The Rock Islands of Palau, a World Heritage Site, harbor popular tourist destinations like the jellyfish lake.

The mystical seascape of Micronesia connects more than 600 islands across one million square miles of the western Pacific Ocean. Roughly 150,000 people live on the islands that cover a land area about the same size as Rhode Island. Their reefs consistently rank among the most immaculate dive sites in the world. The idyllic image of paradise, however, masks the fragility of the interconnected ocean ecosystems.

On the islands of Chuuk the crystal blue waters pair perfectly with the white sand and green hills, but in town there is no sewage or trash system and the roads are more pothole than pavement. “Their livelihoods depend on natural resources,” says Khanh Nguyen, Rare senior partnership manager. “But recent globalization has contributed to the dismantling of many traditional practices.” In some areas like the Marshall Islands, where the highest elevation is only 10 meters above sea level, people see themselves as potentially the last generation to live on the islands. The imperative of conservation seems inconsequential compared to eking out a living before the effects of climate change cause the ocean to submerge their homes. Such fears exacerbate existing threats like overfishing, soil erosion and pollution.

This year Rare will partner with organizations to work at 11 sites throughout Micronesia to restore and maintain healthy reefs and resilient livelihoods. Seven of the sites will establish governance systems for existing marine protected areas and four of the sites will implement best practices for terrestrial development to mitigate soil erosion which smothers the reefs. “We have the potential to reach everyone,” says Matt Lutkenhouse, Rare’s director of the Micronesia program. “The entire population is our target audience. Everyone’s behavior matters.” The program will pioneer concepts in social resiliency by helping communities figure out how to best adapt to climate change and preserve traditional livelihoods. It will also serve as a pilot program that can be replicated in similar island environments around the world.

Rare has a rich history in the islands of Micronesia. With 14 successful campaigns already completed in the region, people have a positive impression of the organization. One of the most famous tourists sites on the island of Palau is a saltwater lake – isolated from the ocean for more than 10,000 years, jellyfish have evolved a more benign sting and proliferated to the millions. The trail leading up to the popular snorkeling destination was actually built in partnership with Rare many years ago. “This is a great opportunity to capitalize on Rare’s brand recognition and mobilize the people of Micronesia toward a common goal,” says Nguyen.

One of Rare’s greatest spokespeople on the islands is Yalap P. Yalap. More than a decade ago he began his social marketing campaign with Rare to help save the endangered hawksbill turtle. His continued efforts, with the resolute support of a local women’s group, resulted in landmark legislation. In 2010, the president of Palau signed a five-year moratorium on the hunting of hawksbill turtles. Yalap has remained a close member of the Rare family. He recently mentored 12 Rare Conservation Fellows in the Philippines. He was also just awarded an alumni grant to use media to reinforce his campaign message, to observe and protect turtle nesting grounds and buy fuel for monitoring visits. “Yalap ran his campaign by himself,” says Lutkenhouse. “Imagine if there had been a dozen campaigns, maybe there would have been 12 turtle bans across the region.”

Yalap is excited to get involved with the next set of campaigns in Micronesia. “I hope that the Rare Conservation Fellows in Micronesia will learn from each other, network and share ideas,” says Yalap. “After all, we are all connected by the ocean.”

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Rare Conservation Fellow Xiahong Li

In early December, Rare Conservation Fellow Xiahong Li traveled from his home in northern China to Beijing to receive the prestigious Ford Environmental Award. He won third place in the category of communications for the social marketing campaign he ran in partnership with Rare. The project increased community adoption and awareness of fuel-efficient stoves in homes surrounding Yuhe Nature Reserve – an area that supports giant pandas and endangered snub-nosed monkeys.

Li’s campaign, augmented by a follow-up campaign supported by a Rare alumni grant, aimed to get individuals to switch from using traditional “tiger stoves” to more fuel-efficient options. The traditional models got their name because of their size and the immense amounts of fuel wood they consume. Li recounts the response from one stove convert: “ He told me, ‘Thanks to your aid, we can use such a clean and wonderful stove, which used to be seen only in TV.’ He then showed us their old tiger stove, which looked like a DJ booth.”

86% of the 3,400 calendars Li distributed were put up.

Li’s methodical measures show that the fuel-efficient stoves use roughly half the fuel wood of traditional stoves. Based on those he has already distributed, the community has saved the equivalent of 10 hectares of forest. They also reduce time spent collecting wood in the forest by about 13 days per year. Li’s survey results show that 90 percent of the community would spend 500 Chinese yuan (about $80 dollars) for a fuel-efficient stove. 152 stoves were subsidized in his initial campaign, which laid a solid foundation to reach an even larger audience in continued efforts.

Li plans to expand the campaign to areas surrounding another nature reserve with similar social circumstances. The potential for replicating Li’s successes is not restricted to China. Rampant deforestation for fuel wood is a global issue. “Our experience with fuel-efficient stove programs in China and Indonesia creates a solid platform to explore rural energy projects in countries like India where the government has expressed a strong interest,” says Rare Vice President Steve Watkins.

