Issues Related to Coastal and Marine Environment and Resources

The Philippines is confronted with enormous challenge of finding a suitable path to food security, sustainable livelihood, poverty alleviation and reduction of vulnerability to natural hazards. The nation’s coastal and marine resources are deteriorating rapidly due to multiple-use conflicts, lack of awareness and understanding, and ineffective management approaches. For instance, the reefs in the country are severely impacted by human activities such as overfishing, destructive fishing and sedimentation. The mangrove population has also dramatically decreased over the years, leaving a remaining of 1,607 km² in 2001. The number of endangered species also increased from 212 to 284 between 1990 and 1998.

Actions Taken

In the past few years, various initiatives have been undertaken at the national and local level in collaboration with donor agencies such as UNDP, GEF, USAID, and international financial institutions such as ADB, The World bank, and international NGOs such as WWF, CI, etc. The Philippine government has also partnered with the countries of East Asia as part of the GEF/UNDP/IMO Regional Programme on Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA).

Under the PEMSEA programmes, several achievements and projects have been undertaken in the country, particularly through collaboration with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Some of the major achievements include:

1. Provision of technical and funding support to local governments to plan and manage coastal areas through Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) and address transboundary issues. Related major projects include:
   • Batangas Bay ICM Demonstration Site;
   • Bataan ICM Parallel Site;
   • Cavite ICM Parallel Site;
   • Development and promulgation of Executive Order (EO) 533, adopting ICM as a strategic policy for sustainable development of coastal and marine resources in the Philippines
2. Provision of technical and funding support to Philippine government efforts to plan and manage river basins and large bays (e.g., Manila Bay) resulting in the following outputs:
   • Manila Bay Coastal Strategy and its Operational Plan
   • Environmental Risk Assessment and priority setting
   • Manila Bay Environmental Atlas
   • Manila Bay Integrated Information Management System
   • Integrated Environmental Monitoring Program (MOU signed among various government agencies, local government units, private sector and academe)
   • Manila Bay Oil Spill Contingency Plan (MOU signed among various government agencies, local government units, and the private sector)
   • Bataan Sustainable Development Strategy and the Coastal Land- and Sea-use zoning plan for the province
   • Cavite Coastal Strategy and zoning plan
3. Various capacity building and networking activities or projects that includes networking with Local Governments in the East Asian Seas region through the PEMSEA Network of Local Governments (PNLG), and activities related to public-private partnerships (PPP) and other awareness building activities.

Sources:

• "Integrated Coastal Management (ICM): Revitalizing the Coasts and Oceans Program in the Philippines". Policy Brief. Vol. 2 No. 1. May 2006
• "Partnership Opportunities for Enhancing GPA Implementation in the East Asian Region (2007-2011)". Policy Brief. October 2006.