Reducing Tricycle Noise in the Philippines’ Puerto Princesa City

Puerto Princesa's unique tricycles are both good and bad for the city.

(This article appeared in the the May 1, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.)

 

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY — This city, a popular tourist destination, prides itself as the cleanest and greenest in the country. But it may well be one of the noisiest cities too because of its tricycles.

Just like any other bustling city in the country, the city has air and noise pollution problems. The pollution is mainly caused by having too many of these poorly-maintained two-wheeler and three-wheeler tricycles. Here, they are “king of the road,” unlike in other Philippine cities in the where it is the jeepney that reigns “king.”

Puerto Princesa’s tricycles are fast-becoming tourist icons on their own like Thailand’s tuk-tuks. Its unique larger-than-usual design is intended to transport not just people, but cargo too. They are fitted with sidecars with shelves at the front and back sections to load agricultural produce. The windshield is wide and the sidecar is roomy to accommodate more cargo or passengers. The city is basically an agricultural and tourism area, hence the need to have a rear cargo compartment, inspired by the vintage cars of the 1950s.

Each tricycle measures 1.6 meters in height, 1.8 meters in width, and almost 2 meters in length. The tricycles are generally not roadworthy in design because its large sidecars are relatively unstable, and most engines are old model-types and poorly-maintained. Therefore, they take more effort to operate and make more noise than their counterparts, reaching 90-97 decibels (dB). Studies suggest that prolonged exposure to noise levels at or above 80 dB can cause deafness.

Due to growing demand and population growth, the number of tricycles has increased and are expected to further increase. In 2001, when City Mayor Edward Hagedorn stepped down from office and the tricycle population increased dramatically. When he assumed office again in 2003, the tricycle population had ballooned to more than 3,000 tricycles and traffic was very bad. As of 2005, there were about 4,000 tricycles in Puerto Princesa’s poblacion.

Hagedorn implemented a number-coding which later became a color-coding scheme for the tricycles, where they were either colored blue or white, to ply the city streets on alternating days. This effectively cut by half the number of tricycles plying the city streets, thereby reducing air pollution.

“It’s an embarrassment to be promoting the city as environment-friendly when there was so much air pollution. So we had to make a very drastic move – cut the tricycles into half. And traffic was immediately reduced,” recalled Hagedorn during a chat with Manila business reporters who visited the city last year.

“The driver now will have at least one day or two days a week with his family and he will be able to maintain his vehicle. Those who will go out that day will double his income because he has less competitors. Those who are more industrious can even triple their income. Smoke emission is reduced. Since there are now more passengers than tricycles, they would not have to spend more on fuel in going around and around the city. ”

But the coding scheme has not been able to address other problems like poor tricycle maintenance and providing drivers with alternative livelihood in a city with a 14 percent unemployment rate.

In a 2003 survey conducted by ADB, it was found that 70 percent of the drivers do not properly maintain their tricycles, which could help cut down its noise. Most tricycle drivers are low-income earners. They only earn a daily net income of between P100 and P150, or less than $3. Tricycle-driving is a popular means of living here since it does not require much skill.

The ADB study also found that the road network is mostly made-up of narrow streets and is not expanding. Thus, all directions point to a future increase in demand for tricycles, despite the hazards they pose on the streets. They clog the city streets, slow down traffic, and are more accident-prone than cars. More than half of the tricycle population in the city are at least 5 years old, while about 40 percent are more than 10 years old.

But there is hope for the city’s air pollution problem. In late 2005, an Air and Noise Pollution Reduction Strategies Project was launched from a $240,000 ADB grant. The project aims to reduce the air pollution from tricycles by the third quarter of 2006 and provide more “teeth” to the enforcement of air pollution laws. Half of the fund will go to a Tricycle Multi-Purpose Fund where operators can upgrade their engines from two-stroke to four-stroke engines or for other means of livelihood.

Drivers will be also be trained on the proper maintenance of their tricycles, and the city’s enforcement and monitoring of its Clean Air Act laws will be strengthened, especially for roadside emission monitoring and in catching smoke belchers. Registration of engines beyond 15 years of age will be restricted.

The grant, from the ADB’s Poverty and Environment Program (PEP), will also tackle the environmental and the underlying social issues surrounding the tricycle sector. The lessons learned from the project will be the basis in formulating and replicating strategies in other Philippine cities with a similar air pollution problem.

