REYNALDO, SHAMAH R.

P222-B
AY 2021-22
2012-17594

EVALUATION OF THE ECAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN (2017-2022) OF THE

MUNICIPALITY OF BUSUANGA, PROVINCE OF PALAWAN, PHILIPPINES

ECOLOGICAL BACKGROUND OF THE MUNICIPALITY

Geographical Location and Administrative Boundary

The Municipality of Busuanga is located at the northernmost part of the Province of Palawan, and is
situated in the largest of the five islands of the Calamianes group of islands - Busuanga. The
Municipality of Busuanga, with a total land area of 53,051 hectares (DENR-CENRO), only covers ⅓
of the island. Majority of the land area of the municipality of Busuanga comprises the Calauit Game
Preserve and Wildlife Sanctuary (3,323ha), and the Yulo King Ranch (28.30ha).

The Municipality of Busuanga is composed of 14 barangays, three of which are island barangays.
Busuanga also has numerous islets which are home for the Tagbanuas in the municipality.

Land Cover

The following table shows the land cover classification present in the Municipality of Busuanga as of
2006.

Land Cover Classification Area (Hectares) Percentage of Total Area for

Municipality (%)
Agricultural Areas 1,773.3 4.2
Brushland 21,155.0 49.6
Grassland 251.2 0.6
Limestone Forest 4,297.0 10.9
Primary Forest and Closed 101.8 0.2
Canopy Forest
River 866.8 2.0
Road 324.7 0.1
Secondary Forest 13,854.1 32.5
Total for Terrestrial 42,481.6 100

Primary and secondary forest areas were noted as potential areas for core zone delineation. On the
other hand, areas such as brushlands and grasslands were seen as prospective areas for road
development, which could increase its land productivity.
Sea Cover

The following table shows the sea cover classification present in the Municipality of Busuanga as of
2006.

Coastal and Marine Area (Hectares) Percentage of Total Area for

Classification Municipality (%)
Mangrove Forest (Secondary) 2,048.4 4.2
Dense Corals 62.1 0.2
Sand/Rock 235.1 0.5
Sparse Seagrass 21.0 0.04
Dense Seagrass 151.0 0.3
Water body 46,530.0 94.9
Total 49,047.6 100.0

In 2004, the State of the Environment of Palawan deemed most of the coral reefs in the province in
fair to poor condition. On the other hand, the excellent status of seagrass cover deteriorated from
2.6% in 2004 to 0.8% in 2014.

Biological Environment

The municipality of Busuanga is rich in biodiversity. Its forest land is considered special because of
the presence of six rare indigenous flora species, some of which are classified as endangered.
Moreover, the municipality is also home to a total of 145 species of vertebrate fauna. It is important
to note that endemicity and discovery of new species is very significant in the area.

The municipality of Busuanga has several water resources – its numerous river systems eyed for
livelihood and recreation, a single waterfall that has high potential for tourism development, and a
couple of watersheds that traverses neighboring islands of Busuanga.

Busuanga is also rich in coastal and marine resources. It has 11.30 square kilometers of coral reef
cover, of which only 2.7% are in excellent condition, 14.8% in very good condition, 14.9% in good
condition, 42.1% in fair condition, and 25.5% in poor condition. It also has an estimated 27.5 square
kilometers of sea grass cover, which serve as feeding grounds of dugongs and nursery for fishes,
shrimps, and other marine animals. Lastly, mangrove forests in Busuanga cover 2,248.50 hectares
of area. These forests are in danger of becoming depleted by the year due to threats of continuous
harvesting for charcoal and fuel wood production and home construction.

Environmentally Critical Areas Network (ECAN) Zones

Ecanization is defined as the process of delineating and marking the boundaries of the different
zones in both land and sea. It ensures the identification of prescribed activities and resource use for
each zone as well as the enforcement of regulatory measures to prevent practices that could harm
the environment. The ultimate goal of ECAN zoning is to protect and conserve the natural resources
and ecosystems of Palawan in order to maintain the services thereof and for it to continuously
provide sustainable yield.
All the barangays in the municipality of Busuanga have adopted the ECAN Zones and its regulatory
functions. Almost 25% of the total land area of the municipality is classified as core and restricted
use zones, implying that the municipality is still rich in biodiversity and natural resources. Moreover,
Multiple Use Zones and other zones are almost equally distributed within the municipality.

ECAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN

PLANNING STRUCTURE

The local planning structure in the Philippines is not entirely an executive function. It consists of two
parts – proactive policy making, and reactive problem solving, both of which require the participation
of the legislators who write the law and the stakeholders for whom the plans, policies and/or laws are
made. Considering that two of the main challenges mentioned in Chapter 20 of the Philippine
Development Plan (PDP) are issues on zoning/boundary delineation, and monitoring and evaluation
(M&E), it becomes more crucial for the planning team to work together with the stakeholders, who
know their municipality much better, in order to come up with a good ERMP.

The local planning structure followed in the Philippines is evident in the making of the ERMP of the
municipality of Busuanga, wherein the practicum team, which developed the plan, consulted with the
stakeholders of the municipality - residents, barangay captains, secretaries and councilors - through
Participatory Resource Mapping or Community-Based Resource Mapping.

MANDATES

The Strategic Environmental Plan (SEP) Law was implemented in pursuit of achieving sustainable
development in the province of Palawan given its abundant natural resources and high number of
conservation areas. It mandated the creation of an Ecological Zoning Plan (EZP) and also
institutionalized the establishment of ECAN as its core strategy. The EZP is supposed to serve as
the basis of municipalities for long-term sustainable management of ECAN Zones.

