A Case Study of Ubay, Bohol on Sustainable Coastal and Fishery Resource Management PDF

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(NOT FOR ATTRIBUTION; FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY) A Case Study of Ubay, Bohol on Sustainable Coastal and Fishery Resource Management1: A Contribution to the Philippines Country Environmental Analysis November 2008 2 Elmer S. Mercado, EnP 1 The preparation of this case study was greatly facilitated...

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(NOT FOR ATTRIBUTION; FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY)

A Case Study of Ubay, Bohol on Sustainable Coastal and Fishery Resource Management1: A Contribution to the Philippines Country Environmental Analysis

November 2008

Elmer S. Mercado, EnP

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The preparation of this case study was greatly facilitated by an earlier material written by Mr. Alpios Delima, CRM Coordinator of the Municipality of Ubay, Bohol province and from project documents provided by the USAID’s FISH Project. 2 World Bank Consultant. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed herein are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent. This paper is for public comment and use. You may email the author through email address [email protected]. .

WB CEA Case Study: Ubay, Bohol Coastal Resource Management by E. Mercado, EnP, November 2008

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(NOT FOR ATTRIBUTION; FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY) Summary Fishing is the lifeblood of the economy in the Municipality of Ubay in Bohol province and is a food staple in every Ubay household. Twenty of Ubay’s 44 barangays are located in the coast. More than half of its almost 65,000 population is directly engaged in fishing while as much as 70% of the population generates their income and source of livelihood from fishing-related services and enterprises. But the rapid increase in the town’s population and booming economy in the late 80s and the 1990s exerted too much pressure on Ubay’s fish habitat and resources that resulted to the decline of its fisheries. Official census office estimates showed that by 2012 Ubay’s population will increase by more than half or almost 90,000 people compared to its 2000 population. The overfishing of Ubay’s fishery and coastal resources and the use of illegal and destructive fishing methods such as dynamite and cyanide fishing, trawl fishing and use of fine mesh nets further aggravates the town’s fishing conditions. But the biggest threat in Ubay’s declining fish stocks is the intrusion of commercial fishers and illegal poaching by other fishing vessels from other places into its municipal waters that forms part of the resource-rich Danajon double barrier reef. Almost 54% of all fishers, 44% of all non-motorised and 64% of all motorised boats in the whole province of Bohol are concentrated into the 270 sq.km. or 27,000 hectares reef area of the Danajon banks. Making it the most densely fished area per kilometer of coastline in the whole of Central Visayas. The municipality of Ubay is one of the nine coastal municipalities in northern Bohol that is critically affected by the deterioration of fishing grounds and reef areas in the Danajon Bank. At least sixty-one (61) kilometers of Ubay’s shoreline faces part of the Danajon Banks. It shares common fishing grounds within the Danajon Bank with 3 neighboring municipalities namely, Bien Unido, Carlos P. Garcia and Talibon in Bohol and Maasin in Leyte. The continuous threats of overfishing, destructive fisheries and intrusion over its municipal waters became a critical problem for the municipality and its local fishing community. It forced the municipality of Ubay along with its neighboring towns to finally act and defend their lifeblood against these threats in order to maintain their survival. In 2001, the Municipality of Ubay reconfigured its coastal and fishery protection programme to a more integrative and encompassing coastal and fishery resource conservation and development programme. Ubay’s Fishery Development Conservation Program (FDCP) was envisioned by the municipality to be a vehicle for strengthening its municipal fishery law enforcement group by approaching the problem of fisheries protection in a more integrated manner. Its approach was through improved fishery governance, community participation, greater transparency and accountability, local knowledge and capacity building, strong local enforcement and coastal habitat and resource conservation and rehabilitation. The FDCP, with technical assistance and support from the USAID’s FISH Project, was the municipality’s response for a more substantive support in terms of training, manpower development, coastal habitat management and patrol assets than just plain law enforcement and coastal patrolling. One of the first steps made by the LGU in implementing its FDCP was the recruitment of capable and dedicated personnel that shall provide technical support and professional assistance on fisheries management to the LGU and the local community. A selected group of personnel were recruited from different LGU departments to serve as a technical working group (TWG) to address concerns in coastal resources and fisheries management. They were complemented by a team of field technical personnel from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Philippine National Police (PNP), Bohol Environment Management Office (BEMO) and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) that provided expert knowledge and training on topics related to coastal resource and fishery

