AIM -MDM Tourism Group 5

Nancy, Tina, Titan, Junji and Aleixo

Whale Sharks (“butanding”)
Gypsies of the Sea
“Gentle giant”
the biggest fish and living shark in the world
up to 20 meters long and 34 tons heavy
Nomadic
roam long distances around the equator of the Pacific
Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
thrive in tropical and warm temperate waters
migratory patterns unrecorded (in progress)
Migration to Donsol: November to May (6-7 months)
Whale Sharks (“Butanding”) )
Temporarily reside in coastal or oceanic areas where
plankton blooms.
 Planktons – free floating , almost-invisible animals and plants
which make up most of a whale shark’s diet.
Has low reproductive potential
Life span more than 100 years, reproductively active by
age 30
Slow-growing
Still unknown (in progress*): growth rate and population
Harmless, gentle, friendly and playful; allow humans to
swim, play and interact with them 
*WWF's whale shark Photo ID and Satellite Tagging started only in 2007
Welcome to Donsol
Location: Northwestern of Sorsogon, adjoins
Albay
51 barangays, 11 coastal
Population: 40,000 (+3.23%)
Fishing as primary source of food and income
Once a quiet & peaceful typical fishing village...
..until a group of divers* rescued a whale shark
in a fish corral which brought worldwide
attention.
Donsol was declared a whale shark sanctuary
on March 9, 1998 (Municipal Ordinance #12)
Since then, tourism became an important
industry and whale shark conservation a town-
wide responsibility

* Divers from Sorsogon who frequent Donsol to witness whale shark sightings and swim with them.
 Acces
s
Tourists Destination

Families, nature enthusiasts, eco-tour Transport services: airlines,

fanatics shipping, bus lines Seasonal whale
Local tourists: 1.5 days ($82) Where to stay: hotels, pensions, sightings; tours; boat-
Foreign tourists: 3 days ($167) lodging houses (Sorsogon City); riding; swimming,
Summer peak period resorts, homestays, backpack interacting with the
2005 Ecotourism business: ($780K, rooms along Donsol’s beaches butanding, The
$150K to Donsol) Butanding Festival

Threat: Better board and lodging facilities of Legazpi (50 kms. away)
Low barrier among businessmen/ operators without proper BIO training
Opportunity: Higher potential tourism income (only 10% of Ningaloo’s in two
months 2004, 20% of Belize’s 6 weeks 2002).
Before the tourism
boom of 1998...
 Slaughtering of whale sharks was a
source of livelihood, but on a small
scale
 From subsistence fishing, demand for
its meat, skin and fins grew for the
international market
 1990-1997 at the height of commercial
target fishery for the species.
 1993: fish catch declined by 27% every
year since
 Global catch: 279 in the 1990s to 160  With the 1998 incident bringing media
in 1999. hype, Donsol became open to Manila-
 1997: Taiwan buys the meat at based shark hunters
$13.93/kg and can go as high as  Another killing incident from a neighbouring
$500K/shark at the end of the market town got media-exposed.
trail.  Public outcry followed.
Post-1998:
Tourism Gone Ugly
 The national/global media exposure and public outrage caught Donsol off-
guard, unprepared.
 Sorsogon Provincial Tourism Council (SPTC): led in the information campaign
and coordination with agencies in protecting/conserving the species
 March 25, 1998: Dept of Agriculture/ Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic
Resources issued Fisheries Administrative Order 193 banning the killing &
selling of whale sharks and manta rays.
 The New Fisheries Code (Republic Act 8550) protecting all fisheries resources
was also passed.
 The national ban led to local fisher folk outrage.
 WWF-Philippines’ relationship with the fisher folk got strained due to national
government’s fishing ban.
 WWF’s whale-watching tourism initiatives in some islands failed to take off.
 Underground market with high offer prices led fishermen to an illegal way of
life: four more reported killing incidences (3 confiscated in HK).
 Post-1998: With Tourism
came Responsibility
Continued demand for whale sharks in the international market
Whale shark conservation became a call for international
cooperation.
Philippines and India proposed to include whale sharks in the
regulated and monitored list of globally threatened species in the
12th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Int’l Trade in
Endangered Species (or CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora.
2005 Whale Shark Conference in Australia attended by scientists,
NGOs, inter-GAs from 23 countries: “ECOTOURISM as answer to
reversing the extractive uses of whale sharks.” (Mexico, Belize,
Seychelles as models of a sustainable & equitable community-based
venture.)
Donsol’s tourism industry
went through birth pains.
Donsol Municipal Tourism Council was formed.
 With help from SPTC and WWF (technical assistance)
 Has the mandate of all tourism programs & administration, as authorized by the
local government
 Composed of local barangay leaders & parish members
 No training in the hospitality industry nor conservation management.
 Inexperienced/ unskilled on tourism management
 Adopted some of Australia’s guidelines as stop-gap

Manifestations:
 Congestion of boats during whale-watching season
 Unregistered boat operators
 Unregulated tourist charges

Bad impression on tourists and conservationists

A Butanding Ecotourism
Dev Project team was formed.
 (June 1998) 6-month grant from UNDP
 Composed of the municipal govt, DMTC, WWF-Philippines
 To carry out: Management planning, visitor management system, whale shark
interaction protocols, capacity building for local guides for tour services, and production
of education materials for the nationwide campaign on shark protection.
 By Feb 1999, management systems were in order.

