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Page 1: © 2017 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Journal v3 issue 1red.pdf · 2017 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development. EDITORS’ NOTE. Our Palawan. is an Open Access

© 2017 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

Page 2: © 2017 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Journal v3 issue 1red.pdf · 2017 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development. EDITORS’ NOTE. Our Palawan. is an Open Access

© 2017 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

OUR PALAWANThe Scientific Journal of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

Volume 3 Issue 1, January - June 2017

Published by The Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD)

PCSD Building, Sports Complex Road, Brgy. Sta. Monica Heights,

Puerto Princesa City P.O. Box 45 PPC 5300 Philippines

PCSD Publications © Copyright 2017ISSN: 2423-222X

Online: www.pkp.pcsd.gov.ph

www.pcsd.gov.ph

Cover Photo

The endemic species of Palawan and Philippines (from top to bottom) : Medinilla sp., Palawan Pangolin Manus culionensis spp., Palawan Bearcat Arctictis binturong whitei, Palawan Hill Mynah Gracula religiosa palawanensis, Blue-naped parrot Tanygnathus lucionensis, Philippine Cockatoo Cacatua haematuropydgia. (Photo courtesy: PCSDS)

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© 2017 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

EDITORS’ NOTE

Our Palawan is an Open Access journal. It is made freely available for researchers, students, and readers from private and government sectors that are interested in the sustainable management, protection and conservation of the natural resources of the Province of Palawan. It is accessible online through the websites of Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (pcsd.gov.ph) and Palawan Knowledge Platform for Biodiversity and Sustainable Development (pkp.pcsd.gov.ph). Hard copies are also available in the PCSD Library and are distributed to the partner government agencies and academic institutions. The authors and readers can read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of published articles. Our Palawan practices a double-blind peer review. The review process has basically three stages: (1) primary checking (the Editors make sure that the manuscript complies with the Author’s Guidelines); (2) review by the external reviewers, involving an assessment of its suitability for publication (compatibility with Our Palawan’s aims and scopes, evidence of research, sufficiency of references to the international literature, and scientific soundness); and (3) proofreading and checking whether the article is written in compliance with the Author’s Guidelines.

Submission of Manuscript. For the next issue, submission of manuscripts is now open for acceptance. Manuscripts should comply with the Author’s Guidelines which could be obtained by e-mail from the Editors at [email protected], PCSD Building, Sta. Monica Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. Copyright. The articles for publication should not violate the other author’s rights and copyright, fully or partially, through plagiarism (including self-plagiarism) or inclusion of elements (such as figures and photos) that do not belong to the author and for which no written consent to use is given by the owner. The author ensures that the paper has not been published or submitted for publication to any other journal and that the research described in the paper is original. The author also assumes full responsibility for the contents, correctness and originality of the paper.

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© 2017 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

Editorial Board

Nelson P. Devanadera, Executive DirectorAtty. Adelina B. Benavente-Villena, Deputy Executive Director

Josephine S. Matulac, Director II

Technical EditorsEngr. Madrono P. Cabrestante Jr., Division Head, EMKM

Marianne Faith G. Martinico-Perez, Research Analyst, EMKKM

Editorial Staff

Arnica D. MortilleroKit Jasper S. Hernandez

Celso S. QuilingJenevieve P. Hara

ISSN: 2423-222X©Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

PCSD Building, Sports Complex Road, Sta. Monica HeightsPuerto Princesa City, Palawan, 5300, Philippines

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© 2017 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

OUR PALAWANThe Scientific Journal of the Palawan Council Sustainable Development

Volume 3 Issue 1January – June 2017

Directory of External Reviewers

Dr. William Sm. GruezoRetired Faculty, University of the Philippines Los Baños

Dr. Chona Camile Vince Cruz-AbeledoDe La Salle University

Dr. Allaine T. Baaco Western Philippines University

Engr. Glenn S. Banaguas OYSDe La Salle Araneta University

Dr. Perry S. OngUniversity of the Philippines Diliman

Dr. rer. net. Thomas Edison E. Dela CruzUniversity of Sto. Tomas

Dr. Roger G. DolorosaWestern Philippines University

Dr. Benjamin J. Gonzales Western Philippines University

Dr. Cherry Myo Lwin Ritsumeikan University, Japan

Dr. Patrick A. RegonielPalawan State University

Dr. Shiela G. VergaraASEAN Centre for Biodiversity

Dr. Irina Safitri ZenInstitut Sultan Iskandar (ISI)

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© 2017 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

Palawan Council for Sustainable Development StaffEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

The publication of Our Palawan is another strategy to provide venue where we can share information that could benefit our students, researchers, communities and stakeholders. This is our humble contribution as environmental research is identified as a support mechanism of the Republic Act 7611. As we proudly claim, we take Palawan Province as a unique living laboratory having the large proportion of endemic plants and animals with total of 32 identified Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs).