WB CEA Case Study: Ubay, Bohol Coastal Resource Management by E. Mercado, EnP, November 2008

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(NOT FOR ATTRIBUTION; FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY) management, fish habitat conservation, law enforcement and interdiction, fish species identification and technologies, among others. The municipality also institutionalised a regular coastal resource management office (CRMO) under the Office of the Mayor and a coastal enforcement and protection unit (CPEU), a one stop-shop office of the different local and national coastal enforcement agencies from the national police, environment and agriculture and fishery departments. These LGU coastal units served as the coordinating body for the TF Bantay Dagat and other volunteer enforces and agencies as well as for the issuances of all fish and coastal related permits, licenses and documents. The group was further complemented by local community representatives from the different coastal barangays who were recruited based on personal commitment and familiarity on marine resource conservation. These community volunteers were deputised as Bantay Dagat officers and were regularly supported by the LGUs in their coastal patrolling and habitat management services. From 2002-2006, the LGU regularly allocated and increased the funding and resource support for the implementation of coastal and fishery protection activities to sustain the FDCP programme. Over the last five years, Ubay budgeted an average of PhP 3.2 million or US$ 73,000 (at US$1=PhP 44) per year for its coastal and fishery management activities to protect its municipal waters. In 2006, the municipality budgeted more than PhP 4.0 million or US$ 92,000 for its coastal fishery protection and conservation activities. The funds were used to support TF Bantay Dagat enforcers and its operations, honoraria for volunteers, maintenance of patrol boats and procurement of necessary equipment and instruments such GPS, binoculars, VHF radios, megaphones, water resistant camera, life jackets, navigational instruments and charts, cooking utensils, search lights, and floating assets. The municipality of Ubay, through its CRM office, forged strategic linkage and networking with other LGUs and concerned agencies of the provincial and national government and NGO’s undertaking related functions. These included an inter-LGU joint enforcement cooperation and coordination with the neighboring towns of Bien Unido, Carlos P. Garcia and Talibon for the common enforcement and protection of their “common fishing grounds” in the Danajon Bank; formation of the provincial coastal law enforcement council (CLEC) in 2004 that covered enforcement coordination among the 9 municipalities in Northern Bohol as well as with Bohol Provincial Government, Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Navy, Philippine National Policy and other national government enforcement agencies This inter-LGU cooperation facilitated the filing of court cases against apprehended violators of local coastal ordinances, coordination in seaborne patrolling and pursuit operations, and information exchange of registration and movements of local fishing vessels. By working closely with fisherfolk organizations in the barangays and in the formation of community-managed resource councils in almost all of Ubay’s coastal barangays, the municipality’s coastal fishery management initiative gained strong local grassroots support, improved fish policy credibility among local stakeholders and enhanced local governance accountability of local fishery resource management measures. Through its interaction with local fisheries management councils, the Municipality of Ubay was able to approve in 2006 an integrated Municipal Fisheries Ordinance that provided a strong local policy framework that unified the various regulatory, jurisdictional, licensing/permitting and administrative rules for the protection and as well local community efforts such as community patrolling and on-site conservation activities of Ubay’s fishery resources. Finally, community and private sector volunteers bolstered its law enforcement work and conservation programmes with improved technical competence, training and skills provided by local professionals and community volunteers to local coastal and agriculture offices and community coastal enforcement teams.

WB CEA Case Study: Ubay, Bohol Coastal Resource Management by E. Mercado, EnP, November 2008

