Integrating protected area with provincial government plans

In 1994, the Batanes group of Islands [Philippines] was proclaimed as protected area (PA) by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 335. In accordance with the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act of 1992, Batanes was established as protected landscape and seascape through the act of Congress under Republic Act No. 8991 or the Batanes Protected Area Act of 2000. The Batanes Protected Area covers 20,323 hectares of land and 193,000 hectares of water. It encompasses the whole province with six municipalities and 29 barangays [villages] with a total population of around 16,000. Before it became a PA in 1994, several plans by local government units and different national government agencies operating in the area were prepared and implemented. However, these had very limited environmental considerations except for the plans of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), a government agency, mandated to manage natural resources and maintain ecological integrity. After the passage of the NIPAS Act and the implementation of the Conservation of Priority Protected Areas Project (CPPAP) supported by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), a general management planning strategy (GMPS) was implemented in the province. It involved all PA stakeholders in deciding management prescriptions for the PA. The inputs derived from the stakeholders were put together by an interdisciplinary team from staff of the CPPAP and then reviewed and finalized by a technical consultant. The final output (a management plan) was presented during consultations in each municipality of the province. Results of consultations were integrated to the final plan, which was then endorsed by all levels of the local development and legislative councils of the province. Finally, the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB), the highest policymaking body of the PA also endorsed the plan. It was timely that the Batanes Provincial Master Plan was updated after the PA management plan was finalized and approved. The provincial Master Plan went through steps similar to the preparation of the PA management plan. The PA staff was represented from the preparation to presentation of the Master Plan during community consultations. The environmental and protected area concerns raised during the consultations were integrated into the Batanes Master Plans. Secondary plans prepared by concerned agencies such as the Community Resource Management Plan, Barangay Development Plan, Comprehensive Land Use Plan, Municipal Development Plan, Agriculture and Fishery Modernization Plan and Agrarian Reform Development Plan were all anchored in the Provincial Master Plan and Protected Area Management Plan. Inside the PA, these plans serve as the basis for activities and projects implemented by various agencies