“It’s not only the preservation of our forest and marine resources that is our goal here in Puerto Princesa but also for us to help in reducing global warming. And this is through our efforts to prevent or minimize air pollution. That is why it is very important that ADB supported us with this fund to help us in our desire to become part of the solution and not the problem in the preservation of our environment,” Hagedorn said during the launch.

Yue-Lang Feng, an ADB Principal Environment Specialist, warned about the health hazards of being constantly exposed to air pollution. “Most people do not realize that there are so many pollutants in the white smoke from tricycles. The very tiny particulates in the smoke absorb sulfur dioxide and other volatile organic chemicals which go into your respiratory system and to your lungs,” she told the tricycle operators and drivers at the launch.

“Day by day, those pollutants accumulate in your lungs and finally damage your health. It might cause asthma, it might cause respiratory disorder. Many of you might not be aware of such health impacts.”

About a third of the total vehicle population in the country is made up of these two- and three-wheelers, which are popularly used in both urban and rural areas. But they remain a popular transport vehicle for residents in local government units due to their high accessibility, availability, affordability, comfort and convenience. They are much less expensive than other vehicles and therefore play an important role in the country’s overall transportation system.

About 94 percent of these motorcycles and tricycles have two-stroke engines emitting fine-particulate matter, which pose a danger to public health that can result to premature death. It can have nonfatal effects on respiratory symptoms, exacerbate asthma, and cause changes in lung function. Since two-stroke engines have low fuel efficiency, the incompletely-burned gasoline and lubricant are emitted as small oil droplets which increase visible smoke and particulate emissions.

Commercial tricycle operations are often extended beyond their useful life so that maintenance is often postponed. Most drivers also use excessive lubricant due to lack of knowledge on the correct ratio or their perception that it increases fuel efficiency. The use of adulterated gasoline with kerosene is also practiced, because of high fuel prices.

By late-2006, the city can expect better air and less noise. It supports the goal of making Puerto Princessa city the number one tourist destination in the country in a few years’ time.

Tricycles line up at the airport.

River Waste Goes Up in Smoke and Helps Poor Fisherfolk in the Process

(This article appeared in the 2 September 2005 issue of Business World)

CALAUAN, LAGUNA — Ann environmental army in Calauan, Laguna has taken the matter of cleaning up the Laguna Lake Basin into their own hands and making money out of it in the process.

The concept of the project "River Ecosystem Revival and Enhancement through the Utilization of Recovered Materials for Energy, Carbon Mitigation and Poverty Alleviation" is to make charcoal briquettes and environment-friendly organic fertilizer out of waste while cleaning up the river. It provides livelihood to poor fisherfolk and creates opportunities for small business enterprises around the Laguna de Bay region in the provinces of Rizal and Laguna and in Metro Manila.

The project was funded by the Asian Development Bank and was adjudged winner in last year's Panibagong Paraan: the first Development Marketplace in the Philippines, facilitated by the World Bank with international development partners, government, civil society and the private sector. With the theme, "Making Services Work for the Poor," Panibagong Paraan provided about P1-million funding to most of the winning innovative projects that addressed the theme.

Large volumes of waste materials which otherwise are discarded and left to rot are collected from rivers and streams to undergo a carbonizing process until they are converted into charcoal briquettes. Abandoned bio-mass such as coconut wastes and water hyacinth are processed into useful energy-giving charcoal briquettes, offering a better alternative to environmentally-harmful methods of charcoal-making such as burning and cutting of trees.

"The project offers these host of environmental benefits and provides livelihood opportunities for marginalized sectors," says Jose K. Carino III, project proponent and community development division chief of the Laguna Lake Development Authority based in Calauan, Laguna, which formed the 300-strong Laguna de Bay Environmental Army Foundation, Inc. to implement the project. The Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau is the primary partner-organization of the project.

There are 21 river systems that flow into the Laguna Lake, one of Southeast Asia's largest inland bodies of water. The proliferation of water hyacinth coupled with the indiscriminate dumping of garbage into the waterways has choked the lakeshore areas and the river systems that flow into the lake. Laguna de Bay is being eyed as a potential source of water supply for Metro Manila. The projects contributes to the clean-up of the lake by offering a sustainable waste recovery system while offering alternative livelihood opportunities for the poor fisherfolk around the basin who depend on the lake for a living.