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Scientists refer to the 7,107 islands that make up the Philippines as the “center of the center” of global marine biodiversity. The country’s waters are made up of diverse coral reefs, seagrasses and mangroves that are home to more than 2,000 species of tropical fish and marine organisms that provide more than 50% of all protein to the region as well as support the livelihoods of two million fishers and their families.

Today, overfishing is the leading threat to this important marine ecosystem. Less than five percent of the Philippines’ coral reef ecosystems remain in pristine health, and there are fishing grounds that contain a mere 10% of the fish stock present just 50 years ago. Many communities have marine reserves, but there is no buy-in from local residents and fishers.

Many mayors, community leaders and residents may understand the underlying issues and realize that something needs to be done but don’t know how to get local residents and fishers to support, believe in and respect marine reserves. This is where social marketing — the use of private sector marketing tactics to “sell” social change — can be an effective way to get community buy-in for conservation that leads to meaningful behavior change and lasting conservation results.

In late March, 25 mayors and 11 municipal technical officers from the Philippines received social marketing training to help with environmental governance. The training was provided by The League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP), Rare, the Asian Institute for Journalism and Communications (AIJC), and the Philippines Environmental Governance Project (EcoGov).

Steve Watkins, vice president for Rare’s Pride English program, said the mayors told him their natural resources are being degraded and they worry about the future. A common theme he heard from the mayors was, ”I think the real weakness is that people don’t understand. The people aren’t on board, so this topic of social marketing is something they really want to understand.”

The mayors learned best practices for natural resource management in the Philippines and acquired simple and practical tools for gaining community support. They also gained tools in social marketing to become effective champions of natural resource management to benefit both people and the environment.

The workshop gave the participants tools that they could use right away. Participants developed elevator pitches to explain their natural resource management plans and also developed logos, catch phrases and posters to communicate their plans.

“Rather than just sitting there and having Power Points presented to you hoping you learn something, they really left with some specific skills and tools that they could use right away,” said Watkins.

The workshop introduced a new way of selling ideas that resonated with the mayors, Ariela Rosenstein, Rare’s associate director of training, said. She shared that at most 10 percent of the mayors knew what social marketing was prior to the event. Many thought it was for awareness building, but by the end, they began to understand that social marketing is really about behavior change.

In the Philippines, there has been a lot of investment in something called IEC — Information, Education and Communication — which includes traditional posters and communications. The conservation community in the Philippines has come to think that IEC is social marketing.

IEC only gets you to knowledge and contemplation, Watkins said. It only gets you to — at most — the second or third step of six in behavior change, he added.

“It was a real milestone for them when they understood that IEC on its own doesn’t work,” Watkins said. “Similarly, rolling out a conservation program on its own doesn’t work. You have to string the two together into the steps of behavior change. That was one of the most profound leadership understandings that they left with.”

Successful natural resource management

A simple formula was the theme of the workshop: Science + People + Enabling Environment = A Successful Natural Resource Management Program.

LMP was interested in running this workshop because they have a mandate to increase the capacity of mayors’ ability to implement natural resource management. LMP saw what Rare was doing with social marketing and barrier removal as a way to be more effective.

EcoGov was another key player and influencer in this workshop. They have built a lot best practices along the way and have what they call model municipalities that have achieved results in different areas of natural resource management. EcoGov helped bring best practice mayors to speak at the workshop, and also helped bring in other mayors to learn from the workshop. AIJC was also an important partner that brought with them their knowledge and expertise with training people on using communication to achieve benefits.

Participants worked in groups to identify issues with specific areas of natural resource management: Forest, solid waste, and costal resources. Groups had to select a picture that best resembles the main problem, the best solution, and the best symbols of the three key focal posts of the workshop: Science, people, and an enabling environment.

After learning basic principles of social marketing, participants worked in groups to create a catchy slogan for natural resource management in the Philippines.  ”Kalikasan, Kinabukasan (K2)” (Mother Nature for the Future) won the contest. Other contending slogans included “Save Samar, My Home!”, “Conserve to Preserve,” and “Nature, U Care, We Share.” Buttons with ‘K2’ will be created and sent to all of the participating mayors.

In a follow-up questionnaire, 100 percent of the mayors said they would recommend the training to fellow mayors. Participants were asked to fill out evaluations at the end of the workshop. Here are some of the comments that were left:

“[This workshop] will make the mayors realize what more they can do and the variety of ‘hows’ they can influence the behavior of their people towards conserving the environment.”

“[This workshop] offers a new but a highly doable system and process in the local governance, most especially on the environmental concerns/issues.”

“[This workshop] is so beneficial to our solution to problems we are encountering for preservation of our environment besides learning more how to protect and care.”

“Kalikasan Kinabukasan”

“This is the best workshop I have ever attended.”

Hear from participants

If the above embedded video does not display, click here to view it.

Rommel Martinez, LMP, discusses how the workshop was a success. Martinez said the mayors feel like they “will be in a position to really convince our communities to change their behaviors and to naturally take care of the environment.”

If the above embedded video does not display, click here to view it.

Mayor Pedro Trinidad Jr. of Cortes said Rare Pride and marine reserves are helping to protect fisheries for the future.

“This will really provide a sustainable supply of fish in their area, because if you don’t have sanctuaries, I don’t think you be able to maintain the supply of fish,” Mayor Pedro Martinez, Jr. said. “It’s a good idea to have a Marine Protected Area because then you can depend on a permanent supply of fish in that municipality.”

