Download Chapter 9 - Environmental Quality

Chapter 9
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
9.1
State Of The Philippine Environment
The environment has played significant formative role both in the traditional way of life of
the Filipino people and in their socio-economic development. However, it is estimated that
65% of fishing families are living below the poverty line; many are land less and lack
access to the credit and technical assistance which could improve their standard of living.
They have small cash incomes, subsisting on local resources such that their lives and
destinies are intimately linked to the sustainability of these resources. They will turn to
these resources with or without conservation. For the most part they manage for
themselves, but sometimes, they need help. It is in this respect that community-based
tourism could play a significant role both as a protector of the environment and a provider
of an efficient alternative base of livelihood for these people.
Sustainability of the environment and its resources implies the wise use (development) and
careful management (conservation) of individual species and communities together with
the habitats and ecosystems on which they depend. It requires that some of the areas be
retained as close to their natural states as possible - Safeguarding habitats for plant and
animal production, preserving genetic resources, protecting scenic spots, and enjoying our
natural areas. In some cases, limited uses such as fishing, rotational tree felling, and use
by tourists may be permitted on a sustainable basis. The country's experiences in the past
show that an explosive population growth coupled with rapidly dwindling resources has
brought about short-term economic development mostly at the expense of environmental
imperatives. This fact has aggravated the social and economic conditions of the greater
portion of the population making ecological concerns serious socio-economic issues.
Today, these issues bring about problems with far-reaching effects that go beyond sociopolitical boundaries
The existing environmental scenario in the Philippines is best described in terms of the
status of its resources, their use, management, and their impacts on the people. Coral
reefs, for example, are among the oldest and richest living communities of plants and
animals on earth and constitute a very important component of the Philippine coastal zone.
They are highly productive complex communities sustained primarily by coral-algal
symbiosis. Historically considered as one of greatest natural treasures of the country, they
are home to about 488 species of corals, 971 species of benthic algae, and 2,000
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
species of fish (Fortes 1996). They are sources of many varieties of food, shoreline
protection from waves and storms, replenishment source of sand for beaches,
aesthetic and recreation, tourism attraction, mineral extraction (sand, coral rubble
aggregate, quarry stone), medicines, scientific research, educational resource,
habitat for rare species, and concentration of high bio-diversity. A single reef may
contain 3,000 species of corals, fish and shellfish. The Philippines, with 27,000 sq.
km of coral reef area, has the largest area of coral reefs in the world.
Nearly one- third of all fish species live on coral reefs, while others are dependent on
reefs and sea-grass beds at various stages in their life cycles. Although estimates as
to the amount of fish that can be harvested from reefs vary, it should be possible to
take some 15 metric tons per sq. km without destroying stocks. Almost 55% of the
fish consumed by Filipinos depend on coral reefs. It is estimated that 10 to 15% of
the total marine fisheries production is contributed by coral reefs.
Gomez et al. (1994), from the 1991 data, gives the status of Philippine coral reefs.
Summarized below, this is in terms of live coral cover with the following ratings:
excellent = 75-100%; good = 50-74.9%; fair = 25-49.9%; and poor = 0-24.9%. The
number of sites in the country where studies were conducted and their percentages
(in parentheses) are also given:
LIVING CORAL COVER
______________________________________________________________
Sites
Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor
____________________________________________________________________________________
Luzon
336 (1005%)
12(3.6%)
86(25.6%)
146(43.4%)
92(27.4%)
Visayas
363 (100%)
24(6.6%)
95(26.2%)
131(36.1%)
113(31.1%)
43 (100%)
3(7.0%)
6(14.0%)
13(30.2%)
21(48.8%)
742 (100%)
39(5.3%)
187(25.2%)
290(39.0%)
226(30.5%)
Mindanao
TOTAL
Sea-grass beds, a discrete community dominated by flowering plants with roots and
rhizomes (underground stems), thrive in slightly reducing sediments and normally
exhibiting maximum bio-mass under conditions of complete submergence (Fortes
1989). Sea-grasses support large numbers of epiphytic organisms the bio-mass of
which may be almost as great as that of the sea-grasses themselves. Ironically, in
the Philippines where the second highest sea-grass diversity in the world is found,
Sea-grass ecosystem has been a focus of scientific inquiry only in the last 15 years
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
and, as an object of natural resource management only in the last 5 years (Fortes
1995).
Fish and shrimp are probably the most important components of the beds, although
coastal villages derive their sustenance from other components of the grass beds. The
major invertebrates found in the beds are shrimps, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, crabs,
scallops, mussels, and snails, while the major vertebrate species include fishes,
reptiles, and mammals. Some endangered species of sea turtles are found in
Philippine sea-grass beds which include the green sea turtle, the Olive Ridley, the
loggerhead, and the flat-back. Snakes are also a common inhabitant. The sea cow
(dugong), a mammal which is endangered all along its range of distribution in the
world, is almost completely sea-grass-dependent (Fortes 1995).
The economic usefulness of a sea-grass bed resides primarily in the fisheries it
supports. In the Philippines, coral reefs with their associated sea-grasses potentially
could supply more than 20% of the fish catch (McManus 1988). A total of 1,384
individuals and 55 species from 25 fish families were identified from five sea-grass
sites in the country. All members of these families have economic value mostly as food
and aquarium specimens. Five times as many fish live over sea-grass beds as over
sea floors made up of mud, shells, and sand (Lean, et al. 1990).
Sea-grass beds have the potential to filter sewage, thus reducing the threat from
pollution which would otherwise affect coral reefs and mangroves. They are also biotic
heavy metal reservoirs or sinks in the marine environment. The habitat is also known
to stabilize the coast due to its ability to trap sediments. As an eco-tone or transition
zone between coral reefs and mangrove forests in tropical coasts, it is an area of
tension between these two habitats, supporting a rich diversity of species from
adjacent systems and provide primary refuge for both economically and ecologically
important organisms. As such, sea-grass habitats are sensitive to fluctuations because
species coming from their neighboring systems encounter "marginal conditions" and
are at the extremes of their tolerance levels to environmental alterations. This
sensitivity makes sea-grasses useful indicators of changes not easily observable in
either coral reef or mangrove forest.
Mangrove forests are the communities of trees that are found in sheltered
environments since they are shallow-rooted and both trees and seedlings are subject
to uprooting and the landform over which they develop can be eroded and scoured by
waves and currents. They also favor areas with high terrestrial sediment inputs which
are important sources of inorganic nutrients.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
In 1918, the country's mangrove forests were estimated to be 5,000 sq. kilometers. By
1970, this had gone down to 2,880 sq. km and only a remaining 2,420 sq. km a decade
later. Recent estimates indicate that the resource comprises only 1,397.25 sq. km,
although the Philippine Forestry Statistics for 1993 gives the most recent estimate of total
mangrove cover at 1,234 sq. km (Fortes 1996). In the Philippines, 68 families of fish inhabit
mangrove areas. These areas are also a source of firewood, charcoal, tannin and dye
barks and serve as land builders and buffer against typhoons and wave action.
Two major environmental problems confront the integrity of our natural resources: (1)
environmental degradation particularly via soil erosion and deforestation; and (2) pollution
of air, water, and land. Only about 25% of the total land area of the country has adequate
forest cover. On the basis of slope, the ideal forest cover should be about 54%. The
country has been losing its forest at the rate of about 105,000 ha annually, and roughly
6,500,000 ha need immediate reforestation. With deforestation comes heavy soil erosion,
sedimentation of rivers and reservoirs, flash floods, and drought. In turn, there is the
attendant loss of bio-diversity and sudden changes in hydrological regimes.
Deforestation-induced erosion is estimated to be about 1 billion cubic meters of materials
every year, subjecting 17,000,000 Filipinos to risk in erosion-prone areas. With erosion
comes the deterioration of agricultural lands, increase of flood occurrence, reduced water
supply, siltation of reservoirs, canals, and rivers, destruction of buildings, roads and public
works, and depletion of wildlife and other natural resources. It has been estimated that soil
erosion and hydrological deterioration of the watersheds in forest lands set the country
back by about 6.7 billion per year in terms of losses in productivity and utility in
infrastructures and other off-site costs.
Pollution from oil spills, and discharges from ships, and sewage, industrial effluent, and
domestic wastes have caused damage to various resources in the coastal zone. In 1987
alone, the mining firms generated about 63,172,742 dry metric tons of mine tailings,
discharged mostly in Lingayen Gulf off Pangasinan, Calancan Bay in Marinduque, and part
of Tanon Strait off the coast of Toledo City in Cebu. Seventy percent (70%) of the water
pollution load in Metro Manila and other major urban centers is due to domestic wastes.
Destructive fishing methods have severely jeopardized marine life and the decline in fish
catch statistics reflects the long-term adverse effects of these degradative agents on the
aquatic ecosystems.
Similarly, noise and odor pollution are becoming increasingly a concern especially in the
metropolis. Noise is traceable mainly to the operations of mechanical equipment and
machinery of industrial and manufacturing firms and becoming a major complaint by
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
residents living near plants for the manufacture of animal feeds, tanneries, piggeries and
poultry farms, and some chemical plants.
In addition to man-made sources of environmental degradation and potential health
hazards, communities of all levels and types must contend with natural hazards. The
impact of these hazards to the environment is oftentimes acute and recovery is usually
slow. Loss of human lives, reduction in agricultural productivity and destruction of
physical resources can be severe following landslides, earthquakes, lahars, or volcanic
eruptions.
9.2
Aims of the Study
In specific terms, this section of the Tourism Master Plan aims to:

Evaluate the present and future environmental impacts of tourism with emphasis
on the six provinces of the region where recommended projects are to be
developed;

Identify specific resource requirements to mitigate adverse environmental impact
and formulate a program that would protect, prevent and enhance the
environment of the study area that would be utilized as a tourism resource;

Identify development guidelines and practices to be adopted in the granting of
clearance for construction tourism facilities/plants especially in identified tourism
sites; and

Assist in the preparation of profiles of identified projects and in the pertinent
sections of the planning reports.
Conceptually and in general terms, it aims to ensure that the natural systems as tourism
resources in the region meet the requirements of human systems for the present and
future generation.
9.3
Conceptual Framework and Approach
An integrated framework and approach is being adopted in the study. This has some
major features which include:

it is multi/inter- sectoral/agency/disciplinary;

it addresses well-defined issues;

it creates opportunities to link planning to implementation;
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)

it directs research at questions of direct relevance to resources management;

it involves those affected by management schemes in all phases of the strategy;
and

it promotes sharing of experience among resource managers.
The above features ensure that the product: has continuity; has defined boundaries;
has institutional identity as an independent organization or a network of organizations;
integrates all uses of the environment, including actual and potential; and is culturally
and spiritually responsive.
In the identification of the issues, certain criteria were used. These include: urgency
and significance; impact on a good number of stakeholders; replicability; time, funding,
expertise, and resource availability; opportunities for short-term, tangible success; and
social and political acceptability.
The planning process itself incorporates the gathering of available information,
developing a matrix of existing information, developing a regional resources plan; and
considering the conceptual framework and critical analysis of available infrastructure
and other resources.
The objectives are formulated in relation to the various uses identified in the regional
development plan. In defining the objectives, it is essential that problems to be solved
are clearly identified and appropriately defined.
The assessment of available resources includes a tally of facilities, laboratories,
infrastructure, research and training. It is indispensable for examining feasibility of
undertaking projects or programs as well as providing a rational criteria for allocating
resources based on a given set of priorities of plans, projects and programs. It also
includes an assessment of qualified personnel, the time available for the activities, and
the institutional framework. An important component of this activity is public
consultation. Some degree of uncertainty is unavoidable in any planning, so that a
reasonable procedure for public involvement should be instituted when appropriate.
Evaluation is in the form of workshops, inclusion of other case studies, and
economic analysis. While options may emerge in the assessment stage, it is at the
evaluation stage where definitive options and alternatives are made, including criteria
for selection and the expected outcome and probable consequences.
Implementation of the activity is the actual execution of the plan.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
The conceptual framework is useful as a basis for analysis. Hence, management is
viewed as a system in which natural and human inputs are processed to yield useful
outputs and environmental and natural systems effects are generated. It is thus
conceptualized as having three dimensions:

the management process which comprises the various steps involved in planning
(e.g. play formulation and design) and implementation (e.g. construction, operation
and maintenance);

the management system elements (e.g. physical facilities to be built and operated,
implementation tools, and institutional and organizational arrangements); and

the management activities required to achieve specific project purposes or outputs
(e.g. access to fishing zones, navigational rights, tourism resort establishments).
This analytical framework is a diagnostic tool which allows one to examine
management in terms of specific tasks that can be analyzed along the three
dimensions. The analysis of any specific case of management can proceed by starting
with one dimension, for example, management process, and for one component of that
dimension -planning for example- examining the components of the other two
dimensions -management activities and management system elements. Thus in the
planning phase, we can examine the management element dimension for specific
tasks required for management and operation of a coastal area in terms of the physical
facilities and operating rules ("things to be done"), implementation tools ("ways of
getting things done") and institutional and organizational arrangements needed to ("get
things done").
9.4
Priority Tourism-Cum-Environment Issues in the Region
Environmentally, the country's bleak situation is one in which the natural environment
has almost completely broken down (FREED 1994). This is generally true for both
terrestrial and coastal environments. While the government has not been remiss in
offering solutions to improve the situation, these solutions give shortterm benefits to
selected groups and degrade the environment at society's cost (Lacanilao 1996).
In Region III, the last two decades witnessed tremendous pressure from an increasing
population who are in need of wood and land to till and settle on. This pressure contributed
to the massive destruction of the region's forests. In addition, there was over-exploitation of
its timber resources. The inadequacy of forest development, management, and
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
conservation efforts was brought about by poor execution of forest management
programs, ineffective enforcement of forestry laws, inadequacy of policies and institutional
arrangements for forest protection and development. Political pressure gave low priority to
forest conservation and environmental protection. This was the prevailing scenario in most
other regions in the country a few years back (PTMP 1990).
Deforestation at rates known to be among the highest in the world has significantly eroded
what the forestry sector has contributed to the national economy. The average annual
deforestation rate had been as high as 300,000 ha per year in the late 1960's and was still
going on at rates higher than 150,000 ha per year in the early 1980's. However, the rates
had been estimated to be less than 100,000 ha per year in 1990 (DENR Statistics 1990).
At present, there are only about 6.46 million ha of forests (exclusive of brushland), 1.79
million ha of which are non-productive, and only about a million hectares are virgin forests.
On a regional basis, the biggest forest losses in the Philippines took place in Region IV
(804,000 ha), Region X (491,000 ha), Region II (485,000 ha), Region VIII (446,000 ha, and
Region XII (424,000 ha) (Forest Management Bureau Statistics 1993).
In the more urbanized areas in the region, the environmental problems are closely tied up
with socio-economic issues. Hence, the key issues related to tourism in Region III can be
placed under three broad categories: biophysical issues; socio-cultural issues; and
institutional/policy issues. This categorization, however, is artificial as these issues are
interconnected and interdependent (Fortes and McManus 1994). If they are separated in
this report, it is only for convenience in presentation to facilitate ease in their
understanding.
9.4.1
Biophysical Issues
The priority biophysical issues confronting Region III are:

