|
Stories From the Field
Philippines: From Degraded to Delightful - Bingag Marine Sanctuary
By Daisy Flores-Salgado and Toni Parras
(special thanks to Gilbert Tuazon and Crizaldy Tuazon of Bingag Marine Sanctuary and
Mary Ann Tercero, John Diviva and Risa Abellar of the Bohol Marine Triangle Project)
September 2005
Bingag Marine Sanctuary. Photo by Toni Parras
Introduction
It’s hard to believe while swimming through the crystal clear waters of the Bingag Marine Sanctuary that cyanide and dynamite fishing used to be common here. Corals are healthy and fish abundant now, both inside and outside the protected area. Tourists flock from neighboring resorts to snorkel and photograph the colorful reefs. However, it was not always this way.
The charming coastal village of Bingag, located on Panglao Island, Bohol, Philippines. Photo by Toni Parras |
 |
The barangay (village) of Bingag has a population of roughly 3,552, comprised of 961 households, and is located on the northwest coast of Panglao Island, Bohol (see maps next page), a haven for snorkelers and scuba divers. The waters off Bingag contain shallow seagrass meadows harboring sea urchins, seashells, seastars and various juvenile fish species, as well as shallow coral reefs that drop off into deeper waters and play host to both reef and pelagic fishes.
Starfish in seagrass bed, Bingag.
Photo by Toni Parras
|
|
|
Left: Map of the Republic of the Philippines. The island of Bohol in the Central Visayas Region is encircled in pink.
Below right: Close-up of Bohol, with the smaller island of Panglao to the southwest, where the barangay of Bingag is located.
Base maps provided by ReefBase (www.reefbase.org).
|
In 1997, the Bingag Barangay Council, then headed by Ernesto Tuazon, observed the declining fish catch in the area. This led them to designate a marine protected area (MPA) in 1999 that would serve as a breeding ground for marine fish and invertebrates. At first not all community members agreed with the idea of a sanctuary, as they saw it as a decrease in fishing grounds. Through an education and awareness-raising effort, residents were able to understand that the protected area would help improve fishing outside the sanctuary by allowing a safe place for marine life to grow up.
With the support of the local non-government organization (NGO) PROCESS-Bohol together with Silliman University Marine Lab (SUML), a coral reef assessment was conducted in 2002 so that the community could be made aware of what was in the protected area. In 2003, the 6.75-hectare Bingag Marine Sanctuary was formally established through the drafting of a legal ordinance, which was collaboration between PROCESS-Bohol, the Local Government Unit (LGU), and the People’s Organization (PO) of Bingag.
Bingag Fish Warden Gilbert Tuazon. Photo by Toni Parras |
Gilbert Tuazon, a local fisherman and nephew of former Barangay Captain Ernesto Tuazon, has been involved with the sanctuary from its beginnings, when Ernesto saw that fish stocks were almost depleted and that the issue needed to be resolved. Having been trained in fish and coral monitoring by SUML, Gilbert and his team of other community monitors are highly skilled in performing reef and fish surveys inside and outside their protected area to determine how well resources are recovering. Gilbert is President of the Bingag Barangay Fish Wardens and Monitoring Team, and Chairman of the Dauis Municipal Fish Wardens. His enthusiastic nature and advanced proficiency not only made an impression on a UNDP evaluator who came to visit the project, but also inspires others around him in their work toward marine protection and conservation.
|
Healthy Reefs Equals Tourist Dollars for Community.....
 |
|
 |
|
 |
| Corals and fishes in the Bingag Marine Sanctuary, Panglao Island, Bohol, Philippines. Photos by Toni Parras |
Ongoing monitoring and anecdotal evidence since May 2002 indicate an increase in coral cover and in fish abundance inside and outside the protected area. The improved habitat and increase in fishes at Bingag has led to increased tourism and thus increased income for the community. Many of the resorts that dot the 100-square kilometer coastline of Panglao Island, while good for swimming, are not necessarily ideal for snorkeling. Tour operators who have heard about the flourishing reef at Bingag bring their guests there for a delightful foray into the sea. Visitors are greeted by Gilbert or another fish warden, who collect their entrance ticket and act as their guide into the sanctuary, the boundaries of which are marked by buoys and a floating guard hut. Entrance fees are P100 (roughly US$2) per person to snorkel in the sanctuary, and P250 (US$4.50) to snorkel with a camera. To put this into perspective, the current minimum wage in the Philippines is about P325 per day (approximately US$6).
In the three months from January to March 2005, P13,000 (US$234) in visitor fees has been collected, which goes into a community trust fund that the coastal resources management council utilizes to pay for needed supplies, such as marker buoys, communication radios, flashlights, raincoats, and guardhouse construction and maintenance. Ten percent of the fees go toward recompensing the fish wardens/tourist guides. Although the money from tourism is good, there is a maximum of five snorkelers at a time allowed into the sanctuary to keep it manageable and cause less stress to the relatively small protected area. This is not a one-off enterprise; the setup is so successful that Bingag enjoys many return guests.
.....and is Good for Fishing, Too
As previously mentioned, some residents were not entirely supportive of the sanctuary at the outset, as they felt it would hamper their fishing. However, over the years they have noticed a big difference in their catches outside the sanctuary.
Fish caught just outside the sanctuary include Parrotfish and Rabbitfish.