The project also helps minimize carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere since converting abandoned bio-mass into useful energy-giving charcoal briquettes results in the conservation of dwindling forest areas. It is estimated that for every ton of charcoal briquettes produced, at least 75 trees are saved; and for every 1.3 hectares of water hyacinth removed from the lake, 0.14 hectares of forest plantations are saved.

The Environmental Army is convened at least once a month to haul out waste from the various rivers in the Basin. Once the bio-degradable river waste is collected, these are fed into the drum kilns until they are carbonized and later pulverized. The carbon particles are then mixed with a binder and then pressed into their final shape and form. These are then dried, packed and sold for P15/pack of 25 pieces. The briquette-shaped charcoal is more solid and slower to burn than the flake-shaped charcoal being sold commercially.

Mr. Carino sees good prospects for the project and some potential investors have in fact visited them to see the process. One of these potential investors has China as the target market where there is a high demand for heat-giving materials like charcoal. He is optimistic that given additional funding, the process of converting beneficial charcoal briquettes from abandoned bio-degradable wastes can be further improved and mechanized.

From ‘Home Along Da Riles’ to ‘Dreamland’

(This article was published in 19 December 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer)  

SAN PEDRO, LAGUNA, PHILIPPINES – She used to live in a “home along da riles,” just like the popular Philippine sitcom, but 49-year old Vilna Rafal and her family, along with 426 other families who were former informal settlers living near the Muntinlupa railways, are now in “dreamland.”

They no longer risk life and limb and hear the incoming screech of trains but have their own homes and livelihood in Dreamland Heights, San Pedro, Laguna, made possible through a US$1 million grant from the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, financed by the Government of Japan.

Relocation site

The relocation site of about 2 hectares in Barangay United Bayanihan, San Pedro, Laguna, was selected by the communities themselves. They also coined the name “dreamland” for their community. It is about 8 kilometers from their former homes alongside the Philippine National Railways rail tracks. “Dito, wala nang baha at bagyo dahil mataas. At parang Tagaytay ang lamig; hindi kagaya sa Buli na ang sikip-sikip (Here, we no longer fear floods and typhoons because it is elevated. And the weather is cool, just like in Tagaytay unlike in Buli where we were so congested),” she says.

In turn, their vacated areas will be protected by the local government from being inhabited by other informal settlers through the establishment of greenbelts, community gardens, and other uses.

No longer afraid

Vilna’s new home is a 26-square meter core house with a lot area of 36 square meters. The Dreamland community is made up of several row houses of the same size. “Ang nakakapagpasaya sa amin ay iyong aming panibagong pamumuhay at iyong hindi na ako kinakabahan lagi. E noon, pag sa riles, pag lalabas ako, nakakatakot pag daan ng tren (We feel so happy with the change in environment and I no longer feel afraid for my safety. But before, in my old home near the Muntinlupa railways, whenever I left the house, I always got nervous when the train passed by),” she adds.

At the Muntinlupa railways site, the train passes every 30 minutes on weekdays and every hour on weekends. Twenty years ago, her then two-year old daughter was almost run over by a train. The daughter now has a family of her own. Vilna’s own husband Rene was almost sideswiped by a passing train just 2 years ago when he carried a child out of the train’s way. Both Rene and the child went unscathed but only by a hair’s breadth, she said.

“Nagpapasalamat kami sa ADB dahil kami’ ang napili na magbenepisyo sa dinami-dami ng depressed area. Malaking biyaya na napili kami (We are thankful to ADB that we were chosen as a beneficiary out of so many depressed areas We are so blessed),” says Vilna.

In her new home, she crochets blouses, bags and other novelty items for a living. She also sells purified water in the community. Her husband is a construction worker and is a volunteer member of the barangay police. They have six children.

The project is a model for the relocation of informal settlers. Residents are given livelihood opportunities, including access to jobs in the city, new job opportunities at the relocation site, and access to credit. There is bridge financing for off-site land purchase under the Government's Community Mortgage Program. Basic services such as water supply, sanitation, and roads are also being financed. There are sustainable revolving funds for housing construction, livelihood and microenterprise development loans for beneficiaries, which when repaid will be extended to additional communities.

Self-help approach

The project adopted a new self-help and community-based approach to the relocation of informal settlers by establishing a cooperative relationship among local government units, nongovernment organizations, and people's organizations in both the sending and receiving municipalities. This aims to avert economic dislocation among the community.

