Tandayag and Bio-os Marine Protected Areas
Governance and Management Plan
Abstract
Marine Protected Areas are suggested as the most effective tool in fisheries management. They serve as safe haven for fish, invertebrates, and corals to breed, grow and consequently to improve fish biomass, abundance, diversity, and coral reef habitats.
The Marine Protected Area or Marine Sanctuary of Tandayag was established in 1996 through the Municipal Ordinance No. 02, Series of 1996 and Bio-os Marine Sanctuary in 1999 through Municipal Ordinance No. 21, Series of 1999. These ordinances describe the rules and regulations in the no- take zone, the penalties per violation, definition of boundaries, and a management body designated to oversee and perform the daily activities. The management tasks were performed based on this ordinance and the CRM plan, the section of which describes the major strategies and activities.
Apparently, over the years the management performance for Tandayag and Bio-os were both rated Level 2 [Established], based on the MPA Effectiveness Rating. The management body [Technical Working Group (TWG) and Management Committee (ManCom)] acknowledged these ratings during the organizational development workshops. The results of the rating could be attributed to lack of enforcement plan and lack of annual participatory biophysical monitoring. Furthermore, intrusions could still be observed within the no-take zone. During the MPA management effectiveness rating, it was also found out that the performance monitoring was not conducted regularly and there was also no socio-economic monitoring and feedback mechanism that would encourage the community to support the MPA (knowing that there is really increase income by fishers). This consequently resulted to intrusions by some local fishers from within the village and from neighboring municipalities. This issue also came out during the PCRA.
The results of the KAP survey revealed that only 52% (Tandayag) and 30% (Bio-os) community members are aware of the benefits of the NTZ. In terms of biophysical status, the Tandayag MPA had 24% live hard coral cover and was predominated by 42% sand, based on the PCRA conducted in 2007. The Bio-os MPA had 45% live hard coral cover and 4% dead coral. Fish communities in Tandayag and Bio-os MPAs were predominated by small-sized Pomacentrids with an average of 26 individuals/500m2 and 283 individuals/500 m2, respectively. Target species such as Surgeonfishes and goatfishes were also observed. This can be explained by extractive fishing practices inside the NTZ such as fish traps and net fishing. The lack of community buy-in and enforcement are the main issues pressing the NTZ at the moment.
In Tandayag and Bio-os NTZ, poor governance and poor implementation of enforcement continuum calls for improvement in the management through the sound strategies within the protected area taking into account community participation in the process. The diagnostic processes [PCRA, MPA rating, OD] were vital in identifying the issues mentioned earlier. Hence, the results from these methods were used as bases in crafting this MPA Governance and Management Plan to improve governance, enforcement and community buy-in. This MPA-GMP will be carried out by the MPA Management Body [TWG and ManCom] within the timeframe of June 2011-June 2012 and will be assessed regularly during MPA management meetings. The implementation of this MPA-GMP will be supported through funds of LGU-Amlan and the provincial government through the Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) – Office of the Governor, Rare and other possible sources such as the DA-BFAR, other Line Agencies, NGOs and Small Grants from local organizations.
Introduction
The Philippines ranked first with the most number of MPAs in the world. About 25% of the worlds MPAs are found in the Philippines. However, 15% of these MPAs are doomed to fail in an annual basis due to poor governance and weak enforcement (Aliňo 1998). In fact, during the Rare-initiated workshop in Cebu, on February 2010, these two major concerns surfaced as the most pressing issues compared to pollution, sedimentation, land-use, and climate change. The said workshop was attended by scholars and experts in their fields in the Philippines.
In this plan, Governance refers to the clarity of processes in choosing leaders to manage the MPA and Enforcement [a subset of governance] refers to the capacity and availability of logistics to perform the roles that involves the entire continuum such as deterrence, apprehension, case filing and decision. The poor selection of leaders and weak capacity to enforce MPA boundaries and policies will result to: a) the lack of community buy-in to support the leaders and projects; b) unregulated unsustainable fishing activities inside MPAs, and; c) unpopular MPA boundaries and ownership. Subsequently, MPA benefits are not maximized and the community loss the PRIDE over the local MPA.
