Coastal Resources Management Program Research Articles

Professionalizing Community-Based Coastal Resource Management (CRM) Services

Philippine artisanal fisheries have historically been self-regulating, although concerns regarding sustainability have led to significant countrywide and international focus on national improvements in Coastal Resource Management (CRM). The process to professionalize CRM skills in the Philippines is outlined herein as a reflexive or solution-focused approach to mitigate fisherfolk poverty, enhance skills available to local government, manage the national heritage of marine resource extraction, and emerging food-security challenges of the growing population. Ongoing progressions are put in context with several decades of programmatic work through the lens of Ecohealth Action Research that has led to specific foundational outcomes. Emphasis is placed upon overcoming the historical disconnect between fisherfolk and government regarding; CRM program implementation, inclusive, participatory designs, and methodologies that lead to enhanced community-based skills and capacity. Collaborative approaches to developing adaptive co-management that include fisherfolk are directly linked to a government stakeholder analysis and roles under the Local Government Code (RA 7160). The projected Green Jobs are subsequently considered within the international Sustainable Development Goals.

The Condition of Seagrass Beds in North Sulawesi following the implementation of Community-Based Coastal Management Program

Pusomaen district in Southeast Minahasa Regency, North Sulawesi, was designated as one of the pilot sites for the Community-Based Coastal Resource Management Program (CB-CRMP) from 1997 - 2003. This program focused on the implementation of best-practice in coastal resource management involving multiple local stakeholders. Fifteen years after its phase-out, a study was conducted on seagrass beds in Tumbak and Bentenan village in Pusomaen district to obtain the seagrass ecosystem’s current status and condition in the former pilot sites. We observed the program’s legacy in terms of community awareness concerning coastal resource management and seagrass ecosystem. A line transect method was used to assess species diversity, coverage, and dominance in 9 stations. Environmental variables (weather, human activities, depth, clarity) and communities’ behavior towards seagrass beds (domestic waste disposal, boat anchoring) were also observed. The result showed that seven stations were in moderate, one in poor, and one in healthy conditions. There were seven seagrass species found during the observation. Thalassia hemprichii and Enhalus acoroides were found in all stations, dominating the seagrass coverage. We also recorded the presence of Syringodium isoetifolium and Cymodocea rotundata in several stations. The expected CB– CRMP legacies of institutionalized community-based coastal management were nearly non-existent, while negative or indifferent behavior of the general community towards the seagrass ecosystem was observed, highlighted by domestic waste disposal and boat anchoring in the seagrass beds. Consistency of program planning and financial support from local and provincial governments were needed to maintain the legacy of CB-CRMP, while regular ecosystem monitoring was also pivotal in providing scientific data for local and provincial decision-making processes regarding coastal resource management.

Sustainable marine conservation, baselines, and systematic monitoring—a few lessons from coastal resource management in the Philippines

This review shares lessons learned from the establishment of early marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Philippines about the need to establish baseline information, do systematic monitoring of the status of the marine environment, and to progress towards more integrated forms of management that involve key stakeholders in coastal areas. The tendency for human society to change its perception of what is “normal” through the phenomena of “shifting baselines” is pointed to as a reason why more concerted action is not taken to stop the downward trends of Philippine coastal resources and environment. The small MPAs of Apo, Sumilon and Olango Islands as well as the large Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, are cited as examples of how the establishment of baselines and the implementation of effective monitoring over time for both biophysical and governance parameters, has been instrumental in maintaining and improving the quality of the marine environment and bringing benefits to people. The development of integrated coastal management and coastal resource management programs within local government units is explained as a way of harnessing local institutions to lead the way towards improved management and stewardship of coastal resources and provide tangible benefits to coastal communities. And, the role of national government is highlighted as a facilitator and a source of technical support to local governments in the implementation of marine conservation and coastal resources management. Finally, the significant influence of Dr. Angel Alcala in marine conservation in the Philippines is noted through his research and related conservation efforts for small-island and fisheries management and his mode of sharing results with local communities and governments so that they could learn from their own mistakes and successes and become better stewards of their resources. KEYWORDS: Apo, community, coral reefs, Sumilon, tourism, Tubbataha