Two urban poor communities in Buli and Cupang in Muntinlupa City, composed of 427 families out of an estimated 9,000 to 12,000 households who lived along the tracks, are being resettled in this integrated urban development project. The communities are Maralitang Nagkakaisa sa Tramo Buli (MANATRA) and Cupang Tramo Neighborhood Association (CTNA).

“The new community at Dreamland Heights provides a decent, well equipped living setting without the constant danger from passing trains,” says Michael Lindfield, an ADB Senior Housing and Urban Development Specialist. “To ensure the project’s success, it was shaped by the beneficiaries themselves and not imposed on them,” he added.

Besides reducing poverty in the informal communities of Muntinlupa City, the JFPR project will provide guidance to a $50 million ADB loan project on Metro Manila Urban Services for the Poor.

The total cost of the Muntinlupa project is $1.2 million equivalent. The Muntinlupa City local government provided $200,000 equivalent for land purchase, site development and housing construction. The executing agency is the Department of Social Welfare and Development while the Muntinlupa Development Foundation (MDF) is the implementing agency. The project was also made possible in partnership with the National Housing Authority, Habitat for Humanity, and the Municipal Government of San Pedro, Laguna, in coordination with the HUDCC, Department of Education and Department of Finance.

In August 2001, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo visited the Muntinlupa railways site to witness the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the Philippine Government and ADB to kick off the project.

The JFPR was set up in 2000 with an initial contribution of ¥10 billion (about US$90 million). Total contributions now stand at almost $327 million for the fund, which is supporting 49 projects in 18 countries around Asia and the Pacific, with over 20 more in the pipeline. The fund supports projects that directly provide relief measures, improve services and facilities for poorer population groups, and apply new approaches, particularly in the social sectors.

With ADB Funding, Puerto Princesa Eyes to be No.1

Puerto Princesa City's sanitary landfill, the first LGU-controlled facility of its kind.

(This article appeared in the 17 October 2005 issue of Philippine Star)

 

Puerto Princesa City — Almost P2 billion worth of infrastructure projects funded by the Asian Development Bank in this city are boosting its US$100 million development plan which will make it ready for a massive tourism promotion that aims to bring in 600,000 tourists in just three years’ time.

Known as the Philippines’ last frontier because of its strong environmental program, Puerto Princesa wants to be the country’s no. 1 tourist destination for its eco-tourism. It is currently among the top or major tourist destinations in the country. At its height, tourism arrivals reached 170,000 but have since gone down drastically with the terrorism scare caused by 9-11 and the infamous kidnapping by the Abu Sayyaf at one of its popular island resorts in 2001. Starting on the 3rd quarter of 2002, tourist arrivals have increased with the City gaining popularity as a conference and sports destination.

The man behind the city’s ambitious development is Mayor Edward S. Hagedorn, a living legend in his own right due to his checkered past and close affinity to past and present national leaders. He was one of the local government officials who pledged crucial support to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo at the height of the political crisis in July.

He says he is not in a hurry to promote his city as yet, as he implements his development plans which put a premium on sustainable development above all else. Among the beautification and improvements in infrastructure he is undertaking are the widening of Rizal Ave., reclamation of the wharf, and putting a promenade along the boulevard, just like Manila’s Baywalk. He is also purchasing additional police cars and hiring more police officers to beef up the current police force complement.

It is for this reason that he is grateful for the major infrastructure projects funded by the ADB that were recently completed or near completion which consist of an arterial road network, a sanitary landfill and fisheries project.

The P1.6 billion Palawan North Road is a 134-kilometer road which stretches from the city to Roxas, cutting travel time from four to five hours to just one and a half hours. The concrete road was made with a special concrete paver, making it much smoother than normal concrete roads. Engineers boast that it is a world-class road. It was completed in 2004. The road is part of the ADB’s Sixth Road Project which aims to improve infrastructure in the countryside to boost economic development. The project consists of the 80.34- kilometer Puerto Princesa-Langogan road and the 54.14-kilometer Langogan-Roxas road. It is located along the northeast coast of Palawan.

“These nice roads are a catalyst for development. Normally, investors, when they come, they first look at the road network, for the delivery of goods and products. Roads are a major aspect of development,” says Mayor Hagedorn. “We would like to thank the ADB for making us a part of their major programs, particularly in infrastructure.”