Rare Pride Campaign is geared towards a greater community buy-in for an improved MPA governance and enforcement. Community buy-in refers to the active involvement of locale in critical projects after having clearly understood their roles and functions for such projects and their long-term benefits. This may involve the process of behaviour change and maintenance of good practices.
A combination of locally- practiced tools such as PCRA, management meetings, organizational development workshops plus KAP survey have been employed during the period of November 2010 until May 2011 to gain community support right up at front. This period is only the diagnostic phase of the campaign, but right at start community involvement is already being sought for buy-in. Eventually, as we move forward to the planning and implementation phase, the local community will not only have a better appreciation of the entire process, but would also gain ownership and PRIDE of the MPA benefits.
As more and more people from various sectors are getting involved with clear roles and functions for MPA management, coupled with the elements of time to embed such practices, threats to the MPA will be reduced and protection of biodiversity will be enhanced. This will also ensure continued benefits of protected areas, establishment of buffer zones and zoning of the protected area to sustain productivity and building value of the resources. In this way, the concern of the local community will be enhanced towards ownership and taking PRIDE of their MPA.
Objectives and scope
1. To improve enforcement processes by November 2011 [i.e. upgraded guardhouse, enforcement, protocols/plans, intelligence network and communication, logbook system]
2. To improve governance by November 2011 [i.e. regular meeting, increase membership, documentation, management planning, evaluation, monitoring team]
3. Improve MPA effectiveness rating to level 3 [enforced] by June 2012
Tools
There were three participatory assessment methods used to assess current status of fisheries, management performance and community knowledge and practices, namely: Participatory Coastal Resource Assessment (PCRA), TWG and ManCom OD and planning workshops and KAP survey.
1. PCRA is a critical assessment tool that takes into account the community as the main source of information and data gatherers. It has been widely used in the Philippines since the birth of community-based resource management projects in over 3 decades now. This tool generated a whole suite of focused group discussions [FGDs] not limited to fishery enforcement, resource map, MPA history and etc. The objective of which is to improve community buy-in right at start of project and understand the fishery status in the locality.
2. MPA effectiveness rating system is a self-assessment tool initiated by CCEF and modified by EcoGov to determine management performance of MPA. It is a system that came about to address the need to improve the overall quality of management-since most MPA face difficulty in enforcement due to poverty and general lack of awareness about the coastal environment. This rating was administered on March 18, 2011 (Bio-os) and March 25, 2011 (Tandayag), with the newly reconstituted MPA management body [TWG and ManCom]. This tool generated conclusions on management status and management focus, collated documents supporting rating, and basis for planning.
3. Organizational development is a conceptual, organization-wide effort to increase an organizations effectiveness and viability through an external facilitator. In our case, we employed OD to assess the local organizations i.e. the TWG and ManCom vis a vis MPA management on separate dates. This workshops generated action plan focusing on improving organizational performance and strengthening for improve MPA governance and enforcement.
MPA profile
1. Participatory Coastal Resource Assessment (PCRA )
FGD on enforcement
Over 15 years now, the Tandayag NTZ has accounted to approximately 65 violations based on sightings and testimonies by fisherfolks and other community members within the village. As presented in Table 1.a, most of the intrusions happened four to seven years after the establishment of NTZ where a big issue on political intervention in enforcement surface out and dampened the enthusiasm of most marginal fishers and Fishermen Association members. Such intrusions include the use of compressor fishing, fish nets and hook and line by fishers coming from neighboring towns and barangays. However, the validity and further details of information on the number and provenance of intruders and the time of day or occasion when such incidents took place could not be verified as there is no logbook at the village level. Police blotter on MPA intrusions is also not sufficient to confirm all the information since not all incidents (e.g. gleaning, bathing in the MPA) reached up to municipal level. In additional, the lack of enforcement logistics, support and intelligence and the lack of capacity to practice the whole enforcement continuum aggravate the entire enforcement and governance process.
