Babuyan Islands humpback whales project.

The Philippines Islands are comprised of more than 7,100 islands in the western Pacific Ocean. This diverse archipelago hosts a spectacular amount of marine and terrestrial biodiversity that is of great interest to the tourism industry. The popularity of the Philippines as a vacation destination has spurred efforts to develop ecotourism across the archipelago. However, promoting the twinned goals of coastal and marine biodiversity conservation and sustainable development present serious challenges for the country.

Local people are highly dependent on their marine resources and will face serious livelihood challenges if this resource base is depleted by poorly planned tourism which is not crafted to local conditions. In order to initiate a model of eco-tourism which can serve as a guide for other parts of the country, CREE is partnering with local researchers to further develop humpback whale eco-tourism in the Babuyan Islands.

A humpback whale in the Babuyan Islands

CREE produces first cetacean-human interaction guidelines.

Conservation background
The waters around the biodiverse Babuyan Islands are unique in that they are the only known breeding ground for humpback whales in the Philippines (Acebes, et al. 2007). Surveys conducted since 2000 show that there are a considerable number of these whales migrating here every year (Acebes et al. 2007). Over 100 distinct individuals have been photo-identified, with more to be added from the 2007-2008 season.

These whales have been recently recognized as part of the Asian stock of humpback whales in the western North Pacific, (Yamaguchi et al., 2002) but very little is still known about the extent of their distribution, abundance and migratory patterns. Their exact relation with the rest of the Asian stock is yet to be determined. In addition, the waters around the islands exhibit high marine biodiversity with 12 other cetacean species, sea turtles, and sharks, including whale sharks (Acebes and Lesaca, 2003). These marine species have yet to be studied further.

Socio-political context
Bringing local families and communities to the forefront of whale eco-tourism conservation projects is of key importance because it helps to ensure that local people see real and tangible economic benefits from the unique species they live alongside with everyday. This is a slow but necessary process which starts at the household level with capacity building from family to family. This process needs to start from the onset of project implementation, which is why it is so crucial that CREE channels funds to participatory surveys and community involvement at the onset of whale ecotourism planning stages. CREE sees the ecotouristic potential from the Babuyan Islands as both a sustainable economic alternative and a highly effective conservation strategy, if executed carefully with respect for local cultures and traditions.

Located as a peripheral municipality of Cagayan Province in northern Luzon, Philippines, the Calayan municipality is relatively marginalised and cut off from supporting activities of the central and provincial government authorities. Everyday life is emblematic of many daily struggles with poverty in other parts of the world, with the local people in this area facing challenges of adequate protein consumption and livelihood alternatives outside of harvest of wild resources.

It constituents depend mainly on small-scale fisheries and backyard farming for their livelihood. Disempowered locals are highly dependent on their forest and marine resources. In the past two to three years unsustainable and destructive use/extraction of these resources has escalated in part due to such destructive techniques as blast fishing (Acebes et al., in press). Yet owing to its reputed beautiful environment, the islands are being promoted as a tourist destination, highlighting whale-watching as a source to generate revenue. However, it is of critical importance that whale tourism does not degrade the environment even further.

It is apparent that the Local Government Unit, Provincial tourism office and the regional Department of Tourism (DOT) have initiated plans to develop Calayan as a tourist destination. Infrastructure development has begun in Calayan with the construction of an air strip, port and plans to start training for a home stay programme underway. Unfortunately, these plans are occurring without consideration of the potential damage to the environment and disturbance to the cetaceans. In addition, the readiness of local islanders for such a situation is not being considered and there is an acute necessity for capacity building so that local people can better understand both the benefits that the tourism industry can bring and also its associated risks to their way of life.

Marine life around the Philippines archipelago

Project Objectives
CREE funding will start to address what is the next logical step for the project through assisting in the establishment and implementation of guidelines for whale-watching and ecotourism on the islands. Using scientific data and information on management techniques, the project aims, via the stakeholder facilitation, to enable island locals to engage in eco-tourism successfully, which means initiating programs that are both ecologically viable and socially equitable.

The implementation of this phase relies on the decisions that will come out of the workshops and stakeholder planning. The activities planned for this phase are manifest already from recent consultations, namely the work associated with the development of eco-tourism and whale watching. A small team of researchers and volunteers funded by CREE will implement a work plan in collaboration with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), People’s Action Center (PAC) of the provincial Government of Cagayan, WWF-Philippines and other stakeholders, picking up from the results of the current project’s research and stakeholder consultation.

Aims and significance
This phase of the project ‘Science and Community-based conservation of Humpback whales and other cetaceans in the Babuyan Islands’ has four main aims:

• To provide support for the first steps of implementation and refining of the Conservation Action plan for the Babuyan Islands, particularly on sustainable coastal zone management
• To continue monitoring the status and distribution of humpback whales and other cetaceans in the Babuyan Islands, Philippines
• To provide scientific data for and facilitate the establishment of guidelines for responsible whale watching and ecotourism around the islands and to take this message to local communities
• To monitor and mitigate threats to cetaceans and its habitat around the Babuyan islands
• To formulate and identify local villagers who have received sufficient capacity building to start initiating small and sustainable local eco-tourism initiatives
• To help fisher folk with sharing of partial purchase/maintenance costs of boats and other supplies and materials associated with small-scale ecotourism development

It is hoped that this project will be the first of many steps towards instituting a solid, locally accountable, and culturally appropriate eco-tourism industry in the Babuyan Islands.