“Before, when you go to Roxas, you stop at San Rafael which is 75 kilometers from the city. All buses stop there to eat because the trip is long. After the uphill climb in Langogan, there’s another eatery, and they eat again because they are hungry again,” says Simeon Alarcon, Vice President of the Palawan Chamber of Commerce. “Now, the buses don’t stop anymore.”

The Palawan North Road boosts the tourism economy of the province, which is one of only two industries after agriculture. It leads to major tourism spots like Honda Bay, the Underground River, and its famed world-class resorts like El Nido, Club Noah-Isabelle, etc.

Another ADB-funded project is the P200-million sanitary landfill in barangay Sta. Lourdes, touted to be the first local government-controlled sanitary landfill in the country. It was one of the projects submitted for ADB funding in 1991 under the Philippine Regional Municipal Project. It is now operational and the Mayor is inculcating in his constituents to be conscious of solid waste management by having a proper waste disposal from the source.

“If you don’t have a comprehensive solid waste management program, if you get a huge influx of tourists, you won’t know how to address the garbage problem. So we’re lucky that before the influx of more tourists, we are now ready for a massive solid waste management program,” Mayor Hagedorn says.

The project will cover the entire urban population and more than half of the rural population. The required capacity is for 20 years waste generation. With the implementation of the zero waste management program under R.A. 2003, the City expects that the life span of the sanitary landfill will extend to 50 years or more.

The sanitary landfill will be implemented in 6 phases on a 26.9 hectare lot. Phase 1 covered the construction of a leachate treatment plant and pumping stations; composting plant; and auxiliary facilities like access road, perimeter fence and gate, cut-off ditches and drainage system, monitoring wells, protection dikes, gas vents, waste recovery shed, equipment yard and wash bay, weighbridge, guardhouse, and administrative building. Dump trucks and a landfill vibratory compactor were also purchased.

The third ADB project in the city is the Fisheries Resources Management Project which supports the strong environment vision of Mayor Hagedorn. Under the P40 million project, 370 hectares have been declared fish sanctuaries, prohibiting fishing and any other human activity. “We are achieving our goal of sustainable development and reduction in poverty,” says the Mayor. The city also maintains nurseries with mangrove seedlings and the maintenance of the full-grown mangroves.

The project has an income diversification component, through community participation for the sustainable livelihood of fishermen who were once engaged in destructive and or unsustainable means of fishing, by providing microfinancing for such activities as crab fattening, fish drying, processing etc. It covers 56 coastal barangays. In Honda Bay alone, there are 18 coastal barangays benefiting from the project while in Puerto Princesa Bay, it covers 22 barangays.

Ironically, the Mayor has a strong environmental advocacy not because he has been an environmentalist all his life but because he was among the first loggers in Palawan. “The turning point was when I was elected mayor in 1992. It was a humbling experience that you are not from here and you were elected. That’s what changed my outlook. Because of the trust and confidence of Palaweños, I promised I am going to protect the resources that rightfully belong to the Palaweños.”

And this strong environmental advocacy has garnered for the mayor and his city numerous environmental awards not just locally but from international organizations as well.

Mayor Edward Hagedorn, the man behind the success of Puerto Princesa City.

Saving the Fish for Another Day

Ben Caasi is no longer into dynamite fishing as he leads the Bantay Dagat (sea patrol) in Anda, Pangasinan.

(This article appeared in the 17 June 2005 issue of Business World.)

 

PANGASINAN, PHILIPPINES  – Bienvenido Caasi, 62, considers himself lucky. After years of engaging in dynamite fishing, he still has all his fingers intact. Other fishermen are not as lucky – many are missing several fingers or even a whole arm from this destructive form of fishing.

Mr. Caasi is no longer into dynamite fishing these days but he still lives just as dangerously. In his new role as member of the “Bantay Dagat” (sea patrol volunteer), he makes sure that only legal means of fishing are practised in his village in Macaleeng, Anda. He is on guard against commercial fishing boats from other towns engaged in illegal forms of fishing in his territory. The death threats he gets do not faze him.

“I was just following the others,” he said. “People from other towns would come here and fish illegally. We knew we were breaking the law but it was easy for us to get out of it. But I realized there was no future in this. Dynamite fishing was destroying the corals and the small fish were dying. So this is my way of paying back what I destroyed.”

