Developing pro-poor markets for environmental services in the ...

Region Protected area
Area (in
hectares)
Total income
Camotes Island MSFR - 83,345
Calape Group of Island Landscape/Seascape 630 100
Talibon Group of Islands PLS 6,457 4,028
Inabanga PLS - 1,000
Pres Carlos P Garcia PLS - 4,700
Ubay MSFR - 1,000
Wahig Inabanga River WFR - 181,526
8 Calbayog-Pan-As Hayiban PL 7,832 900
Guiuan PLS 60,448 10,000
Sohoton Natural Bridge NP 840 167,394
Lake Danao Nature Park 2,193 30,773
Taft Forest Philippine Eagle Wildlife 3,729 2,000
Sanctuary
Jicontol Nature Park 6,483 6,042
McArthur Landing Memorial Park 7 3,006
Bulusao WFR 4,055 1,000
Palompon WFR 2,392 1,400
Calbiga Caves PL 2,968 6,726
Mahagnao Volcano Nature Park 635 2,000
Hinabian-Lawigan Watershed PL 4,536 1,000
9 Jose Rizal Memorial PL 439 18,964
10 Initao-Libertad PLS 1,301 227,601
Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park 31,235 619,083
Mt. Malindang Natural Park 34,694 8,910
13
Agusan Marsh WS
278,914
2,618
Siargao PLS 14,836 32,835
Total 57,900,320
Source: PAWB-Biodiversity Division
As can be seen from Table 3.3, it takes an average of about five months for the whole process
to be completed. DBM takes up the most number of days, whereby the documents stay with
them for a little under three months. The central DENR office takes up to a month, as does
the PAWB. The PENRO and CENRO offices combined take around three weeks. The fastest
process occurs at the DENR regional office level, whereby it takes less than two weeks for
the papers to be endorsed by Manila.
Needless to say, the process takes too long before budgets for protected-area management are
released. For instance, in Apo Island, despite the fact that millions of pesos have been
generated from their user-fee system through the years, projects could not be implemented
right away because of the long process involved in releasing their funds. Local residents
started to doubt the effectivity of proclaiming their PA under the NIPAS System, and some
believe that they should disestablish Apo Island as a NIPAS site (see Section IV.A for a more
detailed discussion of Apo Island). The planning process for the WFP is not even taken into
consideration here. Meanwhile, most of these plans involve providing alternative livelihood
opportunities to local residents, primarily to steer them away from further resource extraction
and other environmentally degrading activities. The longer it takes for the budgets to be
released, the longer it will take for these projects to be implemented. Sad to say, the
environment and local people are the big losers in the end. Until poverty-alleviation problems
are addressed, unsustainable resource extraction and environmentally degrading activities
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