If the above embedded video does not display, click here to view it.

Mayor Tobias Betito of Bacacay discusses how to sell a marine reserve to fishers. Betito said marine protected areas are like planting and harvesting and how hard work now will pay off down the road. ”We plant now, we harvest later,” he said.

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If the above embedded video does not display, click here to view it.

Steve Watkins, Vice President of Rare’s Pride English Program, discusses Rare’s vision for the Coral Triangle and how community management of fisheries is a proven way to create sustainable fisheries. He also discusses Rare’s cohort model — 10-15 campaigns focused on a common issue such as sustainable fishing — and how this model allows for Rare Conservation Fellows to learn with each other and from one another.

In 2007, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono proposed a multinational partnership to save the world’s richest marine ecosystem – the Coral Triangle. In response, the six nations of the Coral Triangle — Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste — formed the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI), pledging to save the area’s declining fisheries and protect its rich biodiversity for future generations.

The initiative formally launched in May 2009, calling for the broad support of multiple stakeholder groups, including local governments, NGOs, businesses, academic institutions, donor agencies worldwide, and, most critically, the communities affected by declining resources. Rare is focused exclusively on the community component of this initiative.

To address one of the region’s primary threats, overfishing, Rare has launched grassroots campaigns at important fishing sites in Southeast Asia, specifically in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Timor-Leste.

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If the above embedded video does not display, click here to view it.

Rare Conservation Fellow Vincent Dueñas discusses the need for community buy in of the marine protected areas Barangay Burgos and Uba, Cortes, Surigao del Sur at his conservation campaign site in the Philippines. If nothing is done, fish stocks will be completed wiped out in 40 years in these communities.

Vincent’s campaign is working to engage communities in the management and enforcement of marine protected areas to the benefit of local people and biodiversity. To improve biodiversity of the Burgos MPA, threats must be addressed with a 95 percent reduction of intrusion of spearfishing and fine-meshed net with scaring devices within the no-take zone. This can be achieved if 80 percent of Burgos local fishers, intruders, women & community residents have a sense ownership of the MPA and are involved in the governance and enforcement. This campaign is aiming for a 10 percent increase in fish abundance, fish biomass, invertebrates and two percent increase in coral cover by 2012.

“If there is no participation of the community in terms of MPA governance and enforcement, there is no success in that MPA,” Dueñas said.

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In 2009 the Pilar Marine Park in the Municipality of Pilar was awarded the prestigious “Most outstanding Marine Protected Area of the Philippines” prize by the MPA Support Network (MSN) and its partners for being the most effectively managed marine protected area which applied to the awards.

The Pilar Municipal Marine Park (PMMP), located in the Camotes Sea, consists of a 30 hectares sanctuary which benefits from complete protection and a 149 hectares reserve where less invasive methods such as gleaning, hook and line and spear fishing are still allowed but any net fishing is not.

MPA enforcement

The Enforcement team selected 24 fishers to be trained as guards. The buoys of the MPA were anchored, marking both the 30 hectares no-take zone , and the 149 hectares reserve where only low key fishing activities such as gleaning, hook and line and spear fishing are allowed by local residents.

Anchoring of the buoys delimiting the PMMP – (Picture by Vincent Lumbab)

The PMMP rules and regulations with corresponding penalties for violations displayed on the pier.

The guard house “Amelita centre” overlooking the PMMP demarcated by buoys.

The guards always do their shifts in pairs and get a nominal fee from the Local Government Unit (LGU) of about 80 Pesos for every 12 hour shift. The time to travel  from the pier to the guardhouse is about 20 minutes by small paddle boat. The structure has been named “Amelita Center” in memory of one of the cherished members of the PMMP Management Board who recently passed away. The guards on call, Jimmy Mayor and Vicente Romo, who were not expecting any visitors, were excited to be interviewed.

Vicente is one of the most experienced guards on the enforcement team.  He was part of the original team trained in 2005. He tells us with great pride that he has already turned in five violators to the Municipal Hall.

“On one occasion a violator could not pay the fine and was relegated to community service, he said. “However in general the fines are being paid.”

When asked how he feels about turning people in he answers: “I feel pity for the violators but it has to be done, and the community respects us for doing so.”

The punishment for infractions within the MPA are on display at the pier on a big billboard. They vary from an official warning (blotter) upon first illegal entry to confiscation of catch, gear and a fine of 500 Philippine Pesos (USD $11) for first time fishing with legal methods within the sanctuary.

Should one be a third time offender fishing with illegal methods within the sanctuary,  such as the use of poison or dynamite, then the fine is as high as Php 2500  (USD $55). In larger cases involving commercial fishing vessels or where the fine cannot be paid, the violators risk jail.

Vicente and Jimmy do all their shifts together as a team. Jimmy joined as a guard three years ago. They enjoy their time together and through their service as guards they have become good friends. They talk about things that are happening in the community and about how the prices for commodities have gone up. It is difficult for them to support their families on the revenue they get from farming alone which is why they are happy with their jobs as guards.  It secures a monthly wage.