Mr. Caasi heads the Macaleeng Samahang Multi-Sectoral ng Barangay, which is responsible for guarding the 48.5 hectare Panacalan Island Fish Sanctuary in his town. Ben and his men guard the sanctuary in support of the government through local laws formulated with the Fisheries Resource Management Project (FRMP). A municipal ordinance enabled them to supervise and maintain the sanctuary’s protection since April 2003. No fishing is allowed inside this sanctuary and Mr. Caasi and his group make sure of that.

There are two people’s organizations patrolling the sanctuary on a voluntary basis, and Mr. Caasi belongs to one of them. Volunteers also serve as tourist guides to visitors. The project provided them the boat, binoculars, and communications equipment for their patrol duties. On the side, they have a seaweeds livelihood project, supported by a grateful town mayor.

Nowadays, Mr. Caasi is still both a fisherman and a guardian of the sea. His efforts have enabled him to increase his fish catch by at least half a kilo for every two-to-three hours of fishing. And this time around, his conscience is clear that he is not causing any damage to the environment.

The Philippines has one of the world’s richest biogeographic areas with a wide diversity of marine life. It is a natural fishing ground with 150 million hectares of marine waters surrounding its 7,107 islands. Its coastline of 17,640 kilometers is five times its land area. Fisheries, therefore, is a main source of livelihood for over a million Filipinos, most of whom live below the poverty line.

The FRMP therefore has an important task to do, which is to reverse the trend of declining fisheries resources in municipal waters – the area within 15 kilometers of the shore – caused by overfishing and destructive fishing using dynamite, cyanide and fine mesh nets. The project is being implemented in 18 out of the 26 priority bays around the country, in 100 municipal communities and cities in 11 out of 15 coastal regions and 23 provinces. Anda, enriched by Lingayen Gulf, belongs to one of two provinces being covered by the FRMP in the Ilocos Region.

It is a six-year project being implemented by the Department of Agriculture through the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and funded by ADB and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. The project began in 1998 and builds on the Government’s Fisheries Sector Program approved in the early 1990s, which was also made possible through ADB assistance.

This year, as the project draws to a close, it can boast of successfully fulfilling its main mission of reversing the declining production of municipal fisheries. Production has increased by an annual average of 2.64% since 1999, in its first year of implementation. Enhanced habitats have resulted in the improvement in the volume of fish catch and its sizes; certain species that have stayed away after years of destructive fishing have even returned.

The project encourages small-scale fisherfolk to seek alternative forms of livelihood such as in cottage industries or mariculture to augment their income from fishing. The top livelihood alternatives are seaweed culture, milkfish deboning, fish drying, and grouper culture. As of May 2005, a total of 217 livelihood projects have been provided to about 6,619 beneficiaries. Nongovernment organizations help fisherfolk form self-help groups, mobilize savings, develop small businesses and rehabilitate and manage fisheries resources.

One such partnership between a livelihood center and a town is in San Fabian, Pangasinan. Mayor Mojamito Libunao says he strongly supports the bangus deboning and smoking project of FRMP by marketing the end-product. “It is something that we feel we should support first because the capital investment is not so much,” he says. “A large part of the investment is in educating and instructing the beneficiaries. And these are beneficiaries who really need the additional income.”

The project also strengthened the capacity of government agencies in managing their fisheries resources at the local level. Seventy-two coastal communities have drafted their municipal coastal resource management (CRM) plans while 876 barangays have prepared their own plans. The CRM implementation of the project becomes the responsibility of the communities and local government units (LGUs). As a sign of the project’s high credibility and success among local folk, even non-FRMP areas have adapted ordinances of nearby towns.

Jessica Munoz, the FRMP Project Director, stressed the strong role that local governments play in the project. “Before we start the project, we sign agreements with LGUs where they commit to the project and provide counterpart funding. So they have a stake here too,” she says. “It’s not a doleout. If you have a stake here, your participation is more committed because you will nurture your investment. We expect the LGUs to continue with the activities even after the project funding has ended since this becomes part of their regular planning and activities.”