Use of community perceptions to evaluate and adapt coastal resource management practices in the Philippines

Coastal resource management (CRM) programs have been implemented in the Philippines since the 1980s with the specific intent to protect and rehabilitate coastal habitats and enhance the sustainability of coastal communities. However, the implementation of these programs alone does not guarantee the success of program objectives. Monitoring and evaluation of program outcomes is essential for determining if programs are effective in reaching management goals. The purpose of this research was to evaluate long-term CRM programs using community perceptions of coastal resource condition, management practices, and program outcomes. Coastal residents in Baybay City, Leyte were surveyed and asked to rank a series of questions related to resource condition and 20 previously described management performance indicators. Respondents reported a decline in coastal resource condition over the past decade, even though they perceive positive outcomes of management programs aimed at enhancing resource condition. The sustainability and efficiency of management outcomes were perceived positively, with mixed views on equity outcomes. Results suggest that lack of full inclusion, low management oversight, and threat to coastal resources are concerns of the coastal community. Socioeconomic data collected from respondents yielded a pattern indicating that gender, self-reported level of environmental knowledge, and management cluster were significant contextual variables associated with perceptions of respondents. Overall, CRM programs are perceived to have a positive impact and there is a high level of interest for participating in future management activities. This study exemplifies how perceptions and associated contextual information of the community provides invaluable insights into the effectiveness of coastal resource management and be incorporated into the adaptive management cycle.

Local government units initiatives on coastal resource management in adjacent municipalities in Camarines Sur, Philippines

This research was conducted to determine the local government units (LGUs) initiatives on coastal resource management (CRM) in adjacent municipalities in Camarines Sur, Philippines. The respondents of this study are 100 fisherfolk leaders in the municipalities of Calabanga, Tinambac and Siruma. Descriptive, comparative and evaluative methods of research were employed and a survey questionnaire was used as the primary tool in data gathering. On the test of difference, the computed F-value of 12.038 and p-value of .001 revealed a very high difference in the implementation of CRM initiatives in the adjacent municipalities. The respondents in this study live below the poverty threshold. The intrusion of commercial fishers and the use of active fishing gears inside the 15-km municipal waters significantly affect the marine habitat while fishpond conversion kills the natural cycle in the mangrove forests. However, the FOs membership in the Municipal Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council empower them to engage in governance which can be a venue for them to recommend policies related to CRM. As a result of this study, a CRM monitoring and evaluation model was crafted to guide the LGUs in the review, revision and crafting of CRM programs.

Library Development Strategy for The Community at Coastal Areas

This study aims to reveal various phenomena of the existence of libraries in coastal areas, especially to pay a particular attention to the relation power between various interests of the library, especially the managers and the community as the users and to explore how both parties understand and imagine the idea of library through the developing the library as a center of learning and skill development. The design of the research is explorative qualitative. Applying case study approach, the location of this research is in a coastal area, in the floating library of Tambak Lorok coastal, Semarang. Data are collected through observation and in-depth interviews with several parties involved. To examine the validity of data, this study applies a triangulation technique of sources focusing on key informants living in the community. The result of this research shows that the existence of library in the coastal area is more than the common belief to the function of library. Although finding shows that the government’s attitude to support the development of the library has been as expected through producing some regulations, the response of the community to the development of the library is far beyond the expectation. Some drawbacks found are in the handling of library management which is still lack of implementation from the initial planning and the absence of integrated coastal resources management resulted from low understanding and mastery of policy makers and implementers of the national library program. However, the community has developed a community-based management which is an approach that has been widely used in various regions as an effort to empower themselves through utilizing any existed facilities, in this case is the library. Community has successfully produced an initiative of developing integrated coastal resource management programs which are still hard to find in Indonesia, especially those involving library institutions.