degradation of ecosystems and habitats;

declining water quality and pollution;

declining coastal fisheries;

endangered species and wildlife; and

hazards including earthquake and flooding.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
There is massive denudation of forest areas, causing erosion and depletion of water
supply. Inadequacies of the cities' solid waste (garbage) management and sewerage
system have aggravated the situation, so does the proliferation of squatters and its
adverse material input to the immediate environment. At the capital towns and cities,
there is congestion of the central business district by ambulatory and vehicular traffic
causing air pollution. In many cases, obsolescence and inadequacy of the slaughter
houses has been mentioned as a perennial issue. One issue underlying all the above is
the lack of basic knowledge on ecology and information on environmental issues.
The pace of human activities such as industrialization, development of recreational areas
along the coasts, and agricultural land uses, are accelerating in many parts of the region.
These activities have led to well documented declines of coral reefs, seagrass beds, and
mangroves. On the other hand, natural perturbations such as typhoons, waves, and
volcanic activity likewise constitute physical issues which can also be responsible for the
decline. However, they do not seem to be as widespread as man-induced changes.
Pests, diseases, population and community interactions similarly pose as stressors
which have affected natural ecosystems in the region.
The major long-term threat to aquatic populations in the region is derived from
eutrophication. A particular problem in embayments with reduced tidal flushing, nutrient
loading or eutrophication results from wastewaters which reach the coasts from
industrial, commercial and domestic facilities, inadequate septic systems, boat discharge
of human and fish wastes, and storm drain run-off carrying organic waste and fertilizers.
Its direct impact is the enhancement of growth in many plant forms resulting in reduction
of light. Ultimately the cause of nutrient loading along coasts is people; increased
population density increases the problem.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
One common pervasive problem in the entire region is garbage disposal. The data
below reflect the magnitude of the issue (National Statistics Office 1990):
Classification of Households by Usual Means of Garbage Disposal (1990)
Distribution, %

Total household

1,163,205
100.00
picked up by garbage truck
134,202
11.54

dumped in individual pit (not burned)
118,288
10.17

burning
802,508
68.99

composting (later used as fertilizer)
21,065
1.81

burying
41,644
3.58

feeding to animals
22,401
1.92

others
23,097
1.99
Hence, almost 70% of the total household in Region III still adhere to the age-old
practice of burning their garbage. On the other hand, garbage is picked up by trucks in
only 12% of this total.
The adverse impact of lahar in some of the provinces in the region is an important
consideration in the tourism development effort of the local governments. The area of
land covered by lahar, prone to lahar deposit and prone to siltation (in land
management units, in ha) is given below:
Lahar Affected
Lahar Prone
Siltation Prone
24,791
39,145
30,087
warm cool upland
2,523
1,564
9
warm cool hilly land
7,522
1,729
1,097
cool highland
8,124
4
0
miscellaneous
9,359
5,182
3,863
52,319
47,624
35,056
warm lowland
TOTAL
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
In the order of decreasing magnitude of actual effect of lahar, the provinces in Region III
may be arranged as follows:
Zambales > Pampanga > Tarlac > Bataan > Nueva Ecija > Bulacan
In terms of their being prone to such effect, the order is as follows:
Tarlac > Zambales > Pampanga > Nueva Ecija > Bataan > Bulacan
In terms of their being prone to siltation, the order is as follows:
Pampanga > Zambales > Nueva Ecija > Bataan > Tarlac > Bulacan
9.4.2
Socio-cultural Issues
The degree of environmental consciousness of the inhabitants at the sites was closely tied
up with their livelihood activities. This is a natural inclination of the kind of people whose
greater parts of their lives are dependent on the status of the immediate environment and
its resources. Cutting and uprooting of trees were done only as these were useful in
enclosing their livestock or poultry they raised, or their small plots where they grow corn
and rootcrops, and gardens where they grow colorful ornamentals. Bamboo, the most
commonly cut plant, naturally and abundantly grows at the foot of the low hills. These
materials find several uses not only in the immediate area, but even outside the
municipality as household support.
Largely because of the "Clean-and-Green Project" of government, the backyards of most
of the houses in the vicinity were clean, regularly swept of fallen leaves. Burning of dried
leaves is a common practice, especially late in the afternoon or early morning in order to
drive mosquitoes and pests. In some households, the age-old practice of applying embers
at the foot of fruit trees for better yield still goes on. Refuse from domestic activities were
thrown into open pits a few meters away from the front of the houses. There was a general
tendency of the people to aesthetically blend the atmosphere of their houses to the
immediate conditions of the natural surroundings.
However, these environmentally friendly attitude of the people is rapidly being eroded by
socio-cultural issues which include:

poverty and conflict, especially over the use of, and loss of access to, natural
resources;

rapid population growth;
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)

the limited involvement of resource users in management activities,

low credibility of the government (loss of people's trust); and

absence of a shared vision.
The other equally important issues include: lack of sensitivity to gender concerns;
public health; and certain misconceptions which have guided man's interaction with his
environment.
The causes of the first major issues are well identified and their solutions are relatively
well laid out; hence, they need not be elaborated in this report. On the other hand, the
misconceptions which have misguided people's actions towards their environment
need to be mentioned. Indeed, there are perceptions that guide most of man's
interactions with the environment. They have an unclear perception of what the
environment is in relation to themselves, the view being often anthropocentric, not
socio-centric nor naturalistic. In addition, development is predicated largely upon
environmental exploitation, not its protection, as the latter is not yet a perceived social
need but an expensive and time-consuming activity. Environmental preservation and
the pursuit of economic goals are considered in conflict with one another because they
are based on two incompatible basic principles: the ecological principle of 'stability', as
a precondition of the sustainability of ecological systems, and the economic principle of
'growth', as the inherent logic of economic systems. The important point about these
different viewpoints is that they will remain divergent so long as groups have different
interests and different sources of information and knowledge (Fortes 1995).
Taken for granted partly because of the limited involvement of the people in planning
and management, a 'shared' vision for the environment is nowhere in sight. For the
last two decades, the DENR has made vision statements which changed as rapidly
with the change in the administration. More importantly, these visions have been
formulated largely without incorporating what the people want their environment to be,
hence, the results are almost parochial statements that alienate the people, making
them feel that they do not 'belong' (Fortes 1996b). With this scenario, how can one
expect them to actively participate in government projects?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
9.4.3
Institutional/Policy Issues
The priority institutional/policy issues are:

low level of institutional capability for area management (especially at the local
level, the capacity to implement sound policies is very limited);

government's inadequacy to address the problem of dealing with commercial
operators and implementing existing rules and guideline;

lack of mechanisms to limit free-access nature of some resources; and

lack of national policy on strategic development of the coastal zone (especially a
strategy that addresses the causes of habitat degradation).
"Political interference and mismanagement is a 'normal' ingredient in any
developmental effort in less developed countries. This results from misguided priorities
arising from meager information base, lack of expertise, political favoritism and
inefficient bureaucracy in the face of a dire lack of financial resources. The much
needed but least felt 'political will' to support the new movement of environmental
protection is locked in the traditional bureaucracy and political elite in the region.
Unfortunately, mitigative efforts being undertaken by the government and private
sectors are insufficient, ineffective and largely socially unacceptable (Fortes 1996b)."
9.5
Tourism-Environment Symbiosis
The Philippine Tourism Master Plan (PTMP) has recognized that tourism is an
important pillar supporting the country's development effort. It is a major industry
especially in small areas that offer people little less, bringing in jobs, revenues, and
foreign exchange. But because tourism, although a non-extractive resource use, must
necessarily draw upon the environment and its resources for its survival, the cost to
the country of a pervading yet backward environmental program is significant such that
sustained tourism development will not materialize without a viable environmental
sector. The existing environmental crisis is necessarily linked both to the poverty of
coastal and mountain dwellers and to the unabated degradation imposed by the
national effort to industrialize and attain higher productivity. This condition has a
negative impact on activities that attract visitors.
Millions of years before man came into being as a species on this planet, nature or his
environment has been in existence, with its evolved structure (or its framework) and
function (the processes that occur within this framework). These two elements
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
complimented each other, later ensuring the continued survival of organisms under a
condition of high ecological integrity. The latter was to be the basis of the wondrous
'balance of nature' or 'ecological balance' we so painstakingly try to maintain today.
Discounting the occurrence of natural catastrophes, it was when man started to
'dominate' nature, overemphasizing his role especially as a geologic agent that
brought the environmental crisis we currently face. Today, this crisis directs the course
of our very survival both as a race and as inhabitants of this planet. Indeed, the
viability of our planet is decreasing at an alarming rate as a consequence of human
interference with the natural environment. Hence, the most significant contribution of
man to nature's integrity was his disruption or modification of the intricate balance that
ensured and is still ensuring his own survival. This disruption or modification man does
from ignorance or even indifference, failing to realize that all those other living and
non-living things are essential to his survival.
In developing countries, this is being
undertaken largely to address his basic as well as peripheral needs. Indeed, we have
to develop a new rationale and an ethic to come up with sound decisions when nature
conservation competes with other human objectives.
9.5.1
Tourism as a Partner in Environmental Protection
The country has 69 national parks with a total area of about 470,000 ha and about 160
marine protected areas. With adequate protection, these areas can become important
parts of planned and informal tourist flows. The Tourism Master Plan for Region III
(TMPIII) envisions to work hand in hand with the IPAS in incorporating protected areas
into national planning for tourism development. National parks, managed nature
reserves, and multiple use management is to use an integrated approach since any
major management initiative involves the central government, local authorities, the
military, fishermen, farmers, and other resource users, local people, scientific and
technical experts, businessmen, and many other interests.
The major environmental resources that attract visitors to come to the country include:

Physical and chemical characteristics - earth (mineral resource, land form, unique
physical features) and water (ocean, rivers, underground, quality);

Biological condition - flora (endangered species, barriers, corridors), fauna (birds,
reptiles, fish and shell fish, coral, insects, endangered species, barriers, corridors);

Sociocultural factors - land use (wilderness, open spaces, wetlands, forestry,
agriculture, commercial, industrial, mining and quarrying), recreation (hunting,
fishing, boating, swimming, camping and hiking, picnicking, resorts), aesthetic and
human interests (scenic views and vistas, wilderness qualities, landscape design,
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
unique physical features, parks and reserves, monuments, rare and unique
species and ecosystems, historical and archaeological sites, and objects); and

Ecological relationships (food chains and community interactions).
In a rare case in El Nido, northern Palawan, it was shown (Hodgson and Dixon 1988)
that with continued logging in the uplands, tourism revenue would be reduced by 10%
per year between 1988 and 1991 due to the degradation of water quality and marine
life on which the diving resorts depend. With the logging ban, the 1987 - 1996 gross
revenue (predicted at USD 47.4 million) is USD 39 million more than the gross
revenue under the option with continued logging.
To cap this section, it is worthwhile quoting Jeffreys (1987): "An ambiguous
relationship exists between tourism and the environment. Since tourists may want to
see and appreciate particular environmental attributes, it is in the interest of those who
wish to profit from those visitors to protect those attributes. From this comes the
concept that tourism is a boon and benefit to conservation because it places a "dollar
value" of the environment. Ecologically conscious people, it is argued, should support
the tourist industry.
9.5.2
Tourism as a Potential Risk Factor
Potential environmental impacts of tourism-related activities depend on the phase of
the project (PTIVIP 1991). At the pre-construction phase, the following direct impacts
are expected:

impact on land use through speculation in anticipation of development;

impact of uncertainty on economic and social attributed of nearby areas;

impact on other planning and provision of public services; and

acquisition and condemnation of property from project, with subsequent dislocation
of families and businesses.
At the construction phase, the following impacts have been identified:

displacement of people;

land, water, air, and noise pollution;

soil erosion and disturbance of natural drainage;

interference with water table;
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)

destruction of or damage to wildlife habitat, parks, recreation areas, and historic
sites;

aesthetic impact of construction activity and destruction of or interference with
scenic values;

commitment of resources to construction; and

safety hazards.
Indirectly, tourism development affects contiguous land use, regional development
patterns, demand for housing and public facilities, impact on use of nearby
environmental amenities; differential usefulness for different economic and ethnic
groups; impact on life-styles of increased mobility and other factors; and impact of
improved facility on transportation and related technological development.
The dynamic nature of the environment is reflected in the various overlapping
biophysical, economic, institutional, and organizational boundaries. Consequently,
conflicts arise. An analysis needs to be conducted of Philippine land use conflicts so
that at least qualitative assessments could be made of the likely trade-off which will
arise. In relation to the coastal environment, these conflicts include (SURP 1996):

conflicts over values, disagreements over interests, facts, and non-substantive
disagreements;

parties to coastal conflicts include users of its resources and government agencies
which implement and administer coast-related legislation;

direct users include those who directly participate in coastal operations; indirect
users include environmental groups , the public who do not use the coasts and the
future generations;

intractable coastal use conflicts involve value differences, which usually occur
between direct and indirect users (these are often philosophical conflicts);

interaction occurs with increasing frequency among direct users who share the
same coastal environment and who are pursuing the same or related coastal
resources;

actual conflict or imagined conflict, the later rooted in differing perceptions of facts
and probabilities of impacts; and
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)

