fortes puerto galera
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“Coastal Tourism in Puerto Galera Biosphere Reserve:
Cutting the Hands That Feed?”
Plenary Presentation
Miguel D. FortesMarine Science Institute CSUniversity of the Philippines
Introduction
What is Puerto Galera: ...to its people ...to the Philippines ...to the world
To its people:...it is life...a home...a future
To the Philippines:
...it is home to one of the country’s highest natural sources of biodiversity
coral reef
seagrass bed
mangroveforest
...and to the world
Puerto Galera was at the
crossroads of pre-Spanish
trade linking the Philippines
to the Near East, India,
China, Indochina,
Sumatra & Java
Puerto Galera Bay...one of the most beautiful bays in the world!
Puerto Galera Bay…
…one of the most beautiful bays in the world! (and it was just voted the number one among these bays!
TOURISM DEVELOPMENT CONCERNS
AND ISSUES IN PGBR
STRENGTHS:
1.!Abundant coastal & terrestrial resources
2.!Natural, Cultural & Historical potentials
3.!Potentials for ecotourism destinations
4.!Proximity to Manila
5.!High literacy rate
6.!Available academic & technical support
7.!Environmental Users Fee
STRENGTHS (con’t)
WEAKNESSES Inadequate community appreciation of the fact that
tourism that is anchored on clean & well-managed environment is the most sustainable form of tourism for PGBR
PG has not been successful in sustaining its beauty, enhancing its natural diversity, enriching its cultural history, & mobilizing its people in protecting this legacy. In other words, it has been ‘cutting that hands that feed’.
What are the signs?
-
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
Korea Denmark China USA Taiwan Germany Japan Australia Sweden United Kingdom
Top 10 Foreign Tourist Groups by Nationality
1994-2002
Is this the kind of tourism PG wants?
Siltation effect on coral, worsened by
climate change
What are the roots of the problems?
Ecological theory seldom applied in ICAMEcological theory seldom applied in ICAM
But ecological knowledge -including not only theory, but also facts,But ecological knowledge -including not only theory, but also facts,observations, research results, observations, synobservations, research results, observations, syntheses, models, &theses, models, &methods of investigation -has been extremely important in developingmethods of investigation -has been extremely important in developingapproaches to a wide range of environmental problems.approaches to a wide range of environmental problems.
This stems from the 'man-environment' model, given below, whichThis stems from the 'man-environment' model, given below, whichidentifies the essential & crucial role of ecolidentifies the essential & crucial role of ecology:ogy:
ENVIRONMENTENVIRONMENTnatural processesnatural processes
& components& components
ECOLOGYECOLOGYfunctionalfunctional
interrelationsinterrelations
HUMANSHUMANShuman needshuman needs
& activities& activities
Outline of the presentation!
The root cause of ‘dirty’ tourism is lack of both proper
education & genuine community participation*
LACK OF PROPER
EDUCATION
PRESSURE TO IMPROVE
SOCIETAL STATUS
MORE & ‘BETTER’
FOOD HIGHER INCOME ‘GOOD LIFE’
GREED & CORRUPTION
UNSUSTAINABLE TOURISM PRACTICES
‘DIRTY’ TOURISM
GENUINE
PARTICIPATION
*Using causal chain
analysis (CCA)
What are we doing about them?
Some research & monitoring activities in PGBR
!!Giant clam garden (NCMS, MBS)
!!SeagrassNet (Packard Foundation)
!!SeagrassWatch (BantayIsay)
!!Water quality & oceanography (TIT)
!!Biodiversity (Tokyo Museum)
!!Regional/International workshops
!!Building local capacity
!!Student activities
…a simple, ‘best practice’ that works!
Learn well from nature,
not dominate it simply to suit your wants!
White Beach
undisturbed disturbed
The spirit of environmentalism
CARRYING CAPACITY
CARRYING CAPACITY IN TERMS OF NO. OF PERSONS TO BE ALLOWED IN A BEACH
GUIDING PRINCIPLES:1. Ecosystem Approach2. Precautionary principle
ASSUMPTIONS 1. Based on the precautionary principle, the least acceptable change in a system is that where there are no people putting pressure in that system (hence, the capacity factor below);
2. Visitors are after positive environmental & values at the sites3. During extraordinary periods, e.g. Holy Week, summer months, extra provisions or safeguards are instituted by all concerned to ensure that the local resources are protected4. LGUs, receptive to environmental & economic resources protection, make the final decision5. The major base of tourism in PGBR is its natural resources
6. The number of visitors/tourists is not enough. Other factors like timing, type of use, distribution, season, attitudes & knowledge among the visitors might be more important
CCP/ha = 100 - [EL + EC + WQ + A + H +I]
100 = capacity factor (max value of parameters + 10, the latter is a ‘buffer’ factor)
EL = ecological importance (representativeness, presence/absence of endangered species, habitats, etc) [5=low; 10=medium; 15 = high]
EC = economic importance (use as source of livelihood, e.g. fishing, mooring, swimming, aquaculture) [5=low; 10=medium; 15 = high]
WQ = water quality [5 = low; 10 = medium; 15 = high]A = area in meters of the beach in question [5=large; 10=medium;
15=small]H = hazard (is the area hazardous to visitors i.e., current, sharp stones,
sharks, strong waves, etc. [5=low; 10=medium; 15=high]I = investment TO PROTECT OR ENHANCE THE NATURAL STATE OF THE
PLACE (some persons may have invested money, effort, other resources in maintaining the place) [5=low; 10=medium; 15 = high]
Examples:
1. CCP(White Beach) = 100 – [10 + 10 + 15 + 5 + 5 + 5] CCP (White Beach) = 100 – [50] = 50 persons/ha2. CCP(Sabang) = 100 – [15 + 15 + 5 + 15 + 15 + 5] CCP (Sabang) = 100 – [70] = 30 persons/ha3. CCP (Long Beach) = 100 – [15 + 10 + 10 + 10 + 10 + 15] CCP (Long Beach) = 100 – [70] = 30 persons/ha
Decongest the coast!
Are we honestlyAre we honestly
serious about protectingserious about protecting
our environment our environment
and our heritage?and our heritage?
Are we willing to take Are we willing to take
the big risk?the big risk?
Many thanks!