Understanding coastal resource management using a social representations approach

This study utilizes Social Representations Theory to uncover how some residents of a coastal community in Iloilo, Philippines collectively comprehend coastal resource management. Interviews were conducted among community members, local officials, and personnel implementing the community's Coastal Resource Management (CRM) Program. Meanings constructed concerning management of coastal resources revolve around four main themes: environmental, economic, social, and political storylines. Environmental narratives center on protection of coastal resources while economic accounts focus on financial implications of coastal resource (mis)management. Social storyline alludes to the community's collective (un)involvement in safeguarding their natural resource while political discourse zeroes in on the local government and its CRM program implementation along with the issues and discords surrounding the operation. Results lend support to the value of Social Representations Theory in understanding how groups co-create their shared reality; as well as point toward the theory's practical relevance in addressing current environmental issues.

Caught Between Mediation and Local Dependence: Understanding the Role of Non-government Organisations in Co-management of Coastal Resources in Eastern Indonesia

ABSTRACTResolving contestations over resource management rights around coastal villages remains a focal challenge for co-management initiatives in remote coastal zones. Contemporary socio-political settings increasingly see local people having to negotiate between local long-standing (horizontal) relationships and new emerging (vertical) relationships which involve collaborations with outside actors who try to assume neutral mediating positions. Using two conflicts, this article examines the rise and fall of a participatory coastal resource management program in eastern Indonesia involving a fishing community engaged in a co-management arrangement with a conservation non-government organisation (NGO). An actor-oriented approach is applied to analyse how these conflicts shape, drive and direct collaborations across the community–NGO interface. We discuss how these impact the implementation of the conservation ethics and sustainable natural resource management practices, and show how particular mediating capacities of an NGO may overcome, and even build forth on, conflict in some contexts but fall short in others. We argue that local resource user groups and conservation teams operate according to strong local relationships that are entrenched in cultural–historical hierarchies of power. We moreover note that these local relationships significantly influence the extent of neutrality of external groups in their mediating, coordinating and technical advisory roles. The effectiveness of co-management partnerships hinges on the ability to balance actors’ mediating capacity with their local dependence for operation.

The coastal resource management program: Its impact to the coastal municipalities of Davao Del SUR

<p>Coastal Resource Management Program (CRMP), which has been created to teach people to rehabilitate and preserve coastal and marine resources, needs to be evaluated in terms of its stated and realized goals involving principal stakeholders. Thus, this study assessed the impact of CRMP on the selected coastal municipalities of Davao del Sur. For the primary data, the researcher used descriptive design utilizing 5-point Likert-scaled survey questionnaires distributed to 581 respondents chosen randomly. The sources of secondary data were the local offices of the municipalities covered in the study. Employing paired t-test as statistical measure, findings revealed an uneven impact of CRMP on the coastal municipalities. Although the program increased the level of awareness of fisher folks on conservation and rehabilitation of marine habitat increased the mangrove areas managed and planted, established fish sanctuaries, and increased annual fish catch. The program failed to increase budget allocation of Local Government Units (LGU) for coastal resource management. Also, the CRMP intervention had no favorable impact on average fish catch per day per fisherman, and did not improve coral reef cover in the selected municipalities. Lastly, the CRMP intervention was not able to establish a favorable impact on alternative livelihood. </p><p> </p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong> Coastal resource management, coastal municipalities, survey, LGUs, impact, Davao del Sur, Philippines.</p><div> </div>

Coastal Resource Management and Social Differences in Philippine Fishing Communities

Class, ethnic, and gender differences among fisherfolk powerfully influence how the benefits and costs of coastal resource management programs are perceived and experienced in Philippine fishing communities. These and other social differences also limit the efficacy of community participation in these programs and hence the role that local communities can be expected to play in fisheries co-management regimes. Greater attention to institutional changes is needed if the management potential of such regimes is to be realized.

Transaction Costs of Community-Based Coastal Resource Management: The Case of San Miguel Bay, Philippines

This study estimates and analyzes the transaction costs (TC) associated with the implementation of a multilevel and multistakeholder program such as a community-based coastal resource management program. Results show that TC accounted for 37% of the total project cost (TPC). The instability of financial support resulted in high TC, which was estimated to be 86% of the TPC during the implementation phase of the coastal resource management projects. The share of the total TC was highest among the people's organizations (POs) that were the beneficiaries of the program. The number of people involved in the transactions, the number of activities undertaken, and the success index of the POs were among the factors significantly affecting the TC. Analysis also shows that while higher TC led to higher success index of the POs at the initial stage of the project implementation, an increasing level of TC eventually slowed down their performance.