among government agencies which implement coastal legislation at local, regional,
and national levels.
The rationale behind the application of the precautionary principle is obvious: to
safeguard the integrity of the environment and resources upon which livelihood of
people depends. In less developed areas in Region III especially those who would be
directly affected, this is yet unacceptable due to the simple reason that lives depend
upon the use of those resources. But to mention the impacts of tourism activities and
the corresponding response(s) of the environment, some documented examples are
given below. These responses result from the changes brought by the activities on
some of the biophysical parameters1 of the environment:
TOURISM-RELATED ACTIVITIES
SOME ECOLOGICAL
RESPONSES
Managed Ecosystem
Agriculture and farming
Forestry
Ranching
Aqua-and mariculture
Nearshore catch fisheries
Biological displacement
Change in species composition
Lowered species diversity
Reduction of standing stock
Reproduction failure
Overutilization of selected species
Construction and Transportation
Dredge and fill activities
Airfields
Causeways and roads
Harbors
Shipping
Electric power generation
Urban and resort development
Sanitary sewage discharge
Solid waste disposal
Water development and control
Shoreline management and use
Land clearing and site preparation
Coastal resource uses
Smothering of sedentary species
Mass kills
Respiratory stress
Inhibition of photosynthesis
Food chain concentration
Diseases of stock
Recruitment failure
Increase in dominance feature
Encouragement of pests
1
Includes:
temperature, dissolved oxygen, nutrients, salinity, hydrology/ oceanography
siltation/sedimentation, water pollution, toxic substances, physical disruption, soil erosion,
debris and solid waste, change in cover, overexploitation, disruption of migration, disturbance
of behavior, overloading, encroachment
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
Impacts of the Proposed Projects
Table 9.1gives the known and probable impacts of the 21 proposed projects on the
immediate environment at the selected sites in Region III. For ease in presentation,
these impacts are categorized into minor, moderate and major. In the context of the
project, a minor impact is that which emanates from a project that is not required a
project description nor an EIA sensu DENR DAO 96-37 (DENR: DAO 96-37
Procedural Manual). A major impact, on the other hand, is that which is expected of
projects and undertakings categorized as Environmentally Critical Projects (ECPs) and
projects located in Environmentally Critical Areas (ECAs). A moderate impact is that
which is somewhere in-between the two other categories, and because of the
indeterminate or transitory nature of the impact, the project may or may not be
required to have an EIA.
It should also be emphasized that prior to the implementation of any mitigating
measure, it is assumed that proper planning on the part of management has been
made. This is in relation to the consideration of environmental imperatives in the
analysis of management's strength, weaknesses, opportunities on threats (SWOT). In
addition, the success of the undertaking rests heavily on the strict compliance to the
requirements of the EIS system.
9.5.3
Environmental Capacity
The Environmental (also known as Receiving, Absorptive, or Assimilative) Capacity
(sensu United Nations Environment Programme) is an inherent feature of the
environment which enables it to accommodate a particular activity without undesirable
impacts. It is a high-order interactive environmental management technique.
Unfortunately, with the present state of our knowledge of local conditions at the
tourism highways and loops being proposed, we are faced with the inevitability of
several sources of uncertainty in real-life conditions to be used in gauging the
environmental capacity at these sites. Hence, we could only propose a general and
probabilistic, as opposed to a deterministic, approach in describing the Environmental
Capacity for Region III.
Based on scientific research, the assessment of Environmental Capacity is site- and
activity-specific. In Region III, the capacity of the terrestrial and aquatic environments
to support the basic activities of the people and the biological processes which
maintain ecological balance among the habitats and their components could only be
assessed if data on the following parameters are known: (1) the resource base of the
people; (2) extent of the major habitats; (3) degree of dependency upon these
resources and habitats; (4) production and consumption rates; and (5) degree of the
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
disturbance/destruction both from natural and man-influenced forces. Unfortunately,
reliable data on these parameters are incomplete or almost unknown.
Although cursory at this stage, certain related and indirect parameters, could be useful
as indices to describe Environmental Capacity at the proposed tourism sites. These
parameters include population density, natural sources of income, agricultural/fishery
production/consumption from the immediate habitats, and some observations on the
extent of degradation/destruction of the natural terrestrial and aquatic vegetation. In
the region, especially in Nueva Ecija and Zambales representing the two extremes in
environmental conditions, with the former the more pristine, the latter the more
disturbed, it can be assumed that their dependence upon aquatic and land resources
is from moderate to high, as other minor sources of income (e.g. services) have been
possible. In Zambales, the existing conditions of the coral reefs, seagrass beds, the
seaweed communities, and their associated fisheries indicate a minimal amount of
destruction, especially from man-induced activities. Disturbances are mostly in the
form of impacts from natural stressors (e.g. winds and waves). It is thus reasonable to
assume that the carrying capacity of the environment has not yet been reached nor
even approximated by the existing activities (developmental or livelihood) on the part
of the population.
9.6
Environmental Sustainability with Tourism
Addressing effectively our environmental crisis requires more decisive measures and a
rational approach to environmental trends as these apply to tourism activities. Along
this line, the CLTIVIP attempts to promote and implement tourism development
programs based on: (1) objective environmental management and protection; (2)
social equity in access;(3) benefit-sharing in resource use; and (4) a national
framework which acknowledges nature-based limitations in the pursuit of development.
Specifically, the development Plan tries to:

integrate the economic and environmental aspects into the decision-making
process;

strengthen and provide the required expertise on environmental management in
the existing machinery for planning from the local levels;

strictly comply to and support the strengthening of the EIS systems and costbenefit analysis in order to ensure the proper pricing of natural resources, while
promoting the conservation of biodiversity and the rehabilitation of degraded
ecosystems;
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)

encourage and support training of relevant personnel at all levels in the various
aspects of environmental management in order to facilitate permeation and
inculcation of environmental consciousness in all agencies concerned with
tourism;

develop site-specific tourism plans based on sound understanding of the
ecosystems' dynamics on which natural resources are based;

develop a databank on resource and environmental information to facilitate
decision-making;

focus on rural development which induces growth in these areas;

promote environmental education;

strengthen citizen's participation;

fully support programs and efforts on sustainable development of the environment
and its resources; and

support the national strategy to develop a broad national public awareness
program in support of conservation and protected areas.
9.6.1
General Environmental Principles and Guidelines
The basic principles that underlie sound management of the environment and its
resources draw principally from the fundamental concepts of ecology and socioeconomics. They form the functional framework of a highly effective approach to
resource management -community-based approach. In addition they dictate the
current trends in global tourism development characterized by: (1) the emergence of
"ecotourism'; (2) the increasing sensitivity of tourists to environmental and cultural
issues; (3) the expansion of high-quality and specialty tourist attraction; (4) the shift of
corporate developers towards tourist attractions which protect, rather than destroy
natural resources; (5) the proliferation of NGO's involved in environmental protection;
and (6) increase in governmental control of tourism development to protect fragile
environments and to avoid destructive impacts.
These general principles that have guided us include:

The paramount principle that guides our work is maintaining ecological integrity,
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)

As a developing country, the Philippines has to meet certain social and economic
needs in the coastal and terrestrial zones; however, meeting these needs must not
jeopardize their ecological integrity;

In meeting these needs, we are guided by the well known and accepted principles
of conservation biology -the precautionary principles (`vorzorgeprinzip'). These
latter principles emphasize the need for care and caution when alterations in the
natural environment are considered, especially when scientific data about a natural
system is lacking or when an area is unusually susceptible to damage. The
following premises are the basis of the precautionary principles:

nature is valuable in its own right;

authorities must be willing to take action in advance of full, formal, scientific
proof,

people proposing a change are responsible for demonstrating that the change
will not have a negative effect on the environment,

today's actions are tomorrow's legacy; and

all decisions have a cost, exercising caution may mean some people must
forgo opportunities for recreation or for profit.

Land and coastal use planning is fundamentally ecosystem-based, hence, all
issues must be dealt with in a wider context and within a timeframe that spans not
only immediate needs, but political and ecological time scales as well;

The sciences play a critical and ongoing role in planning and management of the
environment;

The regulatory role of the DENR in implementing and enforcing the plan on behalf
of the Pilipino people cannot diminish. In the execution of this role, the public
should be involved to the greatest degree possible;

The plan recognizes and respects the historical and traditional uses of the
environment that are consistent with ecological integrity and sustainable
development;

People must recognize that businesses in the zone cannot expect to enjoy the
same conditions as they would outside this zone; the opportunity to operate a
business in, for example, the coastal zone is a privilege, not an inherent right;
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)

The impact that development outside the coastal zone has on its ecosystems must
be kept to a minimum;

Residents and businesses affected by changes due to the plan must be treated
fairly; and

In implementing our recommendations, collaborative and voluntary initiatives
should be used in preference to punitive measures.
In environmental terms, areas to be selected for tourism must consider the following
criteria:
a. Ecological Criteria
1. diversity - the variety or richness of ecosystems, habitats, communities, and
species, with areas having the greatest variety receiving the highest ratings.
However, this criterion may not apply to simplified ecosystems, such as some
pioneer or climax communities, or areas subject to disruptive forces, such as
shores exposed to high energy wave action;
2. naturalness - the lack of disturbance or degradation. Degraded systems will have
little value to fishes or tourism, and make little biological contribution. If restoring
degraded habitats is a priority, a high degree of degradation may score highly.
3. dependency - the degree to which a species depends on an area, or the degree to
which an ecosystem depends on ecological processes occurring in the area. If an
area is critical to more than one species or process, or to a valuable species or
ecosystem, it should have a high rating.
4. representativeness - the degree to which an area represents a habitat type,
ecological process, biological community, physiographic feature, or other natural
characteristic.
5. uniqueness - whether an area is one of a kind. Habitats of endangered species
occurring in only one area are an example. To keep tourism impact low, tourism
may be prohibited but limited research and education permitted. Unique sites
should always have high ratings.
6. integrity - the degree to which the area is a functional unit -an effective, selfsustaining ecological unit. The more ecologically self-contained an area is, the
more likely its values can be effectively protected, and so a higher rating should be
given at such areas.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
7. productivity - the degree to which productive processes within the area contribute
benefits to species or to humans (eutrophic areas are exceptions).
8. vulnerability - the area's susceptibility to degradation by natural events or by
activities of people.
b. Praomatic criteria
1. urgency - immediate action should be taken, lest values within the area may be
transformed or lost.
2. size - which and how much of various habitats need to be included in the protected
area. The protected area must be large enough to function as an ecological unit to
receive a high rating.
3. degree of threat - present and potential threats from direct exploitation and
development projects.
c.
Economic criteria
1. importance to species - the degree to which certain economically important
species depend on the area.
2. importance to fisheries - the number of dependent fishermen and the size of the
fishery yield.
3. nature of threats - the extent to which changes in use patterns threaten the overall
value to people.
4. economic benefits - the degree to which protection will affect the local economy in
the long term.
5. tourism - the existing or potential value of the area to tourism development that is
compatible with the aims of conservation.
Hence, a wide spectrum of inputs is required in the selection of a site for tourism. The
overall objective, especially in the less developed sectors of the provinces.in Region
III, is to ensure that the communities acquire a "decent quality of life". This means the
absence of poverty, the latter being the inability of a family to meet its minimum basic
needs for survival (food, nutrition, health, water and sanitation, and clothing), security
(shelter, peace and security, and income and livelihood), and empowerment (basic
education and functional literacy, community participation, and psychosocial
development).
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
It is likewise useful for tourism planners to possess a working knowledge on which
areas in their respective jurisdictions may or may not be subject to varying degrees of
development. Hence, the following,areas are 'environmentally critical', meaning, that
they are to be 'left alone' to maintain their natural integrity without human intervention,
or, if there is an objective need for development, these be subjected to the utmost care
backed by all applicable rules and knowledge - technical or traditional.
The Twelve Environmentally Critical Areas
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
All areas declared by law as national parks, watershed, reserves, and wildlife
reserves and sanctuaries;
Areas set aside as aesthetic potential tourist spots;
Areas which constitute the habitat of any endangered or threatened species of
indigenous Philippine wildlife;
Areas of unique historic, archaeological, or scientific significance;
Areas which are traditionally occupied by cultural minorities or tribes;
Areas frequently visited and/or hard-hit by natural calamities;
Areas with critical slopes;
Areas classified as prime agricultural lands;
Recharge areas of aquifers;
Water bodies;
Mangrove areas; and
Coral reefs.
In the face of the current environmental crisis the country is facing, the need arises for a
reappraisal of existing paradigms and/or a shift to new and more relevant ones (Fortes
1996). In the broader context, the ingredients for such a shift have been made clear:
"...poverty
must
be
eradicated
through
community
movements
and
people
empowerment,- the economy must be resuscitated through the broad-based provision
of access to and mobilization of resources and investments for higher value, higher
multiplier and higher efficiency goods and services; the environment must be
rehabilitated and sustainably managed; and the government machinery must be
reoriented and restructured towards more democratic, more responsive, people-based,
and area-oriented approaches of realizing sustainable development" (FREED 1994).
Hence, below are some of the paradigms which have emerged out of the need to
refocus environmentally related efforts which obviously did not work well or are
inappropriate under existing conditions. Their understanding and application will serve
as a useful tool in tourism development:

The conventionally perceived economic growth is no longer tenable as the
unquestioned objective of economic development policy. The old concept of
growth (`throughput growth') with its reliance on an ever-increasing throughput of
energy and other natural materials, cannot be sustained, and must yield to an
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
imaginative pursuit of economic ends that are less resource intensive (Goodland et
al. 1992).

