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Proposal For Coastal Resource Management in Anilao, Batangas
Proposal For Coastal Resource Management in Anilao, Batangas
The Philippines is composed of over 7,000 islands with an extensive marine ecosystem
and millions of Filipinos living along the coast (Bulao, 2022). Fish and other aquatic
products are the staple food of the Filipinos and the fisheries sector provides
employment to over a million people in the country (Angeles, 2018). However, issues
such as overfishing, pollution, water quality, and overexploitation have affected the
fisheries industry in the Philippines which is facing a lot of challenges due to harmful
human activities (Bulao, 2022). The coast of Anilao, or the Municipality of Mabini, in the
city of Batangas in Philippines is best known for tourism and fishing activities. Among
tourists, diving is a popular sport with five diving resorts between the Twin Rocks and
Arthur’s Rocks sanctuaries (Dalisay, n.d.). It is also a place of tremendous marine
biodiversity and is referred to as the ‘centre of the centre’ due to the presence of 319
different species of hard corals (CIP, 2011).
In order to conserve the rich biodiversity of the region, the government of Philippines
has initiated several Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) projects. The first of such
projects was initiated in 1988 after the Haribon Foundation reported a decline in coral
reef health and abundance of fish (Rawlins, n.d.). In 1991, the Mabini Marine Reserve
was established and three marine sanctuaries were developed which were declared to
be ‘no-fishing zones’. Furthermore, the local communities were instructed to carry out
non-destructive fishing activities in other parts of the reserve (Rawlins, n.d.). The
Coastal Resource Management Board (CRMB) was established in 2002 for
implementing policies, enforcing regulations, and initiating waste management
programmes in the region (Rawlins, n.d.).
Despite several initiatives and committees that have been set up to conserve marine
resources along the coast of Anilao, most of them are not implemented properly. For
instance, the Marine Reserve Resource Executive Committee (MR-REC) was
established in 2006 with its members comprising of local community members such as
boatmen and fishermen; however, reports from 2008 have found the committee to be
inactive (Rawlins, n.d.). A study by Christie et al. (2005) reported that laws and
regulations are not properly enforced in Anilao due to confusion in roles and
responsibilities, conflicts in multiple policies, political intervention, informal and
inconsistent enforcement, and not meting out punishment to violators.
Therefore, keeping in mind the lack of a proper coastal resource management system in
place, in order to conserve the marine resources in the region and manage the fisheries
industry, this study aims to establish and regulate marine-protected areas (MPAs) along
the coast in Anilao, Batangas. This will be achieved through the following objectives:
2) To evaluate species-specific fish response to CRM efforts; and
RESEARCH MATRIX
Bulao Rolan, J. G. (2022). The problems of coastal environment and natural resources:
The case of the Phillipines. Kuroshio Science, 9-24.
Dalisay, V. J. C. (n.d.). Coral bleaching in Anilao, Mabini, Batangas and its potential
implications to tourism demand. MSTM 514: Tourism and climate change: Responding
to challenges.