Bantay Puerto Program (Puerto Princesa Watch) for Ecological Conservation, Philippines

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The Problem

Puerto Princesa is a relatively young city, having been established only on 01 January 1970 in the Philippines. It is the second largest city in the countrty with an area of some 253,000 hectares of land stretched over 106 kilometers. The current estimated population is 120,000. The city is famous for its forest and marine ecology.

The city’s seawaters are very rich in marine life. Sixty percent of Metro Manila’s ten million population get their fish supply from Puerto Princesa in particular and Palawan in general. Indeed, many of its marine products such as lobsters, sea cucumbers and seaweeds are exported to many developed countries of the world.

At present the city is undergoing rapid changes. The city’s vast land area and its rich seawaters have attracted a lot of in-migration from all over the country. And the uncontrolled population influx has wrought havoc on its ecological system in terms of illegal logging, slash-and-burn farming, blast and cyanide fishing. These have become the new mode of production among a few people who want quick money.

Consequently, the forest cover of Palawan including Puerto Princesa City has been reduced tremendously from 75% in 1976 to 50% in 1992. Within only a thirteen-year period, 63,495 hectares of once fertile lands has been systematically denuded, averaging about 3,968.4 hectares per year or 10.87 hectares per day. Some parts of the city began to experience flash floods during heavy monsoon rains.

The marine ecology on the other hand in under degradation due to dynamite, cyanide, and trawl fishing. Precious coral reefs and other marine life habitats have been destroyed. Marine products became scarce and prices soared up, adversely affecting the poor households. Futhermore. the government did not take any action for a long time as a result of which the rate of environment destruction accelerated at a unprecedented pace.

There is a need for protecting the environment both land and marine in terms of intervention and proper management on large scale.

The Bantay Puerto Program

The Bantay Puerto Program was established after When Mayor Edward S. Hagedorn assumed office as the City’s Chief Executive in July 1992. The major aim was to protect, conserve, and rehabilitate the city’s forest and marine resources so as to improve the quality of life of the people, and increase the city’s economic contribution to the country by utilizing its resources in a manner that is ecologically sustainable, socially equitable, and economically viable. The program’s key management concept is simple: protect what is there, rehabilitate what has been destroyed, and plan for the judicious utilization of resources for sustainable development.

The Approach

One of the major components of the Bantay Puerto program is the Bantay Gubat or the Forest Watch whose major tasks are protection, conservation and rehabilitation of the city’s forest areas. This watch had the power to confiscate illegal forest and marine produce, apprehend poachers to the law and even file cases against them. A massive reforestation scheme (Pista Y Ang Kageban) was launched with the help of the local population. This scheme has mobilised about 80,000 people from all walks of life to plant and conserve trees.

Another major component of the program was establishment of a Bay Watch or Bantay Dagat whose primary role is to protect the city’s marine waters by checking illegal fishing and related activities. The program banned the shipment of all live fish and lobster outside the city.

The national government devolved certain powers to the local government to manage the programme. Further the city government decentralised certain functions and responsibilities to the village level bodies for effective administration and implementation of schemes.

The government also established a Cyanide Detection Test Laboratory in order to check the illegal catching of fish from the sea. The program also provided a basis to formulate a national law banning slash and burn farming. The famers engaged in this type of cultivation were provided with viable incentives for alternative occupations.

The Impact

Approximately 700,000 tree were planted with a survival rate of 80 percent with the participation of the local population, therey creating an environment for conservation

Encouraged by the city leadership’s success in preserving its rich natural resources, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) turned over the management of the world-renowned St. Paul Subterranean River National Park, together with the Irawan Watershed, to the Puerto Princesa city Government. The National Park attracts a large number of foreign visitors and in 1994-95 there has been an increase of 150 percent.

A series of awards have been confered on the Bantay Puerto program:

• On 25 August 1993, Mayor Hagedorn received the Earth Day Award by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
• This was followed by the the Best-Governed Local Government Unit Award given by the Progressive Alliance of Citizens for Democracy.
• On 25 April 1994, he received for Puerto Princesa the Grand Award of Macli-ing Dulag Environmental Achievement Awards given by the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation and the Rotary Club of Makati in coordination with DENR.
• A few months later, the GALING POOK Award by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) was bequeathed the Bantay Puerto Program.

This program is replicable in similar situations in the Philippines with the commitment and sound participation of local level bodies and people’s participation.

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References

• Submission to the Best Practices Initiative of the Habitat II Conference

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Contact Addresses

City Government of Puerto Princesa
Hon. Edward S. Hagedorn, City Mayor
Mr. Antonio Romasanta, Program Coordinator
New City Hall
Brgy. Sta. Monica
Puerto Princesa City