They are both also proud to have been beneficiaries of the “most outstanding PMMP guard” award introduced and sponsored by Vice Mayor Maratas since 2007. Vicente was one of the first guards to win the first prize which consists of a sack of rice to the value of Php 1000 (USD $22), roughly the same amount he gets from one month guarding, given that he does a 24 hour guard shift every five days.

Jimmy won the second prize once, which was half a sack of rice. The award is based on 25 percent of the number of apprehensions (reporting of violators) each guard initiates, 25 percent of the votes they get for good guardianship and 50 percent on their attendance. The award is a great motivator for the guards to do their job well and get recognition for their work in front of the community.

Jimmy Mayor (forefront) and Vicente Romo (background and on previous page) at work at the guardhouse

According to Susan Cataylo, the PMMP Management Board Secretary, the Municipal Coastal Law Enforcement team coordinator for the MPA and the CRM Officer at the Pilar Local Government Unit (LGU), the number of infractions within the MPA has dramatically decreased as a result of the establishment of the guarding system. She cites that from January 2007 to June 2010 there have been 30 violations reported by the guards, with a decrease from 19 in 2008 to 8 in 2009 and two so far in 2010.

“The 24 hour guard system has been working very well and illegal fishing practices by local fishers such as blast fishing have pretty much been eradicated from the MPA,” Susan explained triumphantly. “The main problems now are linked to the intrusion of commercial fishing vessels.”

The issue is that the local guards, armed with only a whistle and a small motorized vessel (and recently, since the engine broke down, only a paddle boat) are really not in any position to be boarding and apprehending vessels that are three or four times the size and with a crew of up to 10 or 15 people. A few years back there was an unpleasant incident where the patrol guards were almost kidnapped by the vessel they were inspecting.

The enforcement procedure foresees that a few armed police board the patrol vessel before the guards set off to apprehend a commercial vessel but on this particular occasion there had been none available.

To address the issue of large commercial fishing vessels the Local Government Unit commissioned, last year, the building of a much bigger patrol vessel. The hope is that this vessel will one day patrol the whole island of Ponson, providing protection from commercial vessels not only for the Pilar Municipal Marine Park (PMMP) but also for two more MPAs that the LGU is hoping to establish in the coming years.

According to Susan Cataylo (being interviewed in picture) the number of infractions within the MPA has dramatically decreased as a result of the establishment of the guarding system.

The Local Government of Pilar is building a new, bigger patrol vessel to guard the whole municipal waters of Pilar including the Pilar Municipal Marine Park (PMMP) and two additional planned MPAs. This will help tackle the illegal commercial fishing vessels. The old patrol boat (seen in the water below) will likely continue to have to play a role in patrolling the shallower waters near the guardhouse.

The benefits

Neither Vicente nor Jimmy are fishers but they are still eager to state that through their work, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of fish: “Before, we never used to see hook and line fishermen near the shore,” Jimmy said. “Today we can see many of them lined along the pier and their catch has increased to the point that they are able to catch more than they need for themselves and sell it off to people like us, who like to buy it from them for our own families.”

Vicente and Jimmy are not the only ones who believe the MPA is benefitting the community. Joy Eden Zarco Borja, the local teacher and organizer of the education and outreach group of the MPA said that both the local fishers as well as the women gleaning have noticed an increase in their harvest.

“It happened about two years after the MPA was established,” she explained. “Since 2007 my husband and the other fishermen in the community started to catch more fish, about twice as much as before. And also the women gleaners have noticed an increase in shellfish within the reserve.”

According to Pabling (Pablito Pogata), one of the most well known fulltime fishers in Pilar, fish catch has gone up from about 2 kg per trip prior to the MPA establishment, to 5 kg since 2007. Pabling, who is a hook and line and spear fisher, is also one of the guards at the PMMP guardhouse. He says before the establishment of the MPA many illegal fishers came to the area and used destructive methods. However many of them were caught and prosecuted in the early years of the MPA establishment.  Today violations are less frequent. Instead, the fishers can now benefit as there are “more and bigger fish.”

Local full time fisherman Pabling (top) says the catch from spear fishing and hook and line fishing doubled about two years after the MPA was established. To Pabling the MPA means he can continue to feed and sustain his family. His son (bottom) proudly shows off the spear he uses for spear fishing.

A net fisher’s perspective

The hook and line and spear fishers and the women gleaners in Pilar benefit directly from the MPA.  The  PMMP regulations allow them to continue fishing within the PMPP. One could suppose that the net fishers, who are no longer allowed to fish within the MPA may have a different view. Aman, one of the long standing fishers in the area says that he has been fishing since he was 8 years old.

“In the 1950s and 1960s,” he recalled, “fish were very plentiful. We had small boats back then and nets were no more than 10 m long. Still we were able to get as many as 15 kg of fish in just a few hours fishing a night.”

However by the 80s the situation had changed drastically: “The number of fishermen kept going up and the increasing power of the type of boats and gear employed meant that fish stocks started to rapidly decline. Today we have nets that can be as long as a 1000 m and powerful engines on our boats, yet we struggle to catch as much as 5 kg per trip. It is no longer enough to buy rice.”

