Coral and giant clam gardens: experiences and lessons in establishing a payment for ecosystems services (PES) project in Taytay, Palawan, Philippines
2018
Calanog, L.A.
This paper provides an account of the pioneering efforts of Taytay, a coastal lake municipality in Palawan, Philippines, in establishing payment for ecosystem services (PES) as a sustainable financing mechanism to protect and manage its marine resources. It describes the experiences and lessons generated in establishing coral and giant clam gardens (CGCG) as a PES scheme. These are presented according to the FOUR STAGES in establishing PES. Stage 1 describes the results of the benchmarking assessment (status of marine resources including economic valuation, socio-demographic characteristics of households, institutional/political profile of the study barangays or villages, and status of tourism), which informed the design of the PES scheme and its basic features. Stage 2 presents how CGCGs as a means of coral reef restoration and protection were established in the context of a PES scheme. It details the process of how TOURISM as ecosystem service (ES) was defined, how the CGCG was conceptualized, and how the ES buyers and sellers were identified. It also describes the establishment and monitoring of the underwater gardens, as well as the training provided to the fishermen who were involved in these activities. It likewise outlines the findings of the willingness-to-pay (WTP) study, whose results provided the basis for determining the proposed tourism fees and revenue sharing system. Stage 3 describes the structuring of the CGCG-PES deal and the crafting of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that defines the roles and responsibilities of key players in the implementation of CGCG. And finally, Stage 4 focuses on the establishment of conservation and sustainable tourism development fund and its importance, as well as the process of drafting the ordinance creating the fund.
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