The project has established a Fisherfolk Registration Database, now deployed to 80 municipalities; a Fisheries Information Management System, which supports regulatory, licensing and law enforcement; and decision-making functions in fisheries. It captures the number of fisherfolk, gear, vessel used, and landed catch

The project’s information-education-communication (IEC) campaign promotes awareness and community participation in educating fisherfolk about the problem of fish depletion and getting them involved in resource rehabilitation activities. Even schoolchildren are made aware of their activities. Barangay Learning and Resource Centers have been established in major coastal regions. Many local government units have been trained by FRMP staff and are now producing their own information materials, to suit their own information dissemination needs, mostly in their own dialect. The BFAR-FRMP website, which gives out important fisheries information, is an equally popular information tool, averaging 20,000 to 35,000 hits per month. Some municipalities are using FRMP’s databases for their operations.

Ms. Munoz says there was a strong need for a grassroots-level IEC component. “Fisheries management is basically a change in attitude in people. Before, fishermen are used to taking resources for themselves,” she adds. “But here, there is control and management of the resources from where they get their living. It is difficult to tell them not to get too much out of these resources so we had to conduct a massive information campaign among the fishermen and schoolchildren.” She says that through this they will recognize the importance of managing their coastal resources and an awareness of environmental concerns.”

“FRMP has been of great assistance to us ever since it started in terms of education and training,” says Mayor Gabriel Navarro of Bani town who fiercely protects his town’s mangrove rehabilitated area, even at the risk of his own reelection last year. “More people are now aware of environmental concerns especially in the protection of our marine resources.”

The project also has a community-based carrot-and-stick approach to law enforcement, specifically in sea patrol. Mr. Caasi is only one of a total of 1,174 persons who have been trained on fisheries law enforcement under FRMP. Not all apprehensions, however, end up in courts since sea patrols try to resolve disputes at the barangay level and rarely reach the courts.

“There is a very significant improvement in terms of apprehension of people who are continuously violating the law,” notes Regional Director Nestor Dumenden of BFAR Region 1.

The need to protect Pangasinan’s vast marine resources has never been as important as today when it is now actively promoting its once-famous Hundred Islands back in the tourism map, as an eco-tourism destination. “The objective is to maintain its natural beauty and protect the environment within that area,” says Alaminos City Mayor Hernani Braganza.

Mr. Caasi’s 39-year old son Harvey is also a fisherman. He only finished vocational school training and applied for employment in many offices to no avail. So he went back to the sea for a living. His only child, a 16-year old son, has completed high school and would like to pursue a college degree as a computer technician. But with meager financial resources, he will likely end up fishing for a living, like his father and his father before him. The older Caasi’s are making sure he still has some fish to catch, just in case he won’t be able to acquire a college degree.

The author (left) with FRMP's Tina Basco in Northern Mindanao.

ADB Charm Offensive Brings New Hope to Upland Farmers

Children of vegetable farmers high up in the mountains of Atok, Benguet and the CHARM-funded farm-to-market road behind them.

(This article appeared in the 7 August 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer)

 

 

Sagada, Mt. Province — Domingo Kelly is 63 years old and has been working in the farm all his life in this world-renowned scenic part of the Cordilleras. A third generation farmer from Ilocos Sur, he has no regrets with his chosen field despite his many hardships.

“I plant palay, then cabbage and carrots alternately throughout the year,” he says. It’s not enough to feed his family and he had to seek additional work to be able to make ends meet. But somehow he survived, even sending his seven children through high school. Only one of his children has followed his footsteps in the farm, even if he had enough land to provide each child with his or her own plots to toil.

Upland farmers in the Cordilleras are learning new ways to farm to help them better battle the natural elements in their rice and vegetable plantations. But new man-made challenges, mainly cheaper imports, have made their produce less palatable to the local market.

Under the $41.4 million Cordillera Highland Agriculture Resource Management (CHARM) project, farmers have doubled and sometimes tripled their earnings with irrigated farms, new infrastructure like bridges, farm-to-market roads and undergoing training in new farming methods. The Asian Development Bank provided almost half of the total project cost.

CHARM is a seven-year project that aims to reduce poverty in the Cordillera region by increasing incomes of smallholder farm families through improved agricultural productivity and the development of sustainable systems of resource management.

The project boasts of a good track record as it draws to a close this year, with a 99.63 percent physical performance accomplishment in the targeted poor beneficiaries in 82 villages in Abra, Mt. Province, and Benguet provinces or about 50,000 households. With the spillover effect of the project, other nearby municipalities indirectly reap the project benefits as well.

