Located in the Southeast of Panay and Northwest of Negros Island in Western Visayas, Philippines, the Province of Guimaras is composed of five (5) municipalities and ninety eight (98) barangay (villages) with Jordan as the capital. Hiligaynon is the native dialect. Famous for its world-class mangoes, the province also derives its livelihood from agriculture and fisheries. Its fisheries resources, coastal habitats and fragile ecosystem were severely affected when bunker fuel was spilled into the Guimaras coast in 2006. The impact affected more than half of its population living along its 238-km coastline that depended on the coastal and marine resources for their livelihood.
On 21 September 2007, the Provincial Government of Guimaras expressed its intent to implement an ICM program through a letter sent to PEMSEA. A site evaluation mission was conducted on 28-30 April 2008 to determine Guimaras' suitability for ICM implementation. The evaluation mission was able to identify the various challenges to sustainable development in Guimaras. The mission likewise assessed how the ongoing initiatives of the local government as well as other stakeholders that focused on the sustainable management of the Province's marine and coastal resources can be integrated and more importantly, confirmed Guimaras' commitment to ICM and to functioning as a PEMSEA ICM parallel site.