The World Bank/WBI’s CBNRM Initiative

Case Received: February 9, 1998

Authors: Helge Peter Vogt and Nick Willoughby

Tel/Fax: +44 171 587 3556 (Vogt)

       +44 1634 883537 (Willoughby)

Fax: +44 1634 883995 (Willoughby)

Email: hp_vogt@compuserve.com

       Nick.willoughby@nri.org

This case describes the experiences of the Establishment of Marine Reserves in Negros Oriental (EMRINO) project, which took place in central Philippines, from September 1994-December 1996 (Vogt and Schirm, 1994, 1995, 1996a, b, Vogt 1998).

Its aims were to protect selected parts of the coral reefs in order to allow over-exploited economically important food-fish stocks to recover. This measure was expected to reverse the decline in fish catches for small-scale fisherfolk in areas near the new reserves.

The Philippines consists of more than 7,000 islands, many of which are surrounded by coral reefs. The income of an estimated 2 million Filipinos depends on reef fishing, which supplies half of the protein to the average Filipino diet (McAllister and Ansula, 1993). The rapidly growing national population (36 million to 63 million between 1966 and 1992) has caused increasing demands for fish, whilst at the same time coral reefs have been adversely affected by destructive fishing methods, especially dynamite fishing. The combined effects of over-exploitation and degradation of the reefs have led to a situation where the catches from the remaining fish stocks can no longer keep pace with the increasing demand. The social consequences for the traditional fisherfolk are not fully known. However, McAllister (1988) estimates that 127,000 small-scale fishermen are unable to fish because their reefs have been destroyed, with a resultant loss of 160,000t of fish/year, worth approximately US$ 80 million. Unless conservation measures are enforced

rapidly, many fishing families will have to obtain their incomes from other sources. Politicians and scientists are aware of the situation, and laws have been passed to prevent further reef destruction, however, law enforcement in many provinces is a major problem.

The senior author was the project manager of EMRINO for its entire duration. The junior author was contracted to review the project and to evaluate a follow-on proposal.

Since World War II, coral reefs in Negros Oriental have been subjected to the use of dynamite for fishing. This method, despite its dangers, is viewed by artisanal fishermen as more time and cost efficient than other fishing techniques. Unfortunately, explosives or 'blast fishing' also has

devastating effects on the coral reefs, as the shock waves caused by explosions can reduce reefs to mere rubble zones. An estimated 5,000 km2 of coral reefs have been destroyed by the use of explosives in the Philippines, (McAllister and Ansula, 1993). Coral reefs have very slow growth rates, and once a reef has been damaged by explosives, it may take many decades to recover to its previous state.

The consequences of this reef destruction with regard to the total size of the fish stocks are unknown, but the local fishermen are only too well aware of their declining catches. The local reefs are already being heavily over-fished using a wide range of fishing methods. Many of the

fish now caught are still juveniles, and for some important target fish species, large adult specimens have become a rare sight. Fish aggregating devices have been placed in many offshore locations to attract fish, thus making fishing more time efficient for some fisherfolk. However, if the problems of habitat destruction and over-exploitation continue, the livelihoods of many coastal villagers will become even more uncertain. Already, large numbers of Filipinos choose to work oversees to support their families.

The changes which have led to the present levels of ownership and environmental awareness in Negros Oriental have developed around two themes, the delegation of legal powers from central government to local councils, and the willingness of local communities to grasp the opportunity this allowed to save their threatened resources.

Coastal fisheries tend to be common property resources. A major step towards limiting these open access fisheries to Philippines coral reefs was the delegation of central power to a municipal forum by the introduction of the Local Government Code of the Philippines (1991). This empowered municipal mayors with the right to issue permits to all fishermen operating within municipal waters. This enabled restriction of fishing by outsiders, thus protecting the catches of fishermen living in the municipality (Christie and White, 1997).

Staff from Silliman University in Dumaguete City, the provincial capital of Negros Oriental, were active in preventing blast fishing on reefs near the city as early as 1969. The campaign against blast fishing was soon extended to other areas of the province, and in 1972 such fishing was effectively banned in the entire province. Then in the early 1980s, the University actively involved the local fishing community of Apo Island, in the south of the province, in a marine reserve programme. All destructive fishing methods were banned around the island, and within an

agreed demarcated reserve area fishing was banned completely. Local fishermen did not to fish within the reserve, and were active in preventing fishermen from other islands from so doing. The fishermen expected that fish stocks within the reserve would recover, and that fish catches in the adjacent areas would increase and be available for capture by local fishermen. Since then, the Apo Island marine reserve has received world wide attention, and serves as a model for numerous other

programmes in many areas of the world. Finally, in the Central Visayas, the World Bank funded a coastal resource management programme as part of the Central Visayas Regional Project I (CVRP-I). During the course of this programme, several community managed coral reef reserves were established in the project provinces.

After the termination of the CVRP-I phase in 1992, the Provincial Government of Negros Oriental created the Resource Management Division (RMD), which continued the CVRP programme using provincial resources. The strength of the RMD lies in the close contact of its staff to the fishing

communities. This has been made possible by the work of about 30 community organisers who regularly visit the villages. Although the RMD received strong support from the Governor and technical support from the German Development Service (GDS), more scientific expertise was needed.

