1. “Coastal Tourism in Puerto Galera
Biosphere Reserve:
Cutting the Hands That Feed?”
Plenary Presentation
Miguel D. Fortes
Marine Science Institute CS
University of the Philippines

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

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

4. To the
Philippines: coral reef
...it is home to one of the
country’s highest natural sources
of biodiversity
mangrove
forest
seagrass bed

5. ...and to the world

7. Puerto Galera
was at the
crossroads of
pre-Spanish
trade linking
the Philippines
to the Near
East, India,
China,
Indochina,
Sumatra & Java

8. 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!

9. 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

10. STRENGTHS (con’t)

11. 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’.

12. What are the signs?

13. Top 10 Foreign Tourist Groups by Nationality
1994-2002
40,000
35,000
Is this
30,000
the kind
of tourism
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
PG wants?
5,000
-
Korea Denmark China USA Taiwan Germany Japan Australia Sweden United
Kingdom

14. Siltation effect on
coral, worsened by
climate change

15. What are the roots of the problems?

16. Ecological theory seldom applied in ICAM
 But ecological knowledge -including not only theory, but also facts,
observations, research results, observations, syntheses, models, &
methods of investigation -has been extremely important in developing
approaches to a wide range of environmental problems.
 This stems from the 'man-environment' model, given below, which
identifies the essential & crucial role of ecology:
ENVIRONMENT ECOLOGY HUMANS
natural processes functional human needs
& components interrelations & activities

17. The root cause of ‘dirty’ tourism is lack of both proper
education & genuine community participation*
Outline of the presentation!
‘DIRTY’ TOURISM
GENUINE
UNSUSTAINABLE TOURISM PRACTICES
PARTICIPATION
MORE & ‘BETTER’
HIGHER INCOME
FOOD
‘GOOD LIFE’
PRESSURE TO IMPROVE
GREED & CORRUPTION
SOCIETAL STATUS
*Using causal chain
analysis (CCA) LACK OF PROPER
EDUCATION

18. What are we doing about them?

19. 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

20. …a simple, ‘best practice’ that works!

21. Learn well from White Beach
nature,
not dominate it
simply to suit
your wants!
undisturbed disturbed

25. The spirit of environmentalism

28. CARRYING CAPACITY
CARRYING CAPACITY IN TERMS OF NO. OF PERSONS
TO BE ALLOWED IN A BEACH
GUIDING PRINCIPLES:
1. Ecosystem Approach
2. 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 sites
3. 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
protected
4. LGUs, receptive to environmental & economic resources
protection, make the final decision
5. 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

29. 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/ha
2. CCP(Sabang) = 100 – [15 + 15 + 5 + 15 + 15 + 5]
CCP (Sabang) = 100 – [70] = 30 persons/ha
3. CCP (Long Beach) = 100 – [15 + 10 + 10 + 10 + 10 + 15]
CCP (Long Beach) = 100 – [70] = 30 persons/ha

30. Decongest the
coast!

33. Are we honestly
serious about protecting
our environment
and our heritage?
Are we willing to take
the big risk?

35. Many thanks!