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(NOT FOR ATTRIBUTION; FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY) The most important impact and benefit of Ubay’s strong and continuous effort to increase fish stock and return of diversity of local fish species in its municipal waters after two years of implementation was the reported steady increase in fish catch per unit effort (CPUE) for manual fishing gears such as hand lines, lift nets and stationary gillnets traditionally used by municipal fishers. A recent study made by the USAID’s FISH Project last September 2008 on the economic and financial returns of Ubay’s coastal resource management programme reported that PhP 10 million (US$ 227,000) in direct fisheries revenue and between PhP 50-90 million (US$ 1.13-2.0 million) in economic returns for every Php 2 million investment/year made by the LGU on its coastal and fisheries management activities. On the other hand, destructive fishing gears such as Danish seine, bottomset gillnets and otter trawls have considerably dropped. This is largely attributed to the strength of the municipality’s coastal law enforcement initiatives on destructive fishing methods and regular seaborne patrolling. Increases in the level of awareness of fisherfolks about their coastal environment and improved understanding on the basic concepts involving coastal and fishery habitat are transformed to increase in compliance to national laws. Additionally, their heightened participation in drafting local legislations through the B/FARMCs and public consultations on proposed bills as recommended by the M/FARMCs, were also translated in their increased willingness to participate in the implementation of local fishery ordinances. The total number of apprehended fishery law violators after two years of implementation showed a declining trend from a high of 140 in 2006 to a low of less than 20 arrests in 2007. This reflects substantial success in the LGU’s resource conservation advocacy programme and its strict enforcement of coastal ordinances. On the other hand, whilst there was a marked decrease in arrests fishing violators in 2007, collection of fees and penalties for the same violations of fishery and coastal management ordinances increased by more than PhP 140,000 or US$ 3,182 (at US$1=PhP44) or more than twice the collections in previous years. This does not include fees from confiscated fishing vessels that are turned over to local enforcement authorities or remanded to their owners and food expense savings from caught fishes that are donated to the municipality’s local hospital and municipal jail. Likewise, the municipality also increased collections of registration fees of local fishing vessels. From January –June 2008, registration fees for local fishing vessels below three (3) tons have reached some PhP 158,000 or US$ 3,590 since the application of the new regulation last year. Whilst Ubay’s fishery protection and conservation programme have achieve moderate economic gains and improvement in fishery stocks, the greatest gain achieve by the programme was the empowerment of local fisherfolks to directly influence barangay and municipal policy and development plans by giving them opportunity to be part of barangay governance at least in the specific sector of fishery. The participation of local fisherfolks in the local village fishery resource councils, coastal resource assessments, seaborne patrols, habitat monitoring and reviews of local and community ordinances gave them the strength to have not only a stronger role and a better voice in the survival of their local fishery resources as well as their own.

WB CEA Case Study: Ubay, Bohol Coastal Resource Management by E. Mercado, EnP, November 2008

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(NOT FOR ATTRIBUTION; FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY) A. Overview The Danajon Bank off the northwest coast of Bohol is one of the few documented double barrier reefs in the world and one of only three such sites in the Indo-Pacific region (Pichon, 1977). It is a very rare geological formation whose reefs are believed to have been formed over the last 6,000 years. Danajon’s double barrier reef, the only one in the Philippines, comprises two sets of large coral reefs that formed offshore on a submarine ridge due to a combination of favorable tidal currents and coral growth in the area. It is a larger and betterdefined structure than other known double barrier reefs in the world. Photo from Davao Divers, 2008

The entire Danajon Bank’s reef area is approximately 270 sq km or 27,000 hectares making-up almost 1% of the country’s total reef area. 3 . It spreads over the municipal waters of 17 municipalities in 4 provinces and two regions in the Visayas 4 . It is further covered by ten (10) protected area sites under the National Integrated Protected Area System (NIPAS) that includes seven strict nature reserves and three protected seascapes (Green, et.al. 2002). Because of its location in Central Philippines, the Danajon Bank is a most important source for biodiversity and a large breeding area for many species of finfish, shellfish and invertebrates. Its productivity has been estimated to be worth US$ 8million per year if managed well (FISH, 2008). It is thus a very important source of livelihood for the 17 coastal municipalities around the bank, especially those from the province of Bohol. It is estimated that almost 70% of all municipal and commercial fish catches in Bohol are source from the Danajon Bank (FISH, 2008). In a survey conducted by the USAID’s FISH Project 5 , they estimated that about 54% out of 33,000 fishers, 44% of 11,700 non-motorized boats and 62% of 8,950 motor crafts of the entire province of Bohol are found in the 9 coastal municipalities 6 bounding the Danajon Bank (See Table 1.0). Table 1.0 Summary Table of the Number of Fisheries and Motor/Non-Motor crafts in Bohol Total Number Total No. of Total No. of Nonof Fishers Motor Crafts motorised boats 9 Northern Municipalities 17,693 5,557 5,083 Other 29 Municipalities 15,260 3,395 6,603 Total 32,953 8,952 11,686 Source: FISH Project, 2008.