This gap was filled by the project, the Establishment of Marine Reserves in Negros Oriental, EMRINO (1994-96). The project was funded by the Commission of the European Union, DG 1B, External Economic Relations, and administered by the University of Bremen, Germany. The main objective of EMRINO was to establish small marine reserves, in order to provide protection for sections of coral reefs where recovery of the fish populations could take place. The underlying principle was that successful reef conservation could only be achieved if the local fishing

communities, as the main stakeholders, were in charge of selecting and managing the reserves. The project created a non-governmental organisation (NGO) called the Centre for the Establishment of Marine Reserves in Negros Oriental or CEMRINO, Inc. This NGO provided

scientific, technical and logistical support to the provincial government, and in particular to the RMD. A systematic survey of the entire coastline of the province was conducted, to locate and assess the status of the coral reefs. Once detailed inventory studies had been completed, 14 sites were recommended to become marine reserves. These recommendations were made available to the RMD and the community Fishermen's Associations. The information was used to draft community ('Barangay') resolutions, which were presented in public hearings at a municipal and provincial level. The resolutions were converted into municipal ordinances, and became legally binding, once approved by the municipality and the provincial parliament.

The key institutional change which facilitated this project was the introduction of the Local Government Code. This code brought legal empowerment to the local communities, and together with the pioneering activities of Silliman University staff, the example of Apo Island, the

Governor's support, the environmental awareness-building of CVRP and the RMD, and the scientific and logistical support of the EMRINO project, enabled the villagers to make informed choices regarding the future of their marine environment.

Fishermen have stated that the marine reserves have had a positive impact on their catches in areas near the reserves. The fishermen are encouraged to weigh and record their catches, as part of the fish catch monitoring programme. Indeed, villages now compete with each other to produce the

best quality data for RMD. These quantitative data are essential for the assessment of the economic benefits of the reserves. Another potential source of income for local communities may be small scale tourism on the protected reefs. While may make only a small contribution initially, in Apo Island Reserve, tourism has already contributed considerably to the income of the local community (Vogt, 1996).

The sustainability of these activities depends, in addition to the continued desires of the local coastal communities, on the continued existence of the RMD and the NGO CEMRINO. During the project, a media campaign was initiated to raise environmental awareness and the profile

of the RMD. This has since become a well known organisation in the Central Philippines, with representatives from other organisations visiting their offices to learn from their experiences in Negros Oriental. As a result of its excellence, the RMD received the Galing-Pook Award from the Philippine President in 1995, for its outstanding environmental programme. The institutional arrangements allowing its existence were made possible by the strong support from the governor of the province of Negros Oriental. The increased effectiveness of the RMD has, in turn, led to improved management of the coral reefs. Prior to the EMRINO Project only 10 reserves had been established, some of which were poorly managed. As a result of the EMRINO/RMD/GDS co-operation, numerous workshops were held in the villages. Fishermen became more aware of the

benefits of reserves and supported their establishment. By the end of 1996, the number of reserves had been increased to 19, covering a total area of 177 ha. This means that about 7 % of the total reef area in Negros Oriental is now protected by law. The reserves are now clearly demarcated, and guardhouses are provided for each local fishing community, whose members enforce the reserves.

In the Philippines, coral reefs and their associated fish stocks have been in a state of decline throughout most of the archipelago. However, these processes can be arrested, if local and regional authorities collaborate effectively and involve the fishing communities in reef protection. The EMRINO project has shown that if additional catalytic support is provided at the right time, then community-supported environmental protection can be put in place, and fish stock regeneration can be achieved. Fishermen told the project review mission that they wanted their children to catch more fish than they were currently doing, and that they viewed this project as an entirely appropriate way to achieve this.

The success of the project in a number of villages in Negros Oriental suggests the possibility for wider dissemination of project activities to elsewhere in the province. Village meetings within the province to discuss legal resolutions to establish reef and fishing reserves were frequently visited by representatives of adjacent villages demanding similar project activities in their villages too. However, the possibility of extrapolating these methods elsewhere in the Philippines archipelago may not be so feasible. The Governor of Negros Oriental may be unique in his strong support for conservation issues, and in his appreciation of the need for sustainable coastal resource management. Unfortunately, some provinces are notorious for their continued use of dynamite fishing. Whether this is due to a lack of environmental awareness, or a fishery of desperation is uncertain. This would need to be determined before further activities were undertaken. The legal framework is certainly available to support other provincial governors if they wished to initiate groups similar to the RMD, to raise local environmental awareness. Several other provinces have shown an interest in the methods used as a result of its proven successes. Another area of

replicability would be to consider environments other than coral reefs which are at risk. Recruitment to the adult stock of many economically important fish species relies heavily on juvenile survival in mangrove swamps or sea-grass beds. Awareness of these habitat requirements, and the wishes of local communities to preserve small areas of these as foci for breeding and juvenile sanctuaries, is being considered as an extension of the present EMRINO project.

Village-based coastal resource management began in the Philippines, and spread to other countries in Southeast Asia in the 1980s. This followed the failure of more centralised attempts to manage coastal resources (Christie and White, 1997). The replicability of a project such as EMRINO

in other countries may be influenced by many factors. However, in situations where:

• sum there are conservation-orientated communities;

• sum local communities have the legal powers to control access to the marine resources;

• sum the political will is present to support community-based

• environmental activities; then there must be a good chance of similar projects succeeding.

A proposal has been prepared to expand and extend the EMRINO programme to the provinces of Bohol and Siquijor in Philippines, and to start a mangrove reforestation programme in Negros Oriental. The proposal has been submitted to the Commission of the European Union. If approved, the project is planned to commence in 1998.