Aman, does not think the MPA has actually led to an increase in his fish catch. However, he believes it has ensured that he has a fish catch at all. Without the PMMP, it is likely that the fish stock would have crashed completely. Aman said he has seen the rate of the decline, and believes the MPA has finally put the brakes on the downward trend.

Aman says that his message to fishers in other areas of the Philippines who have MPAs that are not being well managed is: “They should manage their MPA well rather than come here to Pilar to fish. They should take care of their MPA and apprehend those illegal fishers, like here in Pilar which is known throughout the Philippines because it is well managed.”

Monitoring and evaluation

The guided self-assessment process, facilitated by EcoGov in the very early stages of the MPA establishment process helped the community of Pilar identify the areas where they could improve the governance structure and management of their natural resources (see Table 2). Together with the MPA effectiveness rating (see Table 3 below) it became one of the key motivators for the community to take ownership of the management of their natural resources and establish the PMMP.

Table 2.

In 2005 through a guided self assessment process the community of Pilar gave themselves a score of 0.82 out of 1 for Coastal Resources Management (CRM), 0.56 for the Local Government Unit Internal Management and 0.38 for Solid Waste Management, with no score for Forests and Forestland management, as this was not in place. In a first instance they then decided to focus on improving their higher scores and created the PMMP, bringing the score on CRM up to 100% by 2007. In recent years they have worked to also improve the other areas of their governance structure and resource management bringing up their overall score from 0.58 in 2007 to 0.91 by 2009.

The GSA is a simple management tool intended to help to objectively track, guide and assess the process by which LGUs and local communities acquire and adopt relevant best practices in environmental governance. Members of the community appraise their performance according to governance elements of functionality, transparency, accountability and participatory-ness from the ridge-to-reef environmental concerns (forestlands, urban areas and coastal resources) and through the various management functions from planning and implementation, budgeting, contracting/bidding/procurement, permit, licenses and tenure issuance, and law enforcement. Results show improvement over time for all sectors as the LGU and the community adopted good governance practices in the implementation of their plans and programs. In the CRM sector, results show the adoption of processes and systems and improvement of standards of governance.

Table 3. The MPA effectiveness rating results for Pilar in 2007 and 2009 as rated according to the criteria of functionality, transparency, accountability and participatory-ness.

Another key factor in motivating the community to act was the underwater survey of the reef carried out by EcoGov since May 2005. The baseline results were presented to the community at the MPA orientation workshop and showed that the hard coral cover in the MPA was very poor and that there was no significant difference between the coral inside and outside the sanctuary. Biophysical monitoring and evaluation was carried out regularly since 2005. Local representatives were trained on simple reef monitoring methods to form the Monitoring and Evaluation Team of the PMMP.  Since 2007 the local team conducts participatory monitoring and evaluation through a snorkel survey using a “Fish Visual Census” method to measure fish abundance and diversity and a “line transect” method to measure percent cover of corals and other benthic components. In addition, EcoGov also conducted a more technical monitoring survey with a CRM team of scientists.

Continued monitoring of the PMMP appears to indicate hard coral cover is on an increasing trend both inside and outside of the reserve (see Graph 1).

Since 2005, mean density (individual fish/500 m2) of adult reef fish also appears to have been increasing inside the PMMP whilst fluctuating above the baseline outside of the PMMS (see Graph 2), probably as a result of the fishing activities. The commercially important reef fish species (target species) are found to be increasing inside of PMMP (solid line in Graph 2) and decreasing outside of PMMP (broken line). Again the latter probably as a result of the fishing activities. Whilst the data does not yet provide statistically significant conclusive evidence, the trends observed through the monitoring as well as the anecdotal evidence from local fishers on Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE) indicate that the MPA is playing an important role in ensuring a sustainable management of the fish stock.

Graph 1. The hard coral cover within the PMMP 30ha no-take zone appears to have increased significantly (note error bars) in only two years from 8 percent in 2005 to 18 percent in 2007. Note: The red bar indicates that the line transect was moved meaning that the 2005-7 and 2008-9 should be viewed as separate data sets. (Picture and graph by Vincent Lumbab.)

Graph 2. The mean abundance of adult reef fish inside the sanctuary is showing an increasing trend whilst the mean abundance outside the sanctuary appears to have initially increased and then by 2009 reached a similar level to that in 2005. The triangle and trend line show the change of abundance of target reef fish. Result need to be interpreted cautiously, taking into consideration the error bars. (Picture by Vincent Lumbab.)

A matter of political will

After four days on the island of Ponson interviewing the LGU officials, fishers, guards, management committee representative, teachers and women running the alternative livelihood projects one is struck and inspired by the strong sense of community and resource ownership in this town. It is clear that the systematic participatory approach to the establishment and running of the MPA, as well as the efficiency and ethos with which the community manages itself, are two of the key ingredients that have made this MPA so successful. But there is a third ingredient to MPA management that seems to be plentiful in Pilar.  Political will.

According to many of the people I have spoken to, not least the mayor of the town, political will is not only very important but also one of the hardest ingredients to stock up on.