There is pervasive shift from mere growth to development. Growth means simply
that things get bigger. But when systems develop they get better, more efficient;
there is a trend to decouple growth from environmental degradation;

Producing more with less through conservation, higher efficiency, technological
improvements, and sound recycling;

Economic logic tells us that there is a need for a reorientation and adoption of
policies to the management of scarce, not abundant, resources (Daly 1992). This
means that economic policy should be designed to increase the productivity of
natural capital (natural resources) and its total amount, rather than to increase the
productivity of human-made capital and its accumulation;

In conflicts between biophysical realities and political realities, the latter must
eventually give ground (Goodland et al. 1992). The environment will transit to
sustainability: the choice is between society planning for an orderly transition, or
letting physical limits and environmental damage dictate the timing and course of
the transition;

There is a shift toward an economy of conservation, with incentives to integrate
environmental
values
into
business
practices.
This
means
recycling,
remanucfacturing, and a repair economy in which the developing world would
enjoy many advantages ;

The newly developing sectors of society need to find a different pathway, shaping
their own models of development that bypass the ruinous, resource depleting cycle
the older more developed sectors went through. The essential fuels of the
transition to sustainability - capital and technology- are scarce in these developing
sectors, so it is imperative for them to optimize the use of these resources in ways
which also take advantage of their main resource - people;

There a shift toward an economy promoting long-term investment and capital
gains, rather than short-term profit maximization. This means new approaches to
taxation, and a new corporate vision which extends beyond the next quarterly
dividend;

There is a shift to a savings culture, rather than one built on immediate
consumption; and
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)

Recognition and acceptance of a new paradigm of economic development where
natural resources are sustainably used over long time-frame (integrationalequity)
and where benefits hit the mass base of marginal populations.
These shifts in paradigms require a quick but intensive learning process. Business e.g.
tourism has proven itself capable of adapting to rapidly changing circumstances, and
can do so in the present circumstances.
Originally proposed for the development of tourism in Boracay Island and adopted in
the national tourism master plan, the provisions of the Environmental Code for Tourism
Development should be adhered to. The code focuses mainly on environmental criteria
but it should be emphasized that there are other criteria (e.g. social and economic) that
should similarly be considered. In addition, although the effort for now is in Region III,
the real intention is to refine and validate the guidelines so that these will be useful in
similar undertakings in other parts of the country.
Adherence to the above principles and key themes and paradigms ensures that the
master plan for tourism development in Region III would be effective, responsive to the
needs of the people, and acceptable by them. With these desirable features:

It should provide a framework for achieving effective coordination across a
complex array of national, regional, and local institutional arrangements. The
objective is to ensure efficient utilization of increasingly scarce public institutional
resources;

It should provide a framework for transferring skills, knowledge and technology
smoothly and rapidly to developing Philippine coastal industries. The objective is to
deepen and widen Philippine capacities and competencies in coastal and marinebased industries, sciences and technologies;

It should provide a framework to ensure protection of coastal and marine
environments and conservation of their living and non-living resources. It should
identify present, future, existing, and potential conflicts. The objective is to ensure
that the Philippines meet its national and international obligations on protection
and conservation and ensure that development takes place on a sustainable basis;
and

It should provide a basis for future development and utilization of the coastal
environment and resources. It should, in particular, provide a framework for
encouraging and facilitating sustainable coastal and marine-based resources,
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
manufacturing and services industries. It should articulate strategies to facilitate
marine technology development.
Appendix 2 gives the World Charter for Sustainable Tourism adopted in Spain in 1995.
It was likewise adopted at the Conference on Sustainable Tourism for the 21st Century
in Algarve, Portugal in the same year. It is a product of decades of effort on the part of
both public and private sectors worldwide, addressing the interaction between tourism
and the environment. Readers are advised to consider the provisions of the charter in
making plans for tourism development.
9.6.2
Strategies and Action Plans
In the Philippines, there is an urgent need to undertake and sustain research activities
focused on topics which are relevant, pragmatic, and easily understood in the
administrative circles. When properly undertaken, these serve as the base of most
developmental activities (e.g. tourism) in the coastal zone. Among others, these topics
should include: inventory and stock assessment; mapping and classification;
community and ecosystem dynamics; socio-economic studies; and evaluation of
management policies and programs.
Only by taking a vigorous proactive conservation stance on modification to the
environment and one that is actively supported by the highest offices of government
will there be any hope of slowing, stopping and reversing the trend of habitat loss.
Hence, the goals of research and development in the Philippines and in the region
should be considered within an environmental and resource use framework.
Currently, research and development efforts on Philippine coastal and marine
ecosystems suffer from a lack of purposeful objectives and long-term goals for meeting
the challenge of sustainable use (Fortes 1995). These objectives and the actions that
specifically address them include (after Fortes 1994, adapted in part from Holligan &
de Boois 1993):
OBJECTIVE 1: To determine the role coastal ecosystems play in the maintenance of the
integrity of the coastal zone as a tourism resource.
Action 1: Undertake a time series analysis to monitor the status and rate of expansion
or area reduction of the ecosystems in Bataan and Zambales.
Action 2: Assess the impacts of habitat changes on the associated fisheries and
dynamics of the ecosystems.
Action 3: Define, implement and evaluate functional restoration of critical sites using
transplant optimization techniques including the maintenance of genetic
diversity of restored habitats and investigation of habitat resiliency.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
Action 4: Apply applicable techniques to value both direct (e.g. fisheries) and indirect
(e.g. ecological functions as nurseries) goods and services from the habitats.
OBJECTIVE 2: To determine the response of coastal ecosystems to environmental forcing
factors brought about by tourism activities.
Action 1: Undertake intensive process studies and dose-response experiments
focused on pollution, sedimentation and fluxes in temperature and salinity.
Action 2: Simulation experiments and prognostic modeling for predictive management
of target components over a wide range of space and time scales (e.g. fish
and prawn fisheries; endangered species) .
OBJECTIVE 3: To determine how land use patterns and human activities affect the
morphodynamics of coastal ecosystems.
Action 1: Undertake socio-economic data analysis of the associated impacts of
tourism.
Action 2: Help develop a consistent national policy on coastal resources management.
OBJECTIVE 4: To intensify interhabitat connectivity studies (coral reef-seagrass bedmangroves).
Action 1: Investigate physical processes linking the ecosystems.
Action 2: Investigate the nutrient fluxes between the ecosystems.
Action 3: Investigate animal migration patterns among the ecosystems.
Action 4: Assess the effects of human impacts as a link between these habitats.
OBJECTIVE 5: To establish indices useful in developing scientific and socioeconomic bases
for the integrated management of the coastal resources.
Action 1: Incorporate seagrass beds in marine protected areas.
OBJECTIVE 6: To translate the understanding under the aegis of a Philippine Coastal
Environmental Information Network (PCEIN).
Action 1: Introduce information technology.
Action 2: Systematize data acquisition and handling.
Action 3: Undertake massive information campaign at all levels of society.
a. Action Plan for the Protection of Species of Special Concern
The giant clams are a protected species in the Indo-Pacific. One of its uses is as an
aquarium species and a curio for tourism. The project funded by ACIAR/AIDAB
(Australia) is the most direct and significant attempt to address the problems of the
conservation of the species in the country. Local counterpart funding was provide by
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
the then Philippine Council for Agriculture and Resources Research and Development
(PCARRD) and more recently by the Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine
Research and Development (PCAMRD). In terms of mariculture and growth studies,
these two institutions have shared resources.
A goal of breeding the giant clam should include studies on its growth, maturation and
survival rates. Since the clam is also marketed for its shells, genetically improving the
characteristics of the shells would help market the clam. In addition to culture, the
other areas of research and study that should be pursued include stock assessment,
biology and conservation, growth and production rates, reproduction and larval rearing,
socio-economics, parasites, predators, and diseases. In a significant attempt towards
giant clam conservation, the UP Marine Science Institute has experimentally deposited
seedlings in pilot places such as Anilao, Batangas and Hundred Islands in Alaminos,
Pangasinan. The plan is "...to get the involvement of the fishermen in managing their
own clam culture in selected areas in the country. It is envisioned that a large breeding
population in strategic places will naturally reseed other reefs which are open for
everybody to exploit."
The plan of action to protect the giant clam resources includes:

Research - to define ecological requirements for maintaining stable clam
population; distribution and high-use areas; human impacts on the animals and on
seagrass beds; population dynamics;

Resource management - selection and establishment of clam sanctuaries; policy
review, proper implementation and strict enforcement of rules; active participation
of NGO's and local governments in the conservation program; and

Information and Education Campaign - distribution of information materials and
radio plugs; campaigns to parallel research thrusts, focused and regionspecific to
accommodate cultural and socioeconomic norms.
In the case of dugongs and sea turtles, the action plan for their protection and
conservation is for the most part subsumed under the plan for that of seagrasses upon
which their survival is intimately linked. The World Conservation Union listed the
dugong and sea turtles as "vulnerable to extinction" while the Convention on
International Trade of Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) listed the
former in Appendix I (except in Australia where it is in Appendix II, allowing indigenous
tribes to hunt them).
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
b. Coral Reefs: the ICRI Framework for Action
At ICRI Workshop held in Dumaguete 29 May-2 June 1995, it was agreed that
effectively addressing management, capacity building, research and monitoring, and
review is the key to the protection and sustainable use not only of coral reefs and their
resources but of the associated seagrass beds, mangroves and soft bottom
communities as well. The specific actions are given below:
1. In terms of management:

encourage governments to develop and adopt integrated coastal management
measures;

enforcement of regulations;

encourage governments and funding agencies to consider the ICRI framework
in project and program design and implementation;

encourage, where appropriate, an intersectoral systems approach to planning
and management;

encourage improved coordination among international organizations, donors
and NGOs to provide more effective programs at the regional and national
level;

encourage prompt implementation of the outcomes of FAO Code of Conduct
for Responsible Fisheries and the Global Program of Action to Protect the
Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities;

promote awareness and action by the global tourist community to minimize
individual and collective impacts of tourism community to minimize individual
and collective impacts of tourism on coral reefs and related ecosystems;

promote the establishment and effective management of coastal and marine
protected areas for coral reefs and related ecosystems, within the framework
of customary international law as exemplified by the UN Convention on the
Law of the Sea;

promote the regulation of international trade in endangered and threatened
reef associated species through the CITES, and improve its implementation
where required;
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)

encourage governments to develop and promote mechanism for regulating
international trade in species that are illegally harvested,

encourage governments to develop legislation, policy and institutional capacity
to apply environmental assessment to development activities;

promote appropriate technologies, including voluntary programs and economic
incentives and best management practices, for control of land-based causes
of marine pollution;

promote and replicate successes in integrated coastal management, including
community - based management, as appropriate; and

support management measures to improve the socioeconomic condition of
local communities through such means as retraining and sustainable
alternative livelihood development.
2. In terms of Capacity Building

encourage regional organizations to assist countries and communities
implementing ICRI, for example through measures including: preparation of
project proposals; and implementation of small grant programs;

establish, strengthen and sustain mutually supportive networks of centers of
expertise in management of coral reefs and related ecosystems;

base human resource development strategies on needs assessments and
ensure that they address: the diversity of cultures, traditions and governance
structures; increased community awareness and involvement; evaluation of
the effectiveness of training; and the need to target children in awareness
raising;

improve coordination and targeting of the education and human resource
development programs provided by development partners;

support formal and informal environmental education programs for all levels of
the community on the subject of coral reefs and related ecosystems, with
curricula and materials tailored to the interests and needs of the regions and
end-users;

encourage maximum use of national and regional expertise in management,
research and capacity building activities;
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)

support the development, identification and dissemination of materials which
address the interests and needs of the region;

increase the relevance to ICRI of existing donor scholarship programs by:
devoting a proportion of scholarship awards to environmental studies; and
encouraging thesis and dissertation studies carried out in home countries; and

encourage the private sector's role in management of coral reefs and related
ecosystems through: use of appropriate technologies; development of a
trained and educated workforce; and innovative approach to better
environmental operating standards.
3. Research and Monitoring:
Research and monitoring programs should address biological, physical, social, cultural
and economic studies and should be carried out over time periods appropriate to their
objectives. They should be supported by information management, interpretation and
dissemination. In the collection of data for both research and monitoring, resource
users should be involved to the maximum extent practicable:

promote the involvement of managers in the development, conduct, interpretation
and application of research and monitoring programs;

promote and assist the development and application of resource assessment
methods that: allow for rapid assessment to establish baselines and initiate
management; and can be used in Geographic Information and Decision Support
Systems;

promote the development of a Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network under the
Coastal Zone Module of the Global Ocean Observing System by incorporating
and, as necessary, establishing or strengthening regional needs;

encourage studies of coral reefs and related ecosystems which address, among
others, priority management issues of individual coastal site and the synergies
between human effects and natural variations as causes of stress and degradation
in coral reefs and related ecosystems;

develop programs to involve communities, resource users, the private sector and
others in monitoring the condition of coral reefs and related ecosystems; and
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)

encourage regional and international forums which bring together managers and
scientists to identify priority information requirements for management of coral
reefs and related ecosystems.
4. Review

review of the state of coral reefs and related ecosystems and of action taken to
implement the ICRI Framework for Action should be conducted at national,
regional and international levels on a regular basis;

the four yearly cycle of the international coral reef symposia provides an excellent
opportunity to discuss the ecological condition of coral reefs. This should be
matched by an equivalent program to review the effectiveness of implementation
of actions in accordance with this Framework for Action;

at the international level, the UN Commission on Sustainable Development
provides an appropriate forum for review international actions taken at all levels by
governments, international organizations and agencies;