The coastal resources management program in Brunei Darussalam

Brunei Darussalam has successfully formulated an Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Plan and developed several site-specific action plans that have contributed positively to coastal resources management (CRM). Brunei Darussalam’s stable economy, largely based on oil and gas, small population, and its low reliance on living coastal resources for the past couple of decades, have made it unique in a region known for large populations dependent on living coastal resources. However, some aspects of Brunei Darussalam’s approach to developing its CRM plans could be useful to other countries, particularly to those still in the process of initiating integrated CRM. The establishment a National Committee on Environment (NCE) chaired by the Minister of Development in 1993 with its own Secretariat – the Environment Unit, the development of a Red Tide Action Plan, artificial reef development using redundant oil rigs and a Coastal Sensitivity Environmental Map to assist the Oil Spill Contingency Plan, are among the positive contributions to CRM. This paper discusses some of the strategies that were useful in the development of the ICZM plans.

An ecosystem‐based approach to managing estuaries: An assessment of the National Estuary program

Traditional coastal resource management programs tend to be fragmented and focused on a limited subset of problems. Many scholars, government practitioners, and academics have argued that an ecosystem‐based approach is more appropriate. A promising ecosystem‐based approach to managing estuaries in the United States is the National Estuary Program (NEP). The goal of this article is to examine the extent to which the NEP's management conference process represents an ecosystem‐based approach to managing estuarine systems. The article begins with a discussion of the challenges associated with utilizing an ecosystem‐based approach to environmental management. The strategy, structure, and process of the NEP are then examined using evaluative criteria drawn from a previous study of historical attempts to manage coastal areas in the United States. Based on the results of this assessment, some of the strengths and weaknesses of the NEP's management conference process are identified. The article concludes with a di...

Development of coastal vegetated buffer programs

This article describes a multiple benefit/multiple use approach to implementing vegetated buffers, using as an example a program adopted by the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Program. The multiple benefit/multiple use approach capitalizes on the inherent ability of vegetated buffers to perform multiple functions, such as pollutant removal, habitat protection, scenic improvement, erosion control, and historic/archaeological site preservation. These benefits provide a more robust means for justifying vegetated buffer implementation, and should help develop a broader constituency for the adoption of vegetated buffer policies. Application of vegetated buffers for residential and other developing lands has not been adequately addressed in existing vegetated buffer implementation efforts. We present one solution to implementing vegetated buffers on residential and developing lands. The approach and background information should prove useful for the application of vegetated buffers outside of coastal ...

Building capacity for integrated coastal management in developing countries

The need for building human and institutional capacity has been identified in Agenda 21 of the UNCED conference as well as by a number of international environmental institutions as essential for integrated coastal management (ICM) and sustainable development in developing coastal states. There is a growing need for coastal management practitioners and organizations with expertise in planning and implementation for ICM. The application of strategies for institutional development and building human capacity in coastal management and other fields shows that short-term intensive training efforts and long-term institutional strengthening programs are appropriate to address the issues and needs of ICM. An overview of the experience of the URI/USAID International Coastal Resources Management Program in Sri Lanka, Thailand and Ecuador presents lessons learned for strengthening ICM efforts in developing countries.

Urban structure and coastal zone management: Some tests of generality and scale along the Texas Gulf Coast

Abstract The method of allocating projected residences within urban areas utilized by the Texas Coastal Resources Management Program rests on the concepts of urban factorial ecology. Urban factorial ecology postulates that socioeconomic and housing characteristics group together in basic dimensions that have usually been labeled socioeconomic status and family life cycle. The existence of such dimensions in coastal cities of Texas is a prerequisite to the allocation of residences in them. The objective of this article is first to test the applicability of the method in selected coastal urban areas by testing for such dimensions and, second, to test the sensitivity of the allocation method to city size by examining the similarity (or dissimilarity) of factorial ecologies of different‐size areas. The results indicate that such dimensions do exist in the coastal areas examined. Furthermore, the utility of the method appears to be reasonably independent of the size of the area studied, except when the area is...