“Take for example an incident we had in 2008,” said Jesus Fernandez Jr., M.D. Municipal Mayor of Pilar. “It was the third anniversary of the PMMP when one of the councilors got tempted and took a giant clam out of the no-take zone. It was a really hard decision but we had to ask him to resign from the management team and pay a fine. At first it created a lot of tension and the councilor was very angry. Six months later, however the same councilor admitted that he was happy that he had been fined as it had set an example for the community and shown that everybody gets treated the same when breaking the MPA laws.”

Municipal Mayor Jet (Hon. Jesus Fernandez Jr., M.D.) of Pilar with the Marine Support Network  (MSN) prize received in 2009 for the Pilar Municipality Marine Park as the “Most Outstanding Marine Protected Area of the Philippines” out of 70 nominations.

The story above is only one of many examples where political will was put to the test. Mayor Fernandez Jr. recalls how the very week he had taken office two of his relatives were caught blast fishing in the reserve.

“To make it worse one was a relative from my father’s side and the other from my mother’s,” he added.

So by sending his relatives to jail, the Mayor would risk offending his entire family of relatives in one go.  And yet that is exactly what he did and the two dynamite fishers spent two years in jail. For the duration of this time the Mayor could no longer look some of his close relatives in the eye. “Yet recently,” the Mayor adds with a hint of relief, “my two relatives got out after posting bail and, whilst the case is still in promulgation with the judge, I was invited to my relatives’ party after they were released. It means that my relatives have forgiven me for what I did. I think they realized that it was nothing personal, and I was just doing my job. I did what was right for the community.”

When Mayor Fernandez and Vice Mayor Maratas showed me the PMMPs prestigious award for “best managed MPA in all of the Philippines” they are beaming with pride. And rightly so: there are some 2000 MPAs in the Philippines, more than any other country in the world!

“The marine sanctuary is our asset,” Mayor Fernandez said. “In 2004 there was fish scarcity but today no more. Today we have excess fish to sell such as Lapu lapu and Blue marlin, and eventually we hope to have a fish market here. We are already in the process of starting a new project to purchase freezers so that the fish can be stored properly.”

“Our vision is food security,” he said.

The two leaders are hoping to achieve this not only in Pilar, but on the entire island of Ponson. They are now in the process of establishing two more MPAs: the Cawit Marine Sanctuary on the other side of the island where blast fishing is unfortunately still a regular occurrence; and the DEMSAMAR (Dap Dap Esperanza Marine Sanctuary and Mangrove Reserve), an area where through a mangrove reforestation program the community will be able to regain an important fish nursery area.

There are still many challenges ahead but upon leaving Pilar on the ferry one can only ponder on how lucky the community of the island of Ponson is to have such visionary and committed leaders.

Acknowledgements

A big thank you to Hon. Jesus Fernandez Jr., M.D., Hon. Eufracio Maratas Jr., Vincent Lumbab, May Ybanez, Arun Abraham, Stuart Greene and Steve Watkins for their invaluable input into this document.

I would further like to thank all the community members in the Pilar and neighboring municipality for their open heart, kindness and stories. My sincere gratitude go out to Susan Cataylo, Joy Eden Zarco Borja, Juge Bung Zarco , Pablito Pogata, Jimmy Mayor, Vicente Romo, Loloy Estor, Hon. Mamelito Colminas, Armando Alacha, Guiwanon,  Soledad Cawayan, Hon. Chizelin Maratas, Hon. Rodolfo Go (Dolfo), Hon. Romeo Pugoy Jr., Hon. Marcelo Mandaras, Dionisio (Inco Nicio)Maratas, Felix Tabaranza , Gina Pagalan and Agapita Cruz.

And finally a big thank you to Dodong, Enting and May for guiding me through Pilar.

We wish you the very best with the expansion of the MPA network. Keep up the fantastic work in making the management of the marine resources in Pilar sustainable and the MPA’s the best managed in all of the Philippines.

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In 2009 the Pilar Marine Park in the Municipality of Pilar was awarded the prestigious “Most outstanding Marine Protected Area of the Philippines” prize by the MPA Support Network (MSN) and its partners for being the most effectively managed marine protected area which applied to the awards.

The Pilar Municipal Marine Park (PMMP), located in the Camotes Sea, consists of a 30 hectares sanctuary which benefits from complete protection and a 149 hectares reserve where less invasive methods such as gleaning, hook and line and spear fishing are still allowed but any net fishing is not.

May Ybanez, the Regional Manager, Central Visayas, and Vincent Lumbab Assisting Professional,  CRM with the Philippine Environmental Governance Project (EcoGov 2) funded by USAID, in partnership with Annalisa Bianchessi from Rare Conservation, an international NGO specializing in social marketing, ventured to Pilar.  The purpose was to document one of the “bright spots” developed through years of technical assistance from EcoGov in collaboration with the local government and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and try and find out what makes this MPA so special and why it has been able to be so successful where so many other MPAs have not.

The site

The first impression one gets when coming off the ferry from the nearby Province of Cebu is that Pilar is a tranquil and happy place. The road from the pier to the church provides views of well-tended gardens, a row of simple and quaint looking houses, a newly painted municipal hall building, or “municipio”, a couple of lazy dogs lying on the street and a general landscape of lush green vegetation.