Table 1.a: MPA History and form of infringement, Tandayag MPAYear / Number of infringement / Types/forms of infringement/gears used / Intruders (from where, who, age group) / Course/s of action taken (apprehension, affidavit writing, litigation, imprisonment) / Forms of incentives/disincentives
Year 1-1997 (After MPA establishment in 1996) / 15 / Compressor fishing, Hook & Line, Gill Nets, Gleaning / Fishers from San Jose, Amlan / Apprehended by PNP, Informed violators about the MPA rules and regulations / Confiscation of fishing paraphernalia and fish species caught; penalized depending on the degree of offense
Year 2 (1998) / 10 / Compressor fishing, Hook & Line, Gill nets, Gleaning / San Jose, Amlan local fishers / Apprehended, Informed the violators about the MPA rules and regulations / Confiscation of fishing paraphernalia and fish species caught; penalized depending on the degree of offense
Year 3 (1999) / 5 / Hook & Line, Gleaning / Amlan local fishers / Apprehended / Confiscation of fishing paraphernalia and fish species caught; penalized depending on the degree of offense
Year 4-7 (2000-2003) / 30 / Spear Fishing (SCUBA gears), Gleaning / Amlan local fishers, Dumaguete City SCUBA divers / Apprehended / Confiscation of spear guns and fish species caught; penalized depending on the degree of offense
Year 8-11 (2004-2007) / 2 / Gill net, Gleaning / Amlan local fishers / Apprehended / Community Service, penalized
Year 12-15 (2007-2010) / 3 / 1- Gill net, 2 Fish traps / San Jose (Neighboring town) / Apprehended / Confiscation of fish species caught
Year 16 (2011) / 1 / Bathing/ swimming / Tandayag / Called the attention / None
Since the establishment in 1999, the Bio-os NTZ has an estimated intrusions of 27 (Table 1.b). From 15 intrusions a year after the establishment, it went down to 4 and then zero for this year. Most of the intrusions were done by fishers from neighboring towns using hook and line and fish nets. Three fishers who used to be intruders into the NTZ are now members of the Fishermen’s Association of Bio-os and are now helping the Bantay Dagat in the enforcement. These fishers, together with the rest of the association members do the surveillance and patrolling as scheduled and also during their fishing hours.
Table 1.b: MPA History and form of infringement, Bio-os MPAYear / Number of infringement / Types/forms of infringement/gears used / Intruders (from where, who, age group) / Course/s of action taken (apprehension, affidavit writing, litigation, imprisonment) / Forms of incentives/disincentives
Year 1- 2000 (After MPA establishment in 1999) / 15 / Fish traps, Hook & Line, Spear (both SCUBA & Skin diving), Gill net, Compressor / Tanjay, Amlan / Apprehended, Informed the violators about the MPA rules and regulations / Confiscation of fishing paraphernalia and fish species caught; penalized
Year 2-4 (2001-2003) / 8 / Fish traps, Hook & Line, Spear / Tanjay / Apprehended / Confiscation of fishing paraphernalia and fish species caught; penalized
Year 5-10 (2004-2009) / 4 / Fish traps, Hook & Line, Spear (occasional) / Tanjay / Apprehended / Confiscation of fishing paraphernalia and fish species caught; penalized
Year 11 (2010) / 0
Resource Map
Figure1. Amlan Resource Map
Habitat coding (reefs, mangroves, seagrass)
Habitat CodingHabitats / Area in meters/Use CLUP data / Color / Sample color
Terrestrial / Light yellow
Mangrove / Green
Muddy / Black
Rocky / Brown
Seagrass / Light green
Corals / Red
Deep sea / Dark blue
Marine water / Light blue
Estuary / Violet
Tidal flats / Orange
Sand bar / Yellow
Major fishing grounds / Gray
Marine Protected Area
Resource coding (inverts and fish)
Resources CodingResources/Common / Local name / Drawing/Numbers/Letters
Big Organisms
Sea turtles /
Rays /
Sharks /
Eels /
Whale/Whale Shark /
Dolphin /
Giant clams /
Fish Families
Groupers /
Goatfish /
Snapper /
Jacks /
Fusiliers /
Emperors /
Parrotfish /
Rabbitfish /
Surgeonfish /
Wrasse /
Angelfish /
Butterflyfish /
Triggerfish /
Damselfish /
Invertebrates
Shells /
Sea urchins /
Clams /
Lobsters /
Squid /
Octopus /
Sea cucumbers /
Resource use and issues coding (i.e. human settlements, landmarks, issues)