“I would want to believe that doing it the way we did will really be the way to do projects rather than the blueprint type,” says Cameron Odsey, Project Director of CHARM. “We really have to involve basically the primary beneficiaries of the project, who are the farmers.”

The community, including the indigenous people, was consulted and mobilized throughout the project, such as in managing the natural resources. This makes them stakeholders in the project and are committed from the planning stages up to its maintenance and upkeep, even after its completion.

“While this is a loan project, we were able to implement it successfully. It’s a very good investment,” Odsey says, which needs to be maintained now by the beneficiaries themselves with the project now in its final stages. Roads will now have to be maintained by the local governments; irrigation systems need to be maintained by the farmer-groups; the reforestation projects need to be maintained by the community.

Upland farming is difficult enough as it is, with the cold weather, lack of water, less yield, more costs, topography, and the distance it takes to transport goods as compared to lowland farming. Development activities cost more and takes more time and effort in the uplands. The yield is 50% less than in the lowlands which yield 3.5 tons per hectare. A farm-to-market road in the lowlands would cost less than a million pesos per kilometer; in the uplands, it is between P1.5 million to P2 million per kilometer.

Even at the start, the project was readily accepted by the local community some of whom are deeply-entrenched in the Igorot tradition. It is the first time that they were benefited by a national government project of this scale.

New and rehabilitated irrigation systems enabled farmers to harvest two to three times a year, instead of just once a year. The project has completed 151.35 kilometers of farm-to-market roads; 644.5 meters of spillway; 95.4 meters of bridges; 358.5 meters of foot bridges; 30 schemes of water supply; and 52 community irrigation systems/projects. In reforestation, it has established a total of 6,560 hectares of plantation (i.e. reforestation, agro-forestry, and enrichment planting) while maintained 6,150 hectares for forestry and 410 hectares for agro-forestry.

Catherine Kibatay, who owns a small store that has an overlooking view of an irrigated farm in Sagada, Mt. Province, notes the improvement in her community. “Abandoned fields are growing again; water is distributed evenly,” she says. “We thank the irrigation. It’s a good help to the farmers.”

It is in CHARM that the first ancestral domain title in the country was issued. To date, it has issued almost 130,0000 hectares of certificate of ancestral domain title and almost 100,000 hectares of ancestral domain sustainable development and protection plan, thus improving the land tenure in those areas.

For the agricultural support services component, farmers underwent a four-month integrated pest management course on ways to properly use fertilizer, avoiding the use of pesticides, its effects on one’s health, the kind of insects in the farm, and the insects that can cause crop damage. By inculcating to farmers the proper use of pesticides, its harmful effects and alternative ways to control pests, they were able to reduce by 70 percent the use of chemical pesticide.

“The war with pests goes on. There are emerging pests that evolve,” says Odsey. “What would be critical is for the farmers to be able to understand these things and not rely on pesticides. In the past, the moment they see a bug on the leaf of a cabbage crop, they would immediately spray it with pesticides without knowing whether that insect is indeed friendly or a pest.”

Trainings were also conducted on how to grow vegetables and what crops to plant. Research into high-yielding rice varieties for the uplands that can replace traditional varieties have had negative results though. Either the new varieties were unable to grow in the area or farmers were not able to harvest more than once a year as envisioned.

The major problem facing vegetable growers is the entry into the local market of cheaper and better imports. The vegetables that they grow have big and small sizes, while the market wants a uniform size. In addition, farmers’ children are educated or acquiring non-farming skills that lead them to fields other than the farms.

“It really affected the income of the farmers especially the vegetable-growing areas like Bauko, Sagada and Besao. Because of the cheaper price, they prefer the imported ones. The products of our farmers were deprived. The market price is very much lower. Like for carrots, they could sell it for P5, whereas our local carrots, we sell them at P15 to P20,” says Mary Buanzi, senior agriculturist of Mt. Province.

“We are encouraging them, our kababayans, to buy our own products. At least we are sure of our products unlike the imports. We do not know the process of producing it. They might contain too much pesticide or what. But at least if we buy our own, we know the processes that were done in the production of that product,” she adds.

Upland farmers toil on despite the natural and man-made elements that they face. They are used to the harsh conditions, as their fathers and grandfathers before them. But improvements in their way of life will ensure continuity of centuries-old traditions for many generations to come and for those who choose to stay put.

Domingo Kelly and the CHARM-funded canal that irrigates his farm in Sagada, Mt. Province.