Scientists refer to the 7,107 islands that make up the Philippines as the “center of the center” of global marine biodiversity. Its waters are home to whales, dolphins, 50 species of sea horses and over 2,000 species fish, including the largest fish in the world, the whale shark. Marine resources are also critical to the food security and livelihoods of Filipinos, as fish provide over 50 percent of their protein and support the livelihoods of millions of fishers and fish-related industries throughout the country.

Today, however near-shore overfishing is a leading threat to these marine resources. Less than five percent of the Philippines’ coral reef ecosystems are still in pristine health, and in some fishing grounds, biomass is less than 10 percent of what it was 50 years ago. Most near-shore fishing is conducted by subsistence fishers in coastal communities although illegal intrusions by commercial fishers into municipal waters are cause for concern. Developing local approaches to addressing these threats is increasingly recognized as vital to long-term economic and environmental sustainability in the region.

The town centre of Pilar, called Poblacion, is situated on the north west of Ponson Island in the Camotes Sea. The islands form part of the Camotes group in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. The local dialect here is Cebuano, and the people are lively, warm and outspoken.

Figure 1. Location of the Camotes islands (A) in the Philippines.

Figure 2. Location of the Pilar Municipal Marine Park on the island of Ponson.

The Pilar Municipality is divided into villages known as Barangay. Each of the 13 Barangays of Pilar has its own well regulated community structure so that any decisions taken at the Municipality level can be efficiently implemented all the way to the household level in a matter of weeks. The Municipality counts some 11,000 people represented by 2,580 households. The main sources of income are farming and fishing. However the land is poorly suited for farming and increased erosion and loss of fertility of the land are pushing more and more people to look to fishing or other forms of livelihood to sustain themselves. At present 687 (27 percent) households in Pilar rely on fishing as their main source of income.

Religion plays an important part in people’s lives with a strong presence of both catholic and the protestant churches on the island.

On Sundays people attend church and there is an annual fiesta that celebrates the patron of the church. Religion plays an important part in people’s lives with a strong presence of both the Catholic and the Protestant church on the island. Pilar has recently been awarded the second place for the “most child friendly Municipality of the Philippines”, perhaps the results of the long standing work of Plan International, a non-government organization (NGO) that focuses on child welfare. There are many murals and panels on the island reminding people of the sacredness of childhood and values such as family, health and education.

The beginning – an unhappy birthday story
The recently elected Honorable Vice Mayor Eufrates Maratas Jr is a young and dynamic politician. Upon arrival in Pilar it soon becomes apparent that he and his co-worker Susan Cataylo, who work in the municipal agricultural office, have been two of the key forces in the establishment of the Pilar Municipal Marine Park (PMMP). The Vice Mayor recalls how he had always been fond of the idea of having an MPA. He had heard about the concept during his travels abroad and was convinced there were many benefits to be had from it. So when he returned to his hometown to take on a position as Councilor, he had been keen to put this idea into practice.

In 2004, with the support of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and Plan International, he set out to create an MPA for Sitio Amatong in Barangay Esperanza, the village he is from not far from Poblacion (town centre of Pilar).  The village, like so many in the Philippines, had actually already had a designated protected area established in the 1980s through a government program, which had not been very effective. In order to redefine and revive the MPA, Councilor Maratas had followed what had felt like a fairly democratic process: he called for a meeting with fisher representatives, agreed on a size and location for the MPA and passed a Basic Coastal Resources Management Ordinance declaring the MPA.

However during the public assembly announcing the declaration of the MPA to kick start its implementation of the MPA a big quarrel broke out between different groups of fishers. Councilor Maratas began to realize that the MPA was not going to be as easy as just declaring a law. The quarrel had been linked to the fact that on that particular stretch of coastline many fishers have the habit of owning Amatongs, meaning “Miracle holes”. These are artificially constructed holes, some with diameters that reach 2m  that are filled with wood and rocks that aggregate young and old fish. The holes are managed and therefore effectively perceived as owned by individual fishers who will look after them for a year or so and harvest the fish every 3-6 months on average for special occasions such as a child’s birthday.

As not all fishers had been consulted during the declaration of the MPA a dispute had broken out amongst those who felt the MPA would rob them of their ability to harvest their Amatongs during special occasions such as their children’s  birthday parties. “In the end the whole MPA thing had to be blown off,” said Vice-Mayor Maratas.

After this first failed attempt at establishing an MPA, Councilor Maratas recollected how when he heard of the idea of the then Mayor of Pilar, Dr. Jesus P. Fernandez (father of the current Mayor), to create the Pilar Municipality Marine Park (PMMP) his enthusiasm for the project had pretty much been at zero. “This is going to be another Amatong scenario” he thought to himself.

Honorable Vice Mayor Eufracio Maratas Jr has been one of the key people driving the effective management of the PMMP. Yet, because of previous experiences he felt skeptical to begin with.

How things changed

This time, however, things went differently. The establishment of the PMMP followed a rather detailed process that was facilitated in partnership with a skilled technical team from the Philippine Environmental Governance Project. EcoGov is funded through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented with the DENR. The project is designed to reduce threats to biodiversity conservation in the Philippines, using an integrated ecosystem management, or “ridge to reef” approach.  Coastal and marine resource management is one of the key sectors of activity for EcoGov, as destructive fishing constitutes a key threat.