The goal and objectives of the SEP Law aligns with the Legislative Agendas stated in the PDP,
among which are the following: (1) Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) Bill that seeks to adopt
ICM as a national strategy to ensure the sustainable development of coastal and marine
environments; (2) Wildlife Act, which aims to strengthen the country’s wildlife resources; (3) Forest
Limit Bill, which intends to delineate the specific limits of forestlands for conservation and
development purposes; and, (4) Sustainable Forest Management Bill, which seeks the
institutionalization of the development of sustainable forest management strategies.

PROCESS

There are four key steps in the preparation of the ERMP of the municipality of Busuanga – (1)
Ecological Profiling, (2) Participatory Resource Mapping (PRM), (3) Driver, Pressure, State, Impact,
Response (DPSIR) Framework Analysis, and (4) Participatory ECAN Planning Workshop.
Ecological Profiling of the municipality of Busuanga accounts the socio-economic and biophysical
profiles of the municipality, the available resources in the area, and the current status of the
municipality among its development sectors.

PRM is done to integrate the spatial knowledge of the residents in the municipality to create more
accurate zone maps that represent the different elements present in the community such as land
resources, coastal/marine resources, traditional knowledge and practices, political boundaries,
proposed and approved ancestral domains. Participants of this activity were representatives from the
barangays in Busuanga – barangay captains, secretaries, and councilors.

DPSIR Framework Analysis is conducted to integrate results of ecological profiling, PRM, and Key
Informant Interviews. Specifically, it identifies the “driving factors” that bring about the environmental
“pressures” that brought the areas of concern in a certain “state” or quality that “impacts” the
ecosystems and human health, which compels a political “response” or action and other initiatives
from the government. This helps the planners and/or policy makers to develop programs and
policies that will be effective to address the problems determined in the municipality.

In the DPSIR Framework Analysis of the municipality, we can see that the common drivers that lead
to the destruction of natural resources are basically the primary needs of a human being, which are
food, shelter (resources to make one), livelihood and income. Other drivers include need for
education, need for supply of water (farming), and need for an accessible market to deliver produce,
marring of caves, lack of centers for Indigenous People (IP), and Land ownership (illegal settlers,
delineation of land).

Participatory ECAN Planning Workshop is done to validate the primary and secondary data used by
the planning team. Participants in this workshop can also be those that took part in the PRM as this
is also where participatory planning is done. Outputs from EP, PRM, and DPSIR Framework Analysis
are analyzed and will serve as a guide in formulating and prioritizing sound plans.

Proposed actions formulated from the abovementioned processes clearly aligns with the PDP
Ecological Strategies, which aims to sustain biodiversity and ecosystem services by the
intensification of protection, conservation and rehabilitation of terrestrial ecosystems, land and
mineral resources, coastal and marine ecosystems, and biodiversity and genetic resources.
Improving environmental quality is another strategy in the PDP worth mentioning as it focuses on the
strengthening of enforcement, regulation and monitoring of environmental compliance and
management interventions, which the ERMP of the municipality of Busuanga has surely addressed.

IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS

ECAN Zoning Strategy is implemented in the process. Areas within the municipality were classified
into Terrestrial and Coastal Zones – both of which are subcategorized into Core Zones, Buffer
Zones, and Multiple-Use Zones – and the Tribal Ancestral Lands. Delineation of these zones were
identified considering the following factors: elevation, slope, land cover, habitat of endangered
species, critical watershed for land resources, mangrove cover, coral cover, seagrass cover, reef fish
density, sightings of dugongs and other marine mammals for coastal resources, and cultural
considerations for tribal resources. Defining the allowable and prohibited uses of both land and
aquatic resources geographically and spatially enables strategies for conservation and protection of
environment and natural resources from destructive and unsustainable uses. This step addresses
one of the challenges raised in Chapter 20 of PDP (2017-2022), which is the “issues on zoning,
boundary delineation, and overlapping claims constrain efforts on the rehabilitation of natural
resources”.

Following the finalization of the ERMP is its integration to the Municipal Comprehensive Land and
Water Use Plan (MCLWUP), Annual Investment Plan (AIP) and Comprehensive Development Plan
(CDP). Passage of Zoning Ordinances that comply with the ERMP is also expected subsequent to
the said integration to strengthen the implementation of the plan.

A weak and fragmented Monitoring and Evaluation system in the sector is another issue raised in
the PDP. This prevents timely and appropriate interventions, which could exacerbate as a result the
existing problems that are yet to be addressed. As for the ERMP in the municipality of Busuanga,
Monitoring and Evaluation is undertaken annually after the adoption of thereof. This procedure shall
include the assessment of the programs and projects, whether it has attained the targets and
objectives set in the plan. The assessment should evaluate the projects/programs’ economic
viability, ecological viability, technological viability, socio-cultural viability, political viability, and
institutional viability.

REFERENCES

Bautista, M.; Malolos, G.; Magyaya, A.; Palevino, M.; and Suarez, M. (2017). Municipality of
Busuanga ECAN Resource Management Plan 2017-2022. UPLB College of Human Ecology -
Department of Community and Environmental Resource Planning. Retrieved from
https://pcsd.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/07.-Busuanga-ECAN-Resource-Management-Plan.
pdf.

National Development Economic Authority (2017). Updated Philippine Development Plan. Retrieved
from https://pdp.neda.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/122421_Updated-PDP.pdf.