UNEP should be encouraged to review the implementation and success of the
ICRI Framework for Action through relevant programs including the Regional Seas
Programmes; and

similarly the IOC through the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, should be
encouraged to produce reports on the ecological condition of coral reefs and
related ecosystems for discussion at the quadrennial International Coral Reef
Symposia and other relevant international forums.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
c.
Forest Management
For Region III, the National Forestation Program (Watershed Rehabilitation Project) of
the Philippines (1989-1993) reported the following accomplishments in critical
watersheds:
Watershed
Project
_________
Location
Total Area
(ha)
_________
Total Target
(ha)
__________
Balog-Balog
Tarlac
28,100
1,264
794
63
O'Donnell
Tarlac
29,300
1,969
1,469
75
Talavera
Nueva Ecija
37,300
4,686
4,686
100
Sta. Cruz
Zambales
12,440
1,103
703
64
_______
Accomplishment
(ha)
______________
%
___
For the period 1988-1993, a total of 9,898 Certificates of Stewardship Contract (CSCs)
have been issued in Region III. In addition, 82.61 km of access road, 478.93 km of
graded trail, and 957.85 km of footpath have been constructed under Loan 1 package
of the government as of December 31, 1993. Interestingly, Region III was not a
recipient of the funds earmarked for seed production areas, seed orchard
development, and national provenance trial. It was not also included in studies which
investigated the diseases on forest tree species in reforestation projects. The
Ecosystem Research and Development Bureau (ERDB) of the DENR, however, made
observations on pests in some trees in Bagac, Bataan. Average survival rates of
reforestation trees in Region III was 55.33% for the period 1988-1991.
For the last 20 years, the Forestry Code has been in place. This is also true for other
related legislation on forestry conservation and use. However, forest denudation in
Region III continued, resulting in the reduction of virgin forests which could be a major
tourism resource. Land use conversion (from forest land to agricultural land) has been
most pronounced.
The law should be creatively marketed to provide the appropriate stimulus to regulate
human
conduct
vis-a-vis
the
forestry
resources
(Oposa
1995,
personal
communication). Compliance to laws must be packaged in a manner 'so sweet' that it
is made irresistible. On the other hand, non-compliance must be made to appear so
undesirable with the swift, painful and public execution of sanctions.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
d. Protected Areas System
The CLTMP envisions to be an agent of the nationwide Integrated Protected Areas
System (IPAS) that covers habitats and species in the terrestrial, wetland, coastal, and
marine environments, especially those which are unique to the region. It initiates
management and supportive activities in priority areas selected both for conservation
and tourism by reflecting its current planning capabilities in budgetary allocations to
priority sites. Its focus on socio-economic aspects and community organization work
promotes awareness, identify buffer zones, and develop innovative livelihood
alternatives with and for communities that will wean their dependence from protected
areas. The CLTMP supports the national strategy to develop a broad national public
awareness program in support of conservation and protected areas.
There are over 160 marine protected areas (MPAs) and 69 national parks identified for
the Philippines (GBRMPA/WB/IUCN 1995). These are ecosystems exhibiting high
levels of biodiversity and productivity and other critical habitat areas where legislation
exist providing limited use in these areas. Only within the past 20 years has the
concept of protecting certain marine areas become widely accepted. Since then,
however, this idea has taken hold and hundreds of MPAs have been established
around the globe. As their number has increased rapidly, so, too, have their diversity
and complexity (World Conservation Monitoring Center 1990). MPAs vary dramatically
in size, design, purpose, approach, name, and effectiveness. This is very true for the
Philippine MPAs.
The categories of marine protected areas and their corresponding conservation
objectives are given below. A clear understanding of this relationship is essential in
planning coastal areas where any or combinations of these categories exists:
CATEGORY OF MPA a/
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
Vill
IX
X
maintain natural state
maintain ecological diversity
conserve genetic resources
provide education, research
conserve watershed condition
control erosion, sedimentation
produce protein from wildlife
provide tourism, recreation
provide products sustainably
protect heritage sites
protect scenic beauty, space
maintain open options, multi-use
stimulate sustainable use of
marginal areas, rural devt
1
3
1
1
3
3
1
1
1
2
3
3
1
2
1
1
3
3
3
2
3
2
2
2
3
2
3
3
1
1
1
3
3
3
1
1
1
1
3
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
3
3
1
1
1
1
1
2
3
3
3
3
3
1
3
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
1
2
1
1
3
3
2
3
3
3
3
3
1
1
1
1
1
3
3
2
2
2
1
2
2
1
3
2
1
2
2
3
3
1
1
1
1
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
a/ Source: Adapted from IUCN (in press); 1, primary objective for management of area and
resources: 2, not necessarily primary, but always included as an important objective; 3,
included as an objective where applicable and whenever resources and other management
objectives permit; I, Strict Reserve; II, National Park; III, Monument/Landmark; IV, Managed
Reserve; V, Protected Landscape/Seascape; VI, Resources Reserve; VII, Anthropological
Reserve; VIII, Multiple Use Area; IX, Biosphere Reserve; X, World Heritage Site
e. Coastal Land Use and Zoning
Over the past decade there has been increasing interest in the concept of
environmental development planning. Its purpose is to achieve an environmental
development plan which is economically acceptable. However, most land use planning
decisions were made not providing the proper regard for coastal areas and these were
formulated principally on the basis of economic and technical criteria, emphasizing
development that supports infrastructure while minimizing development costs and
maximizing economic advancement (ADB 1992). When the natural environment was
considered, it was often viewed as an economic constraint on development. Flooding,
slope stability, soil structure and seismic activity were seen as environmental factors
draining development resources and these are usually made environmentally benign
through engineering solutions (SURP 1996). The improper regard to environmental
factors in development planning "...has led to significant environmental degradation,
irreversible loss of precious ecological and natural resources, and in many instances
hazard to life and property, unanticipated social costs, loss of amenity and quality of
life" (ADB 1992). In addition, too much concentration on overall economic growth, has
engendered socio-economic disparities which in turn led to the creation of urban slums
and their attendant effect on water supply and sanitation. Hence, there is a dire need
to modify development planning to incorporate protection of nature and her resources
and provision of an acceptable habitation for even the poorest of the poor.
While land use planning is relatively more developed in the Philippines, an acceptable
and comprehensive coastal zone planning is yet to be developed. Such a plan should
aim to create sustainable competitive advantages in coastal and marine industries
including the application of Science & Technology and thereby contribute to industrial
diversification and new opportunities for employment creation. It should also act as the
catalyst to improve coordination between and within public and private sectors. The
coastal zone is ordinarily understood as that portion of land influenced by the sea and
that portion of the sea influenced by the land (for its definition, see Appendix 2).
Hence, it is being subjected to diverse uses from marine production to tourism and
recreation, industrial sites, energy facility sites, and agricultural production, among
others. The special significance of the Philippine coastal zone lies in the fact that it is
the focus of intense urban and industrial pressure. Its natural resources are critical to
the livelihood base of the people and in this area, many historical and cultural
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
resources are found. The marine realm may be of equal if not greater importance to
people but for a developing country like the Philippines where resources to explore the
oceanic parts are wanting, this portion of the sea is virtually unknown. Hence, owing to
its fragile ecology, the coastal zone needs special planning consideration and
management.
The purpose of this section is to suggest a framework for such a plan, focusing on
tourism concerns. This framework is multi-dimensional and is framed around four key
elements (modified from ADB 1992):
Framework for a Comprehensive Coastal Land Use Plan
Institutional
Coordination



Coastal S & T  Coastal Zone  Coastal
& Infrastructure
Planning
Environmental

Protection


Coastal Development
The coastal zone planning guidelines is of considerable importance to the town
planning process in general and tourism in particular, especially for our coastal
municipalities. The national government and local government units have the joint
responsibility for the management of our coastal resources. Correlatively and in line
with its function of regulating town planning and zoning activities, the Housing and
Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) is incorporating the coastal zone concept into
the town planning process through the adoption of supplementary guidelines which.
are here presented. These guidelines are prepared to assist DENR and the LGUs'
planners and technical personnel particularly at the provincial and municipal levels in
the joint formulation of comprehensive land use plans that incorporate coastal and
associated unclassified lands of the public domain. It is intended to provide standard
procedures and criteria for coastal resources use and allocation. Specifically, it
provides for (SURP 1996):

a participatory, cross-sectoral allocation of coastal resources to their users;

a mechanism for the integration of the Coastal Land Use Plan, Forest Land Use
Plan with the Provincial and Municipal Comprehensive Land Use Plans;
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)

an upscaling of coastal land allocation decisions from the barangay and municipal
levels to the provincial level using the appropriate biophysical integrators of coastal
landscapes; and

adjustment of the coastal allocation and land use planning decisions with the
available data, maps, and information under a given resource and ecological
condition.
As in all planning procedures, the steps involved in coastal planning include
(adapted from ADB 1992):
Coastal Planning Procedure
  



New

Developments
Background   Project
Information
Arrangements


Environmental
Resources


Impacts of new
Developments



Tentative 
Test

Plan
Tentative Plan







Final Plan   




 Evaluate Plan
The overlapping biophysical, economic, institutional and organizational boundaries in
the coastal zone makes it a highly dynamic system. A consequence is that some of the
country's coastal communities and settlements are experiencing incompatibilities or
conflicts in land use. In addition, there is the sporadic and uncontrolled physical growth
of communities as well as from the fragmented perception and understanding of
natural resources, i.e., locating marginal settlements in flood prone areas, swamplands
converted into fishponds or agricultural lands converted to urban or industrial use.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
1. Major Coastal Ecosystems and their Subsystems
From an ecological point of view, and as discussed above, the three major support
systems of the tropical coastal zone are the coral reefs, seagrass beds and
mangroves. But there are other 'subsystems' associated with the coasts, arising from
site-specific or local physical, chemical and biological processes (SURP 1996). But
more important perhaps, in view of tourism, is the fact that these subsystems are partly
created by the 'need' of coastal inhabitants to meet their basic life requirements. Some
of these subsystems were created by years of 'trial and error' and experiments the
natives have to undergo to survive (e.g. cultivated lands, pasture lands, brackishwater
ponds). Hence, we have here the first or earliest signs of incompatibilities in the use of
habitats and resources. On the other hand, with these early attempts to utilize
indigenous knowledge, what appeared to be an incompatible use at the outset became
compatible through application or addition of energy subsidies. In the process, this
practice became acceptable and, to existing norms, sustainable. This is the basis of
certain practices which are currently allowed ('legalized') even in areas where the uses
of the habitat and its resources are incompatible with its intrinsic function or functions.
For the purpose of this master plan, the following are the subsystems of the Philippine
coastal zone. The reader is advised to refer to Appendix 2 for the definition of terms:
Subsystems of the Philippine Coastal Zone
woodlands
wastelands
cultivated lands
freshwaters
dunes
mineralized areas
pasture lands
freshwater swamps
tidal flats
beaches
brackishwater swamps
estuaries
brackishwater ponds
marine waters
seabed
coral reefs
seagrass beds
mangroves
small islands
2. Coastal Zone Utilization Guidelines (adopted from SURP 1996)
A clearer understanding of the interrelationship between the functions of nature and
man's uses of her resources is facilitated by a serious attention to both theoretical and
pragmatic considerations and assumptions. These are given in some detail below. It
should be pointed out that the resulting matrices are no more than a guide to help
evaluate a given purpose or activity. It suggests a framework within which data can be
systematically and comprehensively organized into a whole, but familiarity with the
specific locality and some ingenuity on the part of the planner or user are certainly
required. What it does is first dismantle all the facets of the system (the coastal zone),
examine separately all the components (subsystems), then reassemble them. Hence,
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
this allows us to have not only a comprehensive impression of the value of the
components in their entirety, but also from the analysis, an excellent way of
investigating the impacts of human intervention on nature. Thus, it points to the extent
to which a certain function can be regarded as sustainable. In this context,
'sustainable' is used in the sense that making use of the function in question does not
change or deplete the ecosystem or its subsystems and consequently, no loss of
functions can occur (de Groot 1992). We should remember that functions are not
always compatible with one another, so that our attempts to regulate nature frequently
lead to less favorable results than were expected. With the knowledge which functions
will be lost and the economic and social values of these functions, we can judge what
a given entity is really costing us and what the most sensible decision is for our
particular purpose. Hence, if we wish to achieve a truly sustainable use of nature, we
should become extremely selective, and remain within the carrying capacity of the
given system or subsystem.
f.
Nature's intrinsic functions: the basis of compatibility or incompatibility of man's
use of natural resources
To deal with the pressing environmental problems as these affect tourism, we need to
identify which among the different resource uses are compatible or incompatible with
nature's intrinsic functions. There are countless situations in which a clearly defined
and systematically applied knowledge of actual value and use of resources is
indispensable if a sound decision is to be made. Such situation arises when a choice
must be made among various possible uses for a given area such as agriculture,
forestry, mining, urban development, waste disposal, or conservation of the natural
state. In these cases, an environmental impact assessment or a cost-benefit analysis
will become a matter of routine and a part of a standard procedure. Hence, the
environment will be increasingly subject to regulation and control, and government
entities, industries, and even the academe will have to keep accounting records of the
influence of their activities on the natural environment. Coastal planning becomes of
paramount importance in this respect.
What are the functions of the natural environment? In this chapter, the functions of the
natural environment are a set of universally accepted goods and services which the
natural environment can provide (de Groot 1992). Goods are those which can easily
be expressed in terms of money (e.g. minerals, fish, raw materials). On the other hand,
services are those whose values may be indirectly estimated or perhaps can openly be
described when assessing intangible features such as climate-control, or oxygen
provider, source of cultural and spiritual inspiration. Human welfare and the quality of
life depend directly or indirectly on the availability of environmental goods and services
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
in many ways. Their availability is largely controlled and sustained by ecological
processes operating in natural and semi-natural ecosystems such as oceans, coral
reefs, seagrass beds, woodlands, grasslands, lakes, cultivated fields, deserts, ice
sheets, and myriad of other systems which blanket the earth and compose the
biosphere.
g. "Function-Utilization" Matrices
Below are the coastal zone subsystems and their suggested utilization, taking into
consideration the essential elements of planning for sustainable development of the
environment. Two matrices are given below to show two relationships: between the
subsystems and their uses (A); and among these uses (B).
Matrix of Coastal Zone Subsystems and Their Suggested Utilization
A
'Subsystem-Utilization'Matrix
UTILIZATION
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
SUBSYSTEM
woodlands
wastelands
cultivated lands
freshwaters
dunes
mineralized areas
pasture lands
freshwater swamps
tidal flats
beaches
brackishwater swamps
estuaries
brackishwater ponds
marine waters
seabed
coral reefs
seagrass beds
mangroves
small islands
1
x
x
-x
x
o
o
o
x
x
o
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
o
2
o
o
o
x
o
o
o
x
x
o
-x
x
x
x
x
x
-o
3
x
o
x
o
x
o
o
x
o
x
o
x
x
x
o
x
o
x
o
4
x
x
x
x
x
o
o
x
x
o
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
o
o
5
o
o
x
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
x
o
o
o
o
6
x
o
x
o
o
o
x
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
x
x
o
o
7
x
o
x
o
o
o
x
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
x
x
x
x
8
x
o
x
x
x
x
x
o
x
x
o
o
x
o
o
x
x
x
o
9
x
x
x
o
x
x
x
o
o
x
o
o
x
o
x
o
o
o
o
10
x
x
x
o
x
x
x
o
o
x
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
11
x
x
x
o
x
x
x
o
o
x
o
o
o
x
o
o
o
o
12
x
x
x
o
x
x
x
x
o
x
x
o
o
x
o
o
o
o
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
B. 'Utilization-Utilization' Matrix
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
agriculture
forestry
mining
residential
recreation
commercial/industrial
major infrastructure
waste disposal
navigation
fishing
aquaculture
seaweed farming
1
o
o
o
o
o
x
x
x
o
o
x
2
3
4
5
o
o
o
o
x
o
x
x
x
x
o
o
o
o
o
x
x
x
o
o
x
x
x
x
x
o
x
o
o
o
o
UTILIZATION
6
7
8
9
o
x
x
x
x
o
x
x
x
o
x
x
x
x
x
o
o
10
11
12
o
o
o
-
(x, not compatible use; o, permissible use; --, intended use)
The suggested uses of the coastal zone are viewed in two contextual frameworks: (1)
their allowed or legal or acceptable uses, reflecting their adherence to existing rules,
mandates or social norms, backed by existing knowledge on the system, hence, the
adoption of "o" (or permissible) option in the matrix; and (2) their compatibility or noncompatibility with the known functions of the subsystems, hence, "x" (or not
compatible) option. The dashed lines designate that the use of a particular subsystem
is as it is intended to be, e.g. a fishpond is for producing fish or for the fishing industry.
For practical purposes and when an option is permissible, it would imply that the
pertinent or prescribed conditions are to be effectively and satisfactorily met by the
implementors. Whenever and wherever applicable, the pertinent rules, regulations,
and guidelines of the appropriate agencies, such as the HLURB, DENR-EMB (for
Environmental Impact Assessments), BFAR (for fishery regulations), DENR (for the
management and disposition of foreshore areas), BFD (for mangrove areas), and
others shall govern the use of the coastal zone.
Some degree of arbitrariness in the declared use of a particular system or subsystem
of the coastal environment is expected. As was manifest during the training on land
use planning in Batangas (02 December 1996), this is an offshoot of several factors
which include: (1) the broad range of variabilities of one system or subsystem along
geographic or even topographic gradients; (2) the particular traditional use of the local
inhabitants; (3) the present 'economic pressure' to utilize the resource; (4) available
knowledge, expertise, and resources to use the resource; and (5) the nature of the
resource. Nevertheless, the choice of the specific use of such resources would depend
highly upon their biophysical and ecological status as explained above.
It should be emphasized that the "vorzorgeprinzip" (precautionary principle) is the
rule, wherein it is to the best interest of the present and future generations not to utilize
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
the resources if the uncertainty is so great as to ensure that the likelihood of destroying
the environment is eminent. This is as yet an arbitrary decision resulting primarily from
the lack of definitive knowledge to support the adopted actions. Hence, when this
required knowledge becomes available, the suggested use of the resources may
change. The role of the academe and the scientists is crucial in this respect.
9.7
EIA as a Tourism Planning and Management Tool
In an effort to safeguard the environment and ensure the sustainable use of its
resources at the national level, both regulatory and non-regulatory tools of government
have been employed. These are given below:
a. Regulatory tools
1. Allocation of use rights to specific individuals, business, or communities;
2. Permit programs for specific activities in specified areas;
3. Zoning programs (as this coastal use plan);
4. Performance and construction standards;
5. Environmental Impact Assessments; and
6. Exploitation limitations.
b. Non-regulatory tools
1. Economic incentives;
2. Acquisition of property rights;
3. Training;
4. Public education;
5. Enhancement/restoration of environmental quality;
6. Emergency response plans;
7. Monitoring;
8. Research;
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
9. Voluntary compliance programs; and
10. Guidelines for developers and users.
Hence, the Environmental Impact Statement System of the Philippines (P.D. 1586) is a
regulatory tool. However, with the evolution of the DENR as policy advocate,
environment and resource manager, and facilitator/promoter, not just a regulator, the
EIS similarly has evolved into a planning and management tool. How it does this
important function is given below:
The EIA process can assist management in three important ways:

it provides an opportunity for clearly determining the public interest and, from this,
setting the bounds of what impacts on the environment by the proposed activity
would be unacceptable;

the role and objectives of science can be clarified so that it can provide information
that will effectively contribute to management responsible for protecting the
environment from the unacceptable impacts; and

the process explicitly deals with uncertainty during the formulation procedures that
regulate development and long-term conduct of an activity.
Since its initial application in the early 80s, the EIS has undergone many changes in its
organization and implementation structure. To date, some of the most recent
modifications are embodied in the DENR Administrative Order No. 96-37, Series of
1996, revising DENR AO No. 21, Series of 1992. One of the improvements is Section
8.0 (Eligible Preparers), which states that "the EIS may be prepared by the proponents
technical staff or a professional group commissioned by the proponent, provided that
only EIS preparers duly accredited by the Environmental Management Bureau in
accordance with its accreditation procedures shall be allowed to actually prepare the
EIS."
In addition, a Programmatic EIA (DAO 11) has evolved to address the environmental
requirements of developmental projects composed of a number of activities the
cumulative effects of which are not normally addressed in project EIAs.
Hence,
an
ecological profile is an added feature in .a Programmatic EIA. The Petrochemical
Estate in Limay, Bataan, the Tourism Estates in Davao Gulf, and industrial areas with
similar or greater magnitude, are in principle required to undergo this type of EIA. We
recommend that the tourism 'highway' being proposed in this plan be likewise treated.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
9.8
Institutional Arrangements
There is a wide range of approaches and instruments that are available in ensuring the
sustainable development of coastal resources. Because of the variety of these
approaches and instruments, and the dispersal of authority and responsibility among
and within the different levels of governance, some degree of effective coordination -if
not integration- must be achieved within an entire governmental system in the planning
as well as in the implementation and monitoring stages. The concurrent authority of
several government agencies or of the national and regional governments, if exercised
at cross-purposes or in an uncoordinated fashion, may instead guarantee the
irreversible loss of the country's natural resources. Even where territorial jurisdiction is
clearly delineated among levels of government, the environmental rules in one spatial
unit must not be negated by the rules applied in adjoining or other units. The ends
sought with the use of one set of instruments should be compatible with those
promoted by other instruments.
Three distinct approaches guide environmental management worldwide (Kolluru
1994). This scenario is generally true in developing countries, although the mix may be
quite different in
individual political settings.
Some are
regulation-oriented,
emphasizing the role of government as a standard setter and executioner of
environmental action plans. Others are market-oriented , relying heavily on the 'magic
of the marketplace' and emphasize incentives and other inducements that will lead
organizations and individuals to behave in environmentally desirable ways. Finally
there are the education-oriented, emphasizing voluntary behavior by organizations and
individuals as part of the normal, routine ways of operating and living. Regardless of
the approach, however, there must be continuous improvement in the tasks we do and
to achieve this end, the tourism sector must institutionalize environmental thinking
throughout the industry. A commitment from top management is a critical first step, but
corporate environmental policies are often vague. The challenge for business today is
to develop management mechanisms and other tools to systematically translate
corporate policies into actions and establish practices.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
a. Levels of Planning
In order to incorporate environmental concerns into regional development planning,
one approach is to undertake the process at different planning levels: national (e.g.
development
of
environmental
profiles,
country
strategy
studies);
regional
(development of integrated regional development planning, land use planning,
multiproject
planning);
sector
(environmental
guidelines,
sectoral
reviews
or
strategies); and project (essentially the EIA process). At the national level, the aim of
coastal zone planning is to have a country-wide framework for the use of coastal
resources. Drawing from the outputs of the other levels below, the output of this plan
would serve as a general guide for leaders especially in presenting synoptic
descriptions of the country's coastal needs.
At the regional level, the primary purpose of coastal use planning should be to have a
regional coastal use framework plan which will indicate in broad terms the primary
coastal uses across provinces within the region. The outputs of the plan at this level
will include a regional base map on the topographic map showing the following:
provincial boundaries, mangroves and maritime vegetation, seagrass beds, coral reefs,
associated major watersheds and river systems, associated forestlands, established
protected areas including reservations and hazard areas, other proposed protected
areas as may be identified at the regional level.
At the provincial level, the focus is to define the primary uses of the coastal
environment particularly the protection and production areas. The outputs of a coastal
plan at the provincial level, much like those at the regional level, will include a
provincial base map on the topographic map showing the following: municipal
boundaries, mangroves and maritime vegetation, seagrass beds, coral reefs,
associated sub-watershed and river systems, forestlands, established protected areas
including reservations and hazard areas, and other proposed protected areas as may
be identified at the provincial level. As important as the above are conflict areas, issues
and problems, and recommendations, as well as issues for referral to municipal or
community levels.
At the municipal level, the primary focus of coastal use planning includes: validation by
the concerned municipality of protection and production areas delineated at the
provincial level; resolution of outstanding conflicts not settled at the provincial level;
and integration of the final municipal coastal uses in the municipal land use and zoning
plan.
The outputs at this level will include: conflict areas/issues and problems, and
recommendations; municipal coastal use. map showing barangay boundaries, river
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
systems, protected areas including proposed protected areas as may be identified at
the municipal/community level, and production areas.
At the sectoral level, the primary focus of coastal use planning includes: validation by
the concerned sector (e.g. health, environmental, tourism) of the municipality of
protection and production areas delineated at the municipal level; resolution of
outstanding conflicts not settled at the municipal level; and integration of the final
sectoral coastal uses in the municipal land use and zoning plan. The outputs at this
level will include: conflict areas/issues and problems, and recommendations; and
sectoral coastal use map showing sectoral responsibilities.
At the project level, the primary focus of coastal use planning is the assessment,
prediction, and mitigation of impacts of a specific project that affect the coastal zone
ecology and population. In the formulation of the plan, the outputs at the different
levels above are considered, not necessarily incorporated. Exception is in the case of
programmatic EIA where the concerns of an entire region or province needs to be
incorporated. This includes: validation by the concerned sector (e.g. socioeconomic,
biological, meteorological) of the barangay, municipality, or province of protection and
production areas delineated at the municipal level; and resolution of outstanding
conflicts. The outputs at this level will include: assessment and suggested resolution of
conflict areas/issues and problems, and recommendations; and sectoral coastal use
map showing sectoral responsibilities.
Tourism planners must conduct a thorough land use study for the coastal zone,
indicating existing situation, such as the presence of the following (the responsible
agencies and activities are given after each item):

Forest resources (i.e. mangrove, swamps, etc.)
BFD

Mineral resources
MGB

Other coastal sub-systems
Survey (i.e. sand dunes, woodlands, estuaries)
DENR/Primary

Other commercial activities such as resorts or
tourism sites, ports; agricultural activities to
include both fishing and farming, quarrying
activities, and aquaculture development
Primary survey

Location and extent of settlements
Primary survey
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
b. Policies and Laws
Some local legislation have been promulgated that are specific for the protection and
sustainable use of marine organisms or habitats. Hence, the government has policies
and laws addressing fishing and fisheries, mangroves, coral reefs, seaweeds,
invertebrates, marine pollution, national parks and wildlife, and air and water quality
management.
The laws which specifically provide for the protection of species of special concern
(e.g. sea turtles, sea cows) include:

Executive Order No. 542 (June 26 1979): Creating the Task Force Pawikan and
Appropriating Funds Thereof;

Ministry of Natural Resources Administrative Order No. 12 Series of 1979:
Regulations for the Conservation of Marine Turtles in the Philippines;

Memorandum Order No. 6 Series of 1982: Suspension of Permits on Marine Turtle
Exploitation;

Ministry of Natural Resources Administrative Order No. 8 Series of 1982:
Establishment of Certain Islands in the Province of Tawi-Tawi, Palawan and
Antique, as Marine Turtle Sanctuaries;

Ministry of Natural Resources Administrative Order No. 10 Series of 1982;
Deputizing the Governor and Vice-Governor of Tawi-Tawi, Municipal Mayor and
Barangay Captains of the Municipality of Taganak of the Province of TawiTawi as
Deputized Conservation Officers;

Ministry of Natural Resources Administrative Order No. 34 Series of 1982: To
declare the Municipality of Caluya as Marine Turtle Sanctuary;

Ministry of Natural Resources Administrative Order No. 33 Series of 1982:
Regulations Governing the Collection of Marine Turtle Eggs in the Province of
Tawi-Tawi and Reiterating the Duties and Responsibilities of Deputy Conservation
Officers and Deputy Game wardens;

Ministry of Natural Resources Administrative Order No. 1 Series of 1983,
Deputizing the Provincial Mayors, Vice-Mayors and Barangay Captains in Areas
Critical for the Protection of Marine Turtles in the Philippines as Conservation
Officers;
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)

Ministry of Natural Resources Administrative Order No. 518, Series of 1984,
Establishing Certain Areas in Northwestern Palawan as Marine Turtle Sanctuary
and Promulgating rules for Administration and Control Thereof;

Department of Environment and Natural Resources Administrative Order No. 884
Series of 1989, Designating Regional Pawikan Conservation Project Field Action
Officers to Carry Out Nationwide Marine Turtle Conservation Program; and

Department of Environment and Natural Resources Administrative Order No. 55
Series of 1991, Declaring the Dugong or Sea Cow (Dugong dugon) as Protected
Marine Mammal in the Philippines.
c.
International Agreements and their Operationalization in the Country
The following are some of the major commitments of the Philippines in international
marine conservation initiatives:

Member of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (CITES);

Signatory of the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS);

Contracting state to the London Dumping Convention;

Signatory of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer;

Signatory to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of
Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal;

Member state of the World Conservation Union (IUCN, an independent
international organization which is a union of governments, non-governmental
organizations and government agencies). Its aims are to initiate and promote
scientifically-based actions to preserve humanity's natural environment through its
monitoring, strategic planning, promotion and advisory capacities;

Recipient of support from World Wide Fund (one of the world's largest private
international nature conservation organizations). Its mission is to conserve nature
by preserving genetic, species and ecosystem diversity by creating global
awareness of threats to nature and raising both moral and financial support.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)

National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA)
It is mandated to provide the government with map-making services and to act as
the central mapping agency, depository and distribution facility for natural
resources data in the form of maps, charts, text, statistics, etc.

AIDAB-assisted project called the Philippines-Australia Remote Sensing
Project

Coastal Resource Mapping of Critical Bays in the Philippines using Remote
Sensing.

The Philippine National Museum (PNM)
The Philippine National Museum (PNM) is the Philippine institution devoted to the
procurement, care, study, and display of all objects of lasting interest or value in
the country. In limited circumstances, personnel of the PNM have been involved in
the assessment of certain coastal areas of environmental importance.

National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR)
Mandated to develop and generate cheap and reliable electricity for national
development, exercising complete jurisdiction and control over watersheds
surrounding the reservoirs of plants or projects constructed or proposed to be
constructed by the corporation.

National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)
An independent planning unit of the government, it evaluates the technical,
financial, and economic viability of government projects. Heads the Philippine
Council for Sustainable Development.