The Project works with Local Government Units to establish new marine sanctuaries that meet minimum governance requirements: management bodies formed, management plan legitimized, budget allocated and management activities implemented. Among the tools developed by EcoGov and its local government partners, is the formation of inter-LGU alliances that will furthermore integrate MPA networks with other coastal and fisheries resources management activities.

Table 1. The process that was adopted by Eco Gov in partnership with the LGU of Pilar in establishing the PMMP

1. Initial site assessment
2. Guided self assessment (GSA) of Environmental Governance of Pilar
3. Baseline survey of the seabed
4. Formation of a Local Technical Working Group (TWG)
5. MPA orientation  and Management Planning Workshop
6. Community Consultations
7. MPA Management planning write shop followed by quarterly meetings of the TWG
8. Public hearing
9. Presentation to the Municipal Development Council
10. Ordinance enactment
11. Annual planning workshop
12. MPA plan implementation (including MPA effectiveness rating)

MPA establishment, explains Vincent Lumbab, the EcoGov Assisting Professional for CRM (Coastal resource management) assigned to Pilar, is based on the adoption of a process that integrates four key governance principles: functionality, transparency, accountability and public participation (see Table 1 above and Annex 1).

“The process was fairly smooth,” Vice Mayor Maratas recalled. Even though as a result of the false start in 2004 he had been a skeptic of renewed efforts, “after the MPA orientation, governance assessment and planning phase I felt that everybody in the technical working group was on board with the idea of forming the MPA,” he said.

Vice Mayor Maratas recalled how the EcoGov staff had done a great job at facilitating the first meeting and providing all the information with regards to the benefits the MPA would bring. It made sense: if a mature fish could produce many more eggs than a younger one, and if the community could protect an area of sea so that coral would no longer be destroyed by destructive fishing techniques, fish would be able to grow to maturity and replenish the waters adjacent to the sanctuary and there would be more fish for all!

Of course there were concerns about where the MPA would be located and what activities would be prohibited. However, the rigor with which the participatory process was applied ensured that everyone who had concerns had an opportunity to raise them at the public consultation and get involved in the decision making process, until everyone was in agreement.

Or well, almost everyone: “by the end of the consultation process those who had been opposed to the MPA were no longer concerned,” noted Aman, a net fisher who used to fish in the waters of the MPA before it was designated. “The only ones with concerns were the illegal fishermen from neighboring villages.”

And rightly so because the community of Pilar was about to start taking pride in the ownership of their MPA!

Next, the different committees formed by the initial technical working group (TWG) started to become very active. The Information, Education and Communication (IEC) Committee  spearheaded by local teacher Eden Zarco Borja and the local women’s group put forward the idea of organizing a MPA King and Queen Pageant contest. The event, which, as Vice Mayor Maratas remembers “ended up taking up much longer than originally planned” was really one of the key events in getting the whole community on board. It involved getting each high school to elect a couple which then went into weeks of practice and preparation for the big day.

The PPPM King and Queen peagent winners. The event raised Php 36,000  (USD $783), which enabled the community to fund the construction of the first PMMP guard house.

As Susan Cataylo recalled, “we wanted the couple to demonstrate not only physical beauty but also intelligence and skill, as a symbol for the way we wanted to manage our MPA.” On the big day, the population of Pilar could vote by placing a donation on their favorite couple. The event generated Php 36,000 Pesos (around USD $783). This was enough for the community to build their first floating MPA guard house.

The MPA king and queen event was followed by many other activities to engage and bring the community on board. Amongst the most memorable are the PMMP bingo socials and Christmas caroling, the activities in the schools and the most outstanding PMMP guard award.

Christmas caroling to raise money for the PMMP (Picture by Vice Mayor Eufrates Mratas)

When asked what made Pilar so successful in its MPA management, May Ybañez, Regional Manager of EcoGov in Central Visayas said: “Pilar adopted a really systematic approach to the creation of the MPA, and then they really made it their own. The MPA king and queen contest was a great example of this: they did not wait for a grant to come from the outside to help fund their guardhouse, but they raised the funds for it themselves.”

Vincent Lumbab (top) and and May Ybañez (bottom) are two of the many Eco-Gov technical and management staff that have been supporting the establishment of the PMMP.

Hypothetical Theory of Change as per the Rare methodology illustrating the change process for the target audiences in Pilar (K- Knowledge, A- Attitude, IC – Interpersonal communication, BR – Barrier removal, C – behavior change, TR Threat reduction, CR – conservation result):

Click to enlarge the Theory of Change.

Part two of the Pilar case study focuses on MPA enforcement, monitoring and evaluation, and the benefits of an MPA.

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Green says that most marine conservation efforts have failed, but that NTZs show real promise.

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Dan Heath, Rare Trustee and co-author of the bestselling business book Switch: How to Change Things When Cha nge Is Hard, and Rare CEO Brett Jenks were recently interviewed by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as part of its Ideas and Advice series. They discuss how focusing on bright spots, instead of what is not working, is a great way to improve yourself, your projects and your company.

“Let’s go out there and find out what’s working.” — Dan Heath

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