Photo by Daisy Flores-Salgado |
|
Randy Lood, a fisherman and carpenter in Bingag, Bohol. Photo by Toni Parras |
On this particular day, Randy Lood has returned from fishing just outside the protected area. He and his companion caught approximately five kilos of fish, which they will sell in the market for P100 (approximately US$2) per kilo, amounting to P250 (US$4.50) each for just five hours work. Randy, who is also a carpenter and boat builder, is happy with the marine sanctuary because "it allows a place for the fish to grow up and replenish the fish stocks."
Legal fishing methods used outside the sanctuary include hook-and-line, net, spear, and bamboo fish trap. There is a P2,500 (US$45) penalty for fishing inside the protected area or using illegal methods such as cyanide or dynamite in the waters surrounding the sanctuary. Fish wardens have undergone legal training from various non-government organizations. This is critical for successful prosecution of violators. A complete and proper process must be adhered to; wardens must cite the Miranda law and record all information – including date, time, location, gear used, names of all parties involved – and obtain any other evidence. Otherwise, the case can be thrown out of court or the community management council countersued. So far, there have been no offenses by local fishers.
Fisher Juanito Guimaras, Bingag, Bohol.
Photo by Toni Parras |
|
Vincent Tuazon holds a bamboo fish trap.
Photo by Daisy Flores-Salgado |
Lingering Problems
Though Bingag’s situation has improved since the implementation of the local marine sanctuary, problems persist. These include intrusion of badjaos (sea gypsies) into the marine sanctuary, as well as commercial fishers and illegal activities in the municipal waters, which extend 15 kilometers out from the low water mark.
Other problems include damage to corals from anchors and gleaners who walk over the reef, as well as the insidious Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (COTS), which eats living coral (the community has a COTS cleaning every three months to try to control this particular problem). Proliferation of the algae Padina indicates that the coral reefs are still under stress. Continued monitoring inside and outside the protected waters of Bingag will allow officials to keep track of reef health and help determine what further actions might be considered.
Part of a larger project – the Bohol Marine Triangle Project (BMTP)
The Bingag Marine Sanctuary is part of a larger initiative called the Bohol Marine Triangle Project (BMTP), started in 2001 and carried out by the Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE) with funding from the United Nations Development Programme’s Global Environment Facility. The BMTP includes Panglao Island and the nearby smaller islands of Pamilacan and Balicasag (see diagram below). The Bingag community receives technical assistance from FPE in connection with the project.
Bingag MPA and the Bohol Marine Triangle Project. Source: BMTP
Tawala Marine Sanctuary (see related story), located on the southeastern shore of Panglao Island is also part of the BMTP. Bingag and Tawala are provisional-level member sites in the LMMA Network, having collected nearly 60% of the Network’s Learning Framework factors. Of the 10 communities that make up the BMTP, only Bingag and Tawala are actively participating in Network activities thus far. Both Bingag and Tawala have drafted barangay resolutions for their protected areas; Tawala has a municipal ordinance supporting theirs, while Bingag’s is under way.
These two sites first became involved with the Network in April 2003, after John Diviva from BMTP and Tawala Councilor Eduardo Mejos attended the Philippine LMMA Network (PLMMA) Orientation Workshop held in Dumaguette, followed up by a local introduction for these two interested communities by PLMMA coordinator Daisy Flores-Salgado. Gilbert is happy with his involvement in the LMMA Network for several reasons – the training provided, the opportunity to meet new friends from other sites and share experiences, and - with the BMTP project ending in 2006 - the prospect of continued technical assistance and support.
The BMTP staff is working to institutionalize the Biodiversity, Monitoring and Evaluation (BIOME) initiative for marine protected areas in the municipality, which would further build the capacities of fisheries officers and coastal resource managers so that their MPA work can continue once BMTP ends. Additionally, the BMTP has expressed interest in making all of their sites part of the LMMA Network. However, at the moment PLMMA does not have the required manpower to service a large number of sites. For now, PLMMA efforts in Bohol are concentrated in Bingag and Tawala, which are partnered with local NGOs and other sectors that provide additional support. In the future, once some governance issues are resolved and addition human resources secured, PLMMA hopes to expand its work to other sites in Bohol.
Future Outlook is Good
Bingag fishers preparing nets. Photo by Toni Parras |
Gilbert and his fish wardens, along with other residents involved with the sanctuary, are enthusiastic about their efforts. The community is fortunate to have very active management and monitoring teams, strong support from the LGU, technical assistance from various NGOs and the university, and even support from local resorts. This assortment of backing comes in the form of buoys, monitoring assistance, analysis of monitoring data, and/or boats and gas for patrolling and enforcement. The rundown fish hut on the shore is going to be converted to an MPA office and tourist information booth with money allocated from the LGU.
Bingag is somewhat unique in the Philippines, as the MPA is administered by the community itself in partnership with the People’s Organization (in the Philippines, a bona fide citizen’s group); many other MPAs in the country are managed mainly by the People’s Organization as the driving force. At first the bi-annual monitoring of the MPA was conducted by the university; now the community does it themselves, with partner NGO supervision. What remains is for the community to learn how to analyze and interpret the data they collect from the monitoring. This year, the LMMA Network is focusing on just that – helping members process their data and learn from their results. Check back later this year for progress.
Children at Bingag’s shore.
Photo by Daisy Flores-Salgado |
|
Fish Warden Crizaldy Tuazon.
Photo by Daisy Flores-Salgado |
|
What is the LMMA Network?