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The estimated total area of coral reefs in the Philippines is 27,000 sq.km. The LGUs that cover the Danajon Bank in their jurisdiction are 10 municipalities in Bohol and two in Cebu for Central Visayas, and, one municipality in Leyte and four in Southern Leyte for Eastern Visayas. 5 The Fisheries Improved for Sustainable Harvest (FISH) Project is a 7-year (2003-2010) project supported by a grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) implemented in partnership with the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) that provides technical assistance to LGUs for the sustainable management of fisheries and aquatic resources. 6 These are the municipalities of Tubigon, Clarin, Inabanga, Buenavista, Getafe, Bien Unido, Trinidad, Ubay, Pres. Carlos P. Gracia and Talibon. 4

WB CEA Case Study: Ubay, Bohol Coastal Resource Management by E. Mercado, EnP, November 2008

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(NOT FOR ATTRIBUTION; FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY) Unfortunately, over the years, the Danajon Bank area has been subjected to extremely high fishing pressure largely due to illegal and destructive fishing methods. The use of dynamite and cyanide has severely damaged the area’s reef with current living coral reef cover standing at less than 25% in 2004 from the mean cover of 29.5% in 1996. A recent study of 28 near shore, reef fishing grounds in Danajon were also found to be in poor condition with 32% rubble, 28% sand or silt, 9% dead coral and only 12% live coral remaining. (FISH, 2008). Other factors affecting the degradation of Danajon Bank and its surrounding fishing grounds in Bohol are: a) sediment accumulation, prohibiting coral and sea grass growth; b) high population density within Danajon’s coastal communities that has led to increase pollution in the area from the conversion of more lands for settlements, agriculture and solid waste disposal; and, c) removal of mangroves and their conversion to other uses leading to loss of critical nursery habitats and shoreline and storm surge protection (FISH, 2008) Fish catch that was normally abundant in the early 1990s have dramatically dwindled because of the absence of fish and the destruction of its habitats and has largely contributed to the poverty of over 60% of coastal inhabitants of northern Bohol who live below the poverty line of P6,000 or US$136 per month 7 driving them to catch smaller fish and use more efficient but destructive fishing methods (Green, et.al. 2002). Data from the National Statistics Office (NSO) showed that municipal fish catches in the whole province of Bohol have steadily decreased from 14,800 metric tons in 2000 to only 13,700 metric tons in 2003 with reports of continuing declines in succeeding years. The municipality of Ubay is one of the nine coastal municipalities in northern Bohol that is critically affected by the deterioration of fishing grounds and reef areas in the Danajon Bank. At least sixty-one (61) kilometers of Ubay’s shoreline faces part of the Danajon Banks. Ubay is a first class municipality of the 2nd District of Bohol with a total land area of 29,205 hectares with an estimated population of 64,861. It is the biggest town in Bohol in terms of land area and the largest outside of Tagbilaran City in population 8 . Its annual average population rate of 3.3% over the last ten years was even higher than the national average of 2.3%. Twenty of Ubay’s 44 barangays are located in the coast and more than half of its almost 65,000 citizens are largely dependent on fisheries for their livelihood (See Table 2.0). Ubay has a total of 1,492 fishers, 406 non-motorised boats and 380 motorised bancas operating in its municipal waters. Table 2.0 Population Profile and Distribution of the Municipality of Ubay (2004) Type of Barangay No. of Total Barangay Population Coastal and Island 20 33,071 barangays Land locked 24 31,790 barangays Total 44 64,861 Source: Ubay Municipal Development Planning Office Map Source: www.wikipedia.com, 26 August 2008 7

1 US$=PhP44.00. Ubay is one of the fastest growing town in the Bohol with an annual population growth of 3.3% that is higher than the provincial and national average of around 2.6% and 2.3%, respectively.

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WB CEA Case Study: Ubay, Bohol Coastal Resource Management by E. Mercado, EnP, November 2008

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(NOT FOR ATTRIBUTION; FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY) B. Conserving and Protecting Ubay’s Coastal and Fishery Resources: Saving a People’s Lifeblood. 1.0 Decline of a critical...