials for ecotourism destinations

4.!Proximity to Manila

5.!High literacy rate

6.!Available academic & technical support

7.!Environmental Users Fee

STRENGTHS (con’t)

WEAKNESSES Inadequate community appreciation of the fact that

tourism that is anchored on clean & well-managed environment is the most sustainable form of tourism for PGBR

PG has not been successful in sustaining its beauty, enhancing its natural diversity, enriching its cultural history, & mobilizing its people in protecting this legacy. In other words, it has been ‘cutting that hands that feed’.

What are the signs?

-

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

Korea Denmark China USA Taiwan Germany Japan Australia Sweden United Kingdom

Top 10 Foreign Tourist Groups by Nationality

1994-2002

Is this the kind of tourism PG wants?

Siltation effect on coral, worsened by

climate change

What are the roots of the problems?

Ecological theory seldom applied in ICAMEcological theory seldom applied in ICAM

But ecological knowledge -including not only theory, but also facts,But ecological knowledge -including not only theory, but also facts,observations, research results, observations, synobservations, research results, observations, syntheses, models, &theses, models, &methods of investigation -has been extremely important in developingmethods of investigation -has been extremely important in developingapproaches to a wide range of environmental problems.approaches to a wide range of environmental problems.

This stems from the 'man-environment' model, given below, whichThis stems from the 'man-environment' model, given below, whichidentifies the essential & crucial role of ecolidentifies the essential & crucial role of ecology:ogy:

ENVIRONMENTENVIRONMENTnatural processesnatural processes

& components& components

ECOLOGYECOLOGYfunctionalfunctional

interrelationsinterrelations

HUMANSHUMANShuman needshuman needs

& activities& activities

Outline of the presentation!

The root cause of ‘dirty’ tourism is lack of both proper

education & genuine community participation*

LACK OF PROPER

EDUCATION

PRESSURE TO IMPROVE

SOCIETAL STATUS

MORE & ‘BETTER’

FOOD HIGHER INCOME ‘GOOD LIFE’

GREED & CORRUPTION

UNSUSTAINABLE TOURISM PRACTICES

‘DIRTY’ TOURISM

GENUINE

PARTICIPATION

*Using causal chain

analysis (CCA)

What are we doing about them?

Some research & monitoring activities in PGBR

!!Giant clam garden (NCMS, MBS)

!!SeagrassNet (Packard Foundation)

!!SeagrassWatch (BantayIsay)

!!Water quality & oceanography (TIT)

!!Biodiversity (Tokyo Museum)

!!Regional/International workshops

!!Building local capacity

!!Student activities

…a simple, ‘best practice’ that works!

Learn well from nature,

not dominate it simply to suit your wants!

White Beach

undisturbed disturbed

The spirit of environmentalism

CARRYING CAPACITY

CARRYING CAPACITY IN TERMS OF NO. OF PERSONS TO BE ALLOWED IN A BEACH

GUIDING PRINCIPLES:1. Ecosystem Approach2. Precautionary principle

ASSUMPTIONS 1. Based on the precautionary principle, the least acceptable change in a system is that where there are no people putting pressure in that system (hence, the capacity factor below);

2. Visitors are after positive environmental & values at the sites3. During extraordinary periods, e.g. Holy Week, summer months, extra provisions or safeguards are instituted by all concerned to ensure that the local resources are protected4. LGUs, receptive to environmental & economic resources protection, make the final decision5. The major base of tourism in PGBR is its natural resources

6. The number of visitors/tourists is not enough. Other factors like timing, type of use, distribution, season, attitudes & knowledge among the visitors might be more important

CCP/ha = 100 - [EL + EC + WQ + A + H +I]

100 = capacity factor (max value of parameters + 10, the latter is a ‘buffer’ factor)

EL = ecological importance (representativeness, presence/absence of endangered species, habitats, etc) [5=low; 10=medium; 15 = high]

EC = economic importance (use as source of livelihood, e.g. fishing, mooring, swimming, aquaculture) [5=low; 10=medium; 15 = high]

WQ = water quality [5 = low; 10 = medium; 15 = high]A = area in meters of the beach in question [5=large; 10=medium;

15=small]H = hazard (is the area hazardous to visitors i.e., current, sharp stones,

sharks, strong waves, etc. [5=low; 10=medium; 15=high]I = investment TO PROTECT OR ENHANCE THE NATURAL STATE OF THE

PLACE (some persons may have invested money, effort, other resources in maintaining the place) [5=low; 10=medium; 15 = high]

Examples:

1. CCP(White Beach) = 100 – [10 + 10 + 15 + 5 + 5 + 5] CCP (White Beach) = 100 – [50] = 50 persons/ha2. CCP(Sabang) = 100 – [15 + 15 + 5 + 15 + 15 + 5] CCP (Sabang) = 100 – [70] = 30 persons/ha3. CCP (Long Beach) = 100 – [15 + 10 + 10 + 10 + 10 + 15] CCP (Long Beach) = 100 – [70] = 30 persons/ha

Decongest the coast!

Are we honestlyAre we honestly

serious about protectingserious about protecting

our environment our environment

and our heritage?and our heritage?

Are we willing to take Are we willing to take

the big risk?the big risk?

Many thanks!