National Irrigation Administration (NIA)
It is mandated to study, improve, construct and administer all national irrigation
systems in the country and undertake projects such as flood control, drainage,
land reclamation, hydropower development, reforestation, etc.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)

Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development (PCAMRD)
It is mandated to formulate strategies, policies, plans, programs and projects, for
fisheries and aquatic resources research and development, program ad allocate
government and external funds for research and development; monitor research
and development projects and generate external funds.
The major biodiversity-related programs of the council include:


Monitoring, assessment, management and conservation of marine fisheries
resources;

Promotion of environmental protection and rehabilitation of shallow coastal
areas;

Diversification and expansion of viable agricultural industries; and

Assessment of oceanic water including the Exclusive Economic Zone.
The Marine Science Institute of the University of the Philippines (UPMSI)
A unit of the college of Science of the University of the Philippines at Diliman,
Quezon City, the UPMSI has just become the National Center of Excellence in
Marine Science. It is mandated: to generate basic information necessary for
optimal and sustained utilization, management, and conservation of the marine
environment and its resources; to provide graduate level training and extension
services to develop manpower requirements in marine science; and to develop
appropriate and environmentally sound technologies for industrial and economic
development in the marine ecosystem.
d. Private Institutions
Some other non-government institutions which are active in biodiversity conservation
and management in the Philippines include:

International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM)
An autonomous, non-governmental scientific research center, ICLARM conducts,
stimulates, and accelerates research on the development and management of
living aquatic resources to assist developing countries meet their nutritive,
economic, and social needs. This institution has collaborated in a variety of marine
studies and has provided analytical methodology and training to boost efforts in the
region and others in the world. It has three research programs with implications to
marine bio-diversity conservation:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)

Coastal Resource Systems Program

Coral Reef Management Program

National Research Support Program
Two significant contributions of ICLARM, with support from the UN Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the European Union (EU), to current
awareness and understanding of global bio-diversity are the FishBase and
ReefBase. FishBase is a global database which combines key information on fish
with time series data on their occurrence and abundance and with their currently
recognized status of threat (with CD-ROM version). On the other hand, ReefBase
is a global database of coral reefs, documenting the location, extent and depth
zonation of the reefs and their exploitation and conservation status.

Asian Wetlands Bureau (AWB)
An international NGO, AWB aims to promote the sustainable use and protection of
wetlands in the Asia-Pacific region. Its mode of operation is: to maintain an
overview of the conservation status of wetlands in the region; to assist in the
development of regional and national wetland action plans; to disseminate
information on the importance of wetlands and to promote information exchange;
to provide support to local organizations to manage wetlands on a sustainable
basis; and to provide linkages with international organizations and expertise
outside the region and to locate funding for wetland conservation projects within
the region.

Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF)
WWF effected the first debt-for-nature swap in the Philippines, agreeing to acquire
US$ 2 million worth of debt owed by the Philippines to foreign banks. This money
helped fund vitally needed park improvements and training programs. Joining
forces with USAID and DENR through the Natural Resources Management
Program, it erased the US$ 10 million worth of Philippine debt. The centerpiece of
the program is the Foundation for Philippine Environment (FPE) which provides
funding to environmental projects of Philippine NGO's.

Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE)
A non-stock, non-profit institution, FPE provides funds to the Philippine NGO
community involved in the conservation of biological diversity and sustainable
natural resource management.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)

Haribon Foundation for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
(HARIBON)
HARIBON
including
emphasizes
community-based
resource
management
projects,
community education in basic concepts in ecology, leadership skills,
resource management, paralegal training, biological and socioeconomic surveys of
sites, mangrove reforestation and reintroduction of species.

The World Conservation Union (IUCN)
A union of sovereign states, government agencies and NGO's, the IUCN initiates
and promotes scientifically-based actions that will ensure the perpetuation of the
natural environment.