Good News Bad News

Community involvement
Better skills through training (BIOs)
Limited budget: limited facilities during peak
Entrepreneurs took advantage; tourism revenue
not maximized
Conflicts unresolved (LGUs); WWF an “elitist”
Theft (security)

 SPTC ceased involvement with Donsol. Donsol Council was abolished.

 WWF moved from tourism development to whale shark conservation.
What happened then?
(Under MO #12) Donsol Municipal Office, under the MO Officer,
managed all tourism activities. While the Municipal Council, through
Committee on Tourism, handled all legislation maters. Office reported
under the Mayor’s Office.
Good News Bad News
More orderly system (pp 18-19) Bureaucracy – slow release of funds
Fees were regulated and transparent; went Corruption- Absence of written tourism policies +
straight to the Municipal Treasury conflict of interest + release of funds lower than
requested
Given the mandate to implement other income- High personnel takeover; Officers co-terminus
generating activities with the LCE.
(Donsol’s STRENGTH) BIOs and boat operators Service slowdown; more training investment
stable, organized and skilled.

Associations were formed for BIOs and boat operators: increased

participation in decision-making on tourist affairs and coastal resource
management; socially networked with private groups and GAs.
 Donsol was ready then to
become a tourist destination.
Citations received:
 2003 Kalakbay Award (Environmental Tourism)
 One of 13 priority ecotourism sites of DOT
 2004 Time Magazine: Bes Animal Encounter in its Best in Asia Report\
Plus: accessibility by air & land, reasonable accommodations, peace&order
2002-2005 Visitor arrivals: 2005 = 7,600 from 2002 <1000
 +110% annually ; foreign +43%

2005 Revenue: P4.6M; 62% boat trips

 2002-2005 growth in demand for boat trips:
+76%
 Boat operator earnings: P475/dayx12 boat
trips=P5700 vs. P3000 min wage per month
 Biggest constraint: HIGH SEASONALITY (Dec-
May)
Protecting Donsol’s livelihood =
Protecting the ecosystem
Donsol’s municipal fishing industry: $1.2M, 8x whale shark
tourism
Ongoing concern:
 Lean periods of June-November (little income)
 Diminishing fisheries in Donsol
 Unregulated tourism
 Persistence of commercial fishing
Result: Economic overfishing (fish catch vs. distance & time)
Solutions: (enforceable?)
 Marine Law enforcement with assistance of WWF and the Philippine Navy
 Nov 2007 Marine Protected Area 100 hectares covering 3 barangays (establish patterns of resource

use and equitable sharing of all stakeholders)

 Municipal Ordinance #12; New Fisheries Code Republic Act 8550) and (Fisheries
Administrative Order 193
More Investments are needed.
Fisheries management:
 Stronger protection of whale sharks (e.g. Research for long-term)
 Resource Assessment
 Livelihood Projects
 Monitoring & Enforcement of Policies
Ideally, P4.6M on coastal resource mgt, but this accounts for more than
10% of Donsol’s annual budget (expenses on social development suffers)
Visitors willingness-to-pay dependent on creating a Trust Fund that goes
straight to coastal communities
Corruption brewing . Request from Boat Operators Association (raise
prices to operate better) did not progress initially, but attended to later.
SO WHAT REALLY IS DONSOL’s
MAIN PROBLEM?
Find the OPTIMAL BALANCE that can ...

Donsol local government through the
Executive Office, Municipal Council and
Municipal Tourism Office, Department
of Tourism
People’s organizations such as the Butanding
Interaction Officers, The Boat Operators
Association, the Donsol Innkeepers
Association, Department of Tourism,
Donsol fisherfolk, Donsol families.
Path Forward/Recommendations
Emphasis: enforcement of law (e.g. Commercial
fishing/purse seiners) stronger stakeholder participation
& cooperation, B&W policies, effective resource and
benefits allocation
Build partnerships with existing tour operators, transport
carriers and innkeepers’ association
Leverage on the strength of the BIOs
Invest on R&D and expand knowledge base on whale
sharks