Other academic and non-academic institutions
This includes those departments or divisions of private universities or research
laboratories which made significant contributions to the field of marine science
through collections and identification of specimens, research on coastal resources
ecology and management, and non-governmental organizations involved in marine
environmental protection. Foremost among them are Silliman University in
Dumaguete City and University of San Carlos in Cebu. More recently, a major
contribution to the country's knowledge of its bio-diversity is being made by private
firms involved in energy power plant construction, coastal development such as
tourism estates along coasts through their environmental impact statements.
A few national institutions in Southeast Asia have achieved international
prominence in marine science. Most notable of these is the Marine Science
Institute of the University of the Philippines which conducts a variety of projects on
coastal and marine sciences and management. A private institution, Silliman
University in the central Philippines has a long history of coral reef research
including pioneering work in village-based coral reef reserves (Jameson et al.
1995). These two institutions combined forces in the mid-1970's to conduct a
national survey of coral reefs of a scope unmatched to the present by any nation
except Australia.
9.9
Tourism in an Environmental Scenario of the 21st Century
In the short-term, a large segment of the predominantly rural population in the country
is expected to continuously put heavy pressure on the environment and its resources.
The situation is expected to worsen within the next five years as the country intensifies
its degree of industrialization in order to attain the "newly industrialized country" (NIC)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
status by the year 2000. This will bring about an unprecedented rise in the number of
process by reducing costs in the areas of disposal fees, raw material purchases, and
energy and water bills, strong environmental management programs can save money
and can decrease liabilities. That environmental protection makes good business
sense has been proven by a number of companies like Chevron (whose SMART
("Saves Money and Reduces Toxics") Program has saved $3.8 million in hazardous
waste disposal costs during one year), 3M company ('Pollution Prevention Pays', which
saved the company $480 million since 1975), Du Pont (citing a savings of $1 million
per year through reduced consumption of raw materials. Its President is now viewing
waste reduction as providing a competitive advantage).
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
9.10
LITERATURE CITES AND OTHER REFERENCES
Asian Development Bank. 1992. Guidelines for Integrated Regional Economic-cumEnvironmental Development Planning: A Review of Regional environmental
Development Planning studies in Asia. Environment Paper No. 3 Vol. 1. 125 p.
Central Luzon Tourism Situationer 1995
Daly, H. E. and J. Cobb. 1989. For the common good: redireting the economy towards
community, environment, and a sustainable future. Boston, Beacon Press. 482 pp. de
Groot, R. S. 1992. Functions of nature. Wolters-Noordhoff. Amsterdam, 315 p.
Deloso, A.D. Zambales at a Glance
Fortes, M. D., 1989. Sea-grasses: a resource unknown in the ASEAN region. ICLARM
Education Series 5,
International Center for Living Aquatic Resources
Management, Manila, Philippines, 46 pp.
Fortes, M.D. 1994. Status of sea-grass beds in ASEAN. Paper presented at the
Regional Symposium of the ASEAN-Australia Living Coastal Resources (LCR) project,
Bangkok, Thailand, May 1994 (in press).
Fortes, M.D. 1995. Sea-grasses of East Asia: environmental and management
perspectives, RCU/EAS Technical Report Series No. 6, UNEP, Bangkok, 79 pp.
Fortes, M.D. 1996x. DENR-Instituional Strengthening Program (Coastal and Marine
component). Technical Report submitted to the DENR.
Fortes, M.D. 1996b. Bio-diversity Country Study (Coastal and Marine Component).
Technical Report submitted to UNEP/DENR/UNDP.
Fortes, M.D. and L.T. McManus. 1994. Issues and challenges in coastal zone
development in Southeast Asia. Paper presented at The Regional workshop on
Planning and Management of Coastal Resources, Tuaran, Sabah (Malaysia), 8-9
November 1994.
Foundation for Rural Economic Enterprise and Development, Inc. (FREED). 1994.
DENR Internal Assessment: Gearing the DENR Organization for sustainable
Development. Philippines. 73 p.
Gomez, E. D., P. M. Alino, W. R. Y. Licuanan and H.T. Yap. 1994. report on coral reefs
of the Philippines 1994. Pp. 57-76 in: C. Wilkinson, S. Sudara and Chou L. M. (Eds.).
Proceedings third ASEAN-Australia symposium on Living coastal Resources Vol. 1:
Status Reviews, AIMS, Townsville, Australia.
Goodland, R, H. E. Daly, S. El Serafy and B. von Droste (eds.). 1992. Environmentally
sustainable economic development: building on Brundtland. UNESCO, Belgium.
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA)/World Bank (WB)/World
Conservation Union (IUCN). 1995. A global representative system of marine protected
areas. III. Central Indian Ocean, Arabian Seas, East Africa and East Asian Seas, pp.
107-136.
Hodgson, G. and J. A. Dixon. 1988. Logging versus fisheries and tourism in Palawan.
Occasional Pap. No. 7. East-west environment and Policy Institute, Honolulu. 95 pp.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
Holligan, P. M. and H. De Boois (eds.). 1993. Global Change, Report No. 25, Land Ocean Interactions in the coastal zone (LOICZ) Science Plan. IGBP, Stockholm, 50
pp.
Jameson, SC, JW McManus and MD Spalding. 1995. State of the reefs, regional and
global perspectives. An International coral Reef Initiative Executive Secretariat
background paper, US Department of Commerce, NOAA, Office of ocean and
coastal Resource Management, MD, USA.
GIS database forthe JICA study on tourism development in Region III.
Kolluru, R.V. (ed). 1994. Environmental Strategies Handbook. McGraw-Hill, Inc.,
New York, 1080 pp.
Lacanilao, F. 1995. Research and development problems of Philippines fisheries.
Lecture presented at the Scientific symposium " Sustainable Development of
fisheries Resources", National Research council of the Philippines, University of t he
Philippines, Diliman 1101, QC, 22 November 1995.
Lean, G., D. Hinrichsen, and A. Markham (eds.). 1990. World Wildlife fund atlas of
the environment. Prentice Hall Press, New York, 192+ pp.
McManus, J. W. 1988. Coral reefs of the ASEAN region: status and management.
Ambio 17(3): 189-193.
Master Plan Study for Central Luzon Development Program Vol. IV
School of Urban and Regional Planning (SURP). 1996. Sustainable land use
planning. Technical Report submitted to the DENR.
Socio-Economic and Investment Opportunities Study of Manila Bay - Coastal Areas
of Bataan UB TECH INC. 1993 pp.58-59.
Socio-Economic Profile of Bataan 1994
Subic Power Corp. Environmental Impact Statement for the 108 MW Subic Bay
Power Project, prepared by BHP Engineering Philippines Inc.
The Aquino Administration - Major Development Programs and Projects 1986-1992.
Zambales Integrated Fisheries & Aquatic Resources Conservation, Protection and
Development Project, prepared by the Group of Ten International Corp.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
APPENDIX 1
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Bathymetry -
The measurement of depths of water in oceans, seas and lakes; and the
information derived from such measurements.
Beach
-
Unvegetated part of the shoreline firmed by loose materials, usually sand, that
extends from the lower berm edge to high water mark.
Berm
-
A narrow shelf, edge or path, typically at the bottom or top of a slope or along
a bank.
Bio-diversity or Biological diversity - The variety of life in all its forms, levels and
combinations; includes ecosystem diversity, species diversity, and genetic
diversity
Brackishwater ponds (earthponds) - Man-made enclosures of varying size, dependent on tidal
fluctuations of water management, located in estuaries (deltas, mudflatsand
mangrove swamps) and intended for the culture of fishes/aquatic species.
Brackishwater swamps - Land areas where most of the time the brackishwater level
or above the land surface.
is at
Carrying capacity - The inherent capacity of a given area for a certain type of use as provision
of space, resources and suitable environmental conditions in a sustainable
manner.
Coastal zone
- The coastal zone is the strip of land and adjacent space (water and
submerged land) in which the land ecology and use directly affect the lake
and ocean space ecology, and vice versa. It is governed by the following
limits:
(a) The outermost limit is the 200 meter (100 fathoms) isobath except
atembayments where a 200 meter isobath at the mouth of the bay, gulf
or cone is extended across. In case where the 200 meter isobath is less
than three kilometers from the shoreline, the three kilometer distance will
be adopted. The internal waters are likewise considered part of the
coastal zone;
(b) The innermost boundary is one kilometer from the shorelines except at
places where recognizable indicators for maritime influences exist, like
mangrove, beaches, sand deposits, margins of bays, salt beds and
deltaic deposits in which cases, the one kilometer distance shall be
reckoned from the edges of such features (see Fig. 2).
Coastal zone management
"...a dynamic process in which a coordinated strategy is
developed and implemented for the allocation of environmental,
____________________________
1 Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) however, advocates a pragmatic approach to
the defining of coastal areas in which the area under consideration might change over time as
problems are addressed which require resolutions over a wider geographical area. "It includes
primarily the coastal land and adjacent coastal waters. In one case, the coastal area might
extend from a watershed from across a large coastal plain and incorporate a large area of the
continental shelf. In another situation, the coastal area might be sall, including a narrow strip of
land adjacent to a similarly narrow area of sea. small island countries may constitute coastal
areas in their entirety." (Proceedings of the Workshop and Policy Conference on Integrated
Coastal Zone management in Eastern Africa including the island states. Report from the
Swedish Agency for Research Cooperation with Developing Countries Marine Science
Program, 1995)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
socio-cultural, and institutional resources to achieve the conservation
and sustainable multiple use of the coastal zone" (Coastal Resources
Center, University of Rhode Island)
Coastal zone planning A tool or working methodology to improve the use of coastal resources
and comply with identified objectives. It incorporates knowledge of the reality
on which it operates, capacity to evaluate the expected outcome, and the
process through which it could be attained.
Coastlines
Lines that form the boundary between the land and water, especially of sea or
ocean.
Conservation
Protection against undesirable changes through management of human use of
organisms or ecosystems to ensure that such use is sustainable
Continental shelf
As defined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
(Art. 76), it is the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas which extend
beyond its territorial sea throughout the natural prolongation of its land territory
to the outer edge of the continental margin. The Philippines claims a
continental shelf into a distance of 200 meters isobath or to where the depth of
the superjacent waters admit exploitation of the natural resources of the
seabed and subsoil of the submarine area.
Coral reefs
Simply defined, these are reefs made chiefly of fragments of corals, coral
sands, algae and other organic deposits, and the sold limestone resulting from
the consolidation. Technically, they are marine shelves or platforms
formed by the consolidation of the skeleton of hermatypic corals through
cementation by coralline algae and lithification processes. Continuous
accumulation of calcareous materials by those organisms, as well as by other
reef species, especially mollusks, echinoderms and foraminifera, maintains the
reef surface at or near sea level.
Cultivated lands These refer to lands devoted to crops. Among the common crops raised in the
coastal zone are staple crops (rice and corn); plantation crops (coconut and
sugar cane); root crops (cassava, kamote), legumes, and vegetables.
Dune
Ecotone
Estuary
An accumulation of sand in ridges or mounds landward of the beach formed by
natural processes and usually parallel to the shoreline.
Transition zone between two adjacent ecosystems or habitats, e.g. sea-grass
bed, as it is between coral reefs and mangroves
A water body where sea water of oceanic origin is diluted by freshwater from
land drainage areas. Areas influenced by this include deltas, tidal marshes,
and river mouth, among others.
Exclusive Economic Zone The water, sea bottom and sub-surface measured from the baseline
of the Philippine archipelago up to two hundred nautical miles (200 n.m.)
offshore. (Section 3 [o], Republic Act No. 7942)(see Fig. 1)
Foreshore area As defined, it is a strip of land alternately covered and uncovered by the tidal
movements. Its interior limits is that portion of land reached by the water during
the highest equinoctial tide. The outer limit is that portion of land reached by
the water during the lowest ordinary tide.
Freshwater bodies
These are water bodies in basins, rivers, lakes, lagoons, channels and
aquifers not influenced by sea water.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
Freshwater swamps
These are land areas where the freshwater table is at or above the
land surface during most of the year to promote the formation of hydric soiland
to support growth of hydrophytes such as grasses and sedge which are also
influenced by sea water.
Function or Environmental function The capacity of natural processes and components to
provide goods and services that directly or indirectly contribute to human
welfare
Goods
Those which can easily be expressed in terms of money (e.g. minerals, fish,
raw materials
Isobath
An imaginary line or line on a map or chart that connects all points having
the same depth below a water surface, as of an ocean, sea or lake.
Mangroves or mangrove forests The communities of trees and associated shrubs that are
restricted to tidal flats in coastal waters, extending inland along rivers where
the water is tidal, saline or brackish
Marine protected area (MPA)
An area of the coastal and marine environment dedicated
mainly to protection and enjoyment of natural or cultural heritage, to
maintenance of bio-diversity, and/or to maintenance of life-support systems
Marine waters
These cover beds, banks, shell fields, zones, areas and regions of
Philippine waters totaling some 1,666,300 sq. km.
Mineralized areas
Mudflat
Areas containing deposits of metallic and non-metallic minerals.
An intertidal ecosystem whose substrate consists predominantly of fine silts,
clays, and organic material
Municipal waters
"Include not only streams, lakes and tidal waters included within the
municipality, not being the subject of private ownership, and not comprised
within national parks, public forests, timber lands, forest reserves, but also
marine waters included between two lines drawn perpendicularly to the
general coastline from points where the boundary lines of the municipality or
city touch the sea at low tide and a third line parallel with the general coastline
and fifteen (15) kilometers from it. Where two (2) municipalities are so situated
on the opposite shores that there is less than fifteen (15) kilometers of marine
waters between them, the third line shall be equally distant from opposite
shores of the respective municipalities." (Section 131 [r] Republic Act No.7160)
Pasture lands
All lands producing natural forage for animal consumption and those which are
vegetated naturally or artificially to provide forage cover. They are generally
considered as those which are not cultivated and include natural grasslands,
savannas, wetlands dominated by grass and grass like plants suitable for
grazing, certain shrubs and related plant communities.
Precautionary principle or "do-no-harm" principle A proactive method of dealing with the
environment that places the burden of proof on those whose activities could
harm the environment; the opposite of "wait-and-see" principle; (see
"vorzorgeprinzip")
Seabed
Services
The land underlying the sea or ocean.
Those whose values may be indirectly estimated or perhaps can openly be
described when assessing intangible features such as climate-control, or
oxygen provider, source of cultural and spiritual inspiration
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
Sustainable use Use of an organism, ecosystem, or any other renewable resource at a rate
within its capacity for renewal
Tidal flats
These are lands mostly devoid of trees and shrubs that are alternatively
exposed and inundated by tides. These may be mud flats or sand flats. (see
foreshore areas)
"Vorzorgeprinzip" (precautionary principle)
The rule, wherein it is to the best interest of
the present and future generations not to utilize the resources if the uncertainty
is so great as to ensure that the likelihood of destroying the environment is
eminent. This is as yet an arbitrary decision resulting primarily from the lack of
definitive knowledge to support the adopted actions. Hence, when this required
knowledge becomes available, the suggested use of the resources may
change
Wastelands
A misnomer, these refer to land not suitable for any crop or to any definite
economic purposes. Examples of coastal wastelands in the country are cliffs
(breeding place for birds) and rock islands.
Woodlands
These occur behind the beach and dune on the older beach areas. In the
coastal zone, these consist essentially of a tangle of low stunted trees or
shrubs. Examples are botong, pandan, and the taller agoho and coconut
palms.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
APPENDIX 2
CHARTER FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
We, the participants in the World Conference on Sustainable Tourism, meeting in Lanzarote,
Canary Islands, Spain, on 27-28 April 1995.
Mindful that tourism is a worldwide phenomenon and also an important element of
socioeconomic and political development in many countries, and that tourism touches the
highest and deepest aspirations of all people.
Recognizing that tourism, as an ambivalent phenomenon, since it has the potential to
contribute positively to socio-economic and cultural achievement, while at the same time it can
contribute to the degradation of the environment and the loss of local identity, should be
approached with a global methodology.
Mindful that the resources on which tourism is based are fragile and that there is a growing
demand for improved environmental quality.
Recognizing that tourism can afford the opportunity to travel and to get to know other cultures,
and that the development of tourism can help promote closer ties and peace among peoples,
creating a conscience that is respectful of the diversity of culture and life styles.
Recalling the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the General Assembly of
United Nations, and the various United Nations declarations and regional conventions on
tourism, the environment, the conservation of cultural heritage and on sustainable
development.
Guided by the principles set forth in the Rio Declaration on the Environment and Development
and the recommendations that emanate from Agenda 21.
Recalling declarations in the matter of tourism, such as the Manila Declaration on World
Tourism, the Hague Declaration and the Tourism Charter and Tourist Code.
Recognizing the objective of developing a tourism that meets economic expectations and
environmental requirements, and respects not only the social and physical structure of the
location, but also the local population.
Taking into account the priority of protecting and reinforcing the human dignity of both local
communities and visitors.
Mindful of the need to establish effective alliances among the principal actors in the field of
tourism so as to build the hope of a tourism that is more responsible towards our common
heritage.
APPEAL to the international community and, in particular, URGE governments, other public
authorities, decision makers and professionals in the field of tourism, public and private
associations and institutions whose activities are related to tourism, and tourists themselves, to
adopt the principles and objectives of the Declaration that follows:
1. Tourism development shall be based on criteria of sustainability, which means that it must
be ecologically bearable in the long term, as well as economically viable, and ethically and
socially equitable for local communities.
Sustainable development is a guided process which envisages global management of
resources as to ensure their viability, thus enabling our natural and cultural capital, including
protected areas, to be preserved. As a powerful instrument of development, tourism can and
should participate actively in the sustainable development strategy. A requirement of sound
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
management of tourism is that the sustainability of the resources on which it depends must be
guaranteed.
2. Tourism has to contribute to sustainable development and its integration with the natural,
cultural and human environment; it must respect the fragile balances that characterize many
tourist destinations, in particular small islands and environmentally sensitive areas. Tourism
should ensure an acceptable evolution as regards the influence of tourism activity on natural
resources, bio-diversity and the capacity for assimilation of any impacts and residues
produced.
3. Tourism must consider its effects on the cultural heritage and traditional elements,
activities and dynamics of each local community. Recognition of the these local factors and
support for the identity, culture and interests of the local community must at all times play a
central role in the formulation of tourism strategies, particularly in developing countries.
4. The active contribution of tourism to sustainable development necessarily presupposes the
solidarity, mutual respect and participation of all the actors, both public and private, implicated
in the process, and must be based on efficient cooperation mechanisms at all levels: locals,
national, regional and international.
5. The conservation, protection and appreciation of the worth of our natural and cultural
heritage afford a privileged area for cooperation. This approach implies that all those
responsible must take upon themselves a true challenge, that of cultural, technological and
professional innovation, and must also undertake a major effort to create and implement
integrated planning and management instruments.
6. Quality criteria both for the preservation of the tourist destination and for the capacity to
satisfy tourists, determined jointly with local communities and informed by the principles of
sustainable development, should represent priority objectives in the formulation of tourism
strategies and projects.
7. To participate in sustainable development, tourism must be based on the diversity of
opportunities offered by the local economy. It should be fully integrated into and contribute
positively to local economic development.
8. All options for tourism development must serve effectively to improve the quality of life of
all people and must entail a positive effect and inter-relation as regards sociocultural identity.
9. Governments and the competent authorities, with the participation of NGOs and local
communities, shall undertake actions aimed at integrating the planning of tourism as a
contribution to sustainable development.
10. In recognition of economic and social cohesion among the peoples of the world as a
fundamental principle of sustainable development, it is urgent that measures be promoted to
permit a more equitable distribution of the benefits and burdens of tourism. This implies a
change of consumption patterns and the introduction of pricing methods which allow
environmental costs to be internalized.
Governments and multilateral organizations are called upon to reorient aid related to tourism,
particularly aid which leads to negative effects on the environment. Within this context, it is
necessary to explore thoroughly the application of internationally harmonized economic, legal
and fiscal instruments to ensure the sustainable use of resources in tourism.
11. Environmentally and culturally vulnerable spaces, both now and in the future, should be
given special priority in the matter of technical cooperation and financial aid for sustainable
tourism development. Similarly, special treatment should be given to zones that have been
degraded by obsolete and high impact tourism models.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
12. The promotion of alternative forms of tourism that are compatible with the principles of
sustainable development, together with the encouragement of diversification, participate in
medium and long-term sustainability. In this respect there is a need, for many small islands and
environmentally sensitive areas in particular, to actively pursue and strengthen regional
cooperation.
13. Governments, industry, authorities, and tourism-related NGOs should promote and
participate in the creation of open networks for research, dissemination of information and
transfer of appropriate tourism and environmental knowledge on tourism and environmentally
sustainable technologies.
14. The establishment of a sustainable tourism policy necessarily requires the support and
promotion of environmentally-compatible tourism management systems, feasibility studies for
the transformation of the sector, as well as the implementation of demonstration projects and
the development of international cooperation programs.
15. Bodies, particularly associations and NGOs whose activities are related to tourism, shall
draw up specific frameworks for positive and preventive actions for sustainable tourism
development and establish programs to support the implementation of such practices. They
shall monitor achievements, report on results and exchange their experiences.
16. Particular attention should be paid to the role and the environmental repercussions of
transport in tourism, and to the development of economic instruments designed to reduce the
use of non-renewable energy and to encourage recycling and minimization of residues in
resorts.
17. The adoption and implementation of codes of conduct conducive to sustainability by the
principal actors involved in tourism, particularly industry, are fundamental if tourism is to be
sustainable. Such codes can be effective instruments for the development of responsible
tourism activities.
18. All necessary measures should be implemented in order to sensitize and inform all parties
involved in the tourism industry, at local, regional, national and international level, with regard
to the contents and objectives of the Lanzarote Conference.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Report for the Tourism Master Plan for Region III (Central Luzon)
Engineering and Development Corporation of the Philippines (EDCOP)
Table 9.1
Major Environmental Impacts of the Proposed
Projects and their Mitigating
Proposed
Project
1.
2.
Restoration of Fort
Playa Honda
(Botolan, Zambales)
Creation of Provincial
Museums
On-site
Archaeological
Museum
Archaeological
Excavation of
Prehistoric site
(Masinloc, Zambales)
Archaeological Impact
Assessment
Restoration of Capas
Death March Shrine
Lights and Sounds
Camp O'Donnell
(Capas, Tarlac)
Community Trade
Display Center
Clark Industrial Estate
and Dry Port Dev't.
Major
Activities
Environmental
Impacts
Physical
Restoration
Minor
Light
Construction
Build-up;
Excavation
Reconstruction
Excavation;
Reconstruction
Construction
Minor to Moderate
Desk-Top
Research
Reconstruction
Impact
Duration
1-2 yr
Mitigating
Measures
Contain Residuals
1-3 yr
Contain Residuals;
Secure Discharges
Contain Residuals;
Secure Discharges
1-3 yr
Contain Residuals;
Secure Discharges
NONE
--------
--------
Minor
1-2 yr
Contain Residuals
Event Re
enactment
Minor
1-2 yr
Contain Residuals
Light Construction
Minor to Moderate
1-3 yr
Multifaceted
Industrial Activities
Minor to Moderate
10. Hermosa Agro
Industrial Estate
Light-To-Heavy
Industrial Activities
Minor to Moderate
11. Provincial
Cooperative Savings
and Loan
Association
12. Micro and Small
Enterprises Livelihood
Systems Dev't.
Desk-Top
Activities; Light
Construction
Minor
Contain Residuals;
Secure Discharges
Full-Blown &
Programmatic EIA
Required
Full-Blown &
Programmatic EIA
Required
Contain Residuals
Light Construction;
Resource
Extraction
Minor to Moderate
13. Greater Subic
Tourism Core Dev't.
Heavy Industrial/
Commercial
Activities
Desk-Top
Minor to Moderate
Light Construction;
Industrial
Processing
(Product)
Light to Heavy
Construction
Activities;
Multifaceted
Commercial and
Light Industrial
Activities; Desk
Top Research
Light Construction
Minor to Moderate
Desk-Top
Research
Light Construction
and Agricultural
Activities; Product
Processing
Desk-Top, Training
Activities; Resource
Assessment,
Habitat Restoration
NONE
1-2 yr
--------
Minor to Major
1-5 yr
Resource
Rehabilitation; EIA
None to Minor
1-2 yr
---------
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
14. BEP-SBMA
15. Complementary Dev't.
Program Study
16. Alternative Dev't.
Systems
17. Subic Industrial
Estate
18. Local Resource and
Agri-based Rural
Industries
Establishment
19. Cooperative-Managed
Food Terminal
20. Regional Integrated
Distributors Promotion
21. Rattan Plantations
Dev't. and
Mangement
22. Capacity Building on
Tourism
1-3 yr
Minor to Moderate
Minor to Moderate
1-15 yr
1-10 yr
1-2 yr
1-15
Contain Residuals;
Resource
Assessment and
Rehabilitation
Programmatic EIA
Required
--------
--------
1-5 yr
Full-Blown EIA
Required
1-15 yr
Programmatic EIA
Required
1-3 yr
NONE
Moderate to Major
Minor to Moderate
1-5 yr
Minor to Moderate
Contain Residuals;
Secure Discharges;
EIA may be
Required
EIA Required
---------