We believe that all information generated through various researches and studies should be shared best in an accessible and user-friendly medium. On this note, we simultaneously upload this publication in digital format through the Palawan Knowledge Platform (PKP). The PKP, on the other hand, is a joint initiative of our organization in cooperation with our partners from various institutions, particularly the academe, other government agencies and the public sector to facilitate information sharing among the member-agencies. We are very pleased that this commendable initiative has gained ground with the active support and cooperation from our partners.

With respect to the policy formulation process, the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development - Scientific Advisory Panel (PCSD- SAP) has been reactivated to provide expert’s advice on certain issues for resolution of the Council. We endeavor to regularly convene the Panel and be able to seek their inputs on matters that require scientific expertise or opinion. This is our commitment to a science-based decision making by the Council.

The 4th edition of Our Palawan highlights some of the endemic species of Palawan as included in the research on extracts of selected plants in Puerto Princesa City. We also publish the ethno-food study and protein analysis of beans common among the locals called “lumabeng”. In doing so, we attempt to educate our readers of the beneficial components of some of the plants that maybe found just around Puerto Princesa City and the province of Palawan. On the same context, we packaged the information materials and reports presented in the international fora and conferences participated by the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development representing Palawan Biosphere Reserve under UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Program.

We encourage the students and researchers to continue exploring and then publish the results of their studies. Keep in mind that a single drop of idea today may create a ripple of brilliant thoughts for something big tomorrow!

NELSON P. DEVANADERAExecutive Director

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© 2017 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

Table of Contents

Editor’s Note iExecutive Director’s Message iv

Research Papers

1 Hemagglutination and Antimicrobial Potential of Leaf Crude Extracts of Selected Plants in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines Jhonamie Mabuhay-Omar, Shellajean M. Omar, Julius N. Burgos, Ciara Patricia Dicar, Dan Clark S. Bacani, and Edziel P. Hubo

12 Ethno-Food Study and Protein Analysis of Lumabeng Beans (Vigna umbellata (Thunb.) Ohwi & H. Ohashi) from Agutaya Island, Palawan, Philippines Ronald S. Brillantes

Feature Articles

19 Expert Advice from the Scientific Advisory Panel of PCSDS: Output of the 3rd Meeting on 20 June 2017

28 Facing the Odds: Palawan Battles against Forest Destruction (An Update from the Palawan Biosphere Reserve Periodic Report 2015)

33 Managing Palawan Biosphere Reserve’s Wildlife and their Habitats (An Update from the Palawan Biosphere Reserve Periodic Report 2015)

Forum/ Conference Papers

47 A Review of Palawan’s Coral Reefs Carlos Alfredo A. Castillo

52 The Zero Carbon Resorts for Sustainable Tourism Project: Promoting Biodiversity Friendly Enterprise

56 Research bits

60 About the Authors

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© 2017 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development vi

The Tubbataha Refs and Natural Park was approved in principle as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSN) by the International Maritime Organisation - Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC). The application was approved during MEPC’s 69th session held last 18-22 April 2016 in London. This will serve as an additional protection to the park from shipping vessels that cross its borders which may aground or damage reefs.

Photo Credits: PCSDS

Tubbataha Reefs and Natural Park declared as Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSN)

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1© 2017 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

This study aimed to screen the presence of phytohemagglutinin for ABO blood groups from 20 plant species found in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. The presence of antibacterial potential was also screened from those which agglutinated one, two, three and four blood types. The agglutination of blood types A, B, AB and O after application with each of the leaf crude extracts was examined macroscopically and microscopically. There were two trials conducted per treatment per leaf extract. Among the 20 plant species tested, 14 (70%) showed agglutination with at least one blood type while 6 (30%) species did not exhibit agglutination. Two species, the Palawan Pitcher Plant Nepenthes palawanensis and Cashew Anacardium occidentale L. agglutinated with all blood types. Four species were found to have the capability of determining a specific blood type: Atsuete (Bixa orellana L.) and Ilang-ilang (Cananga odorata Lam.) for blood type O; Balayong (Cassia nodosa Roxb.) for blood type A; and Makabuhay (Tinospora reticulata Miers.) for blood type AB. Cashew, Palawan gabi (Colocasia sp. Schott), Atsuete and Makabuhay leaf extracts were tested for antibacterial potential against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus megaterium, Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Among the four plants tested, Makabuhay showed antibacterial effects to five bacterial species (E. coli, S. aureus, B. cereus, B. megaterium and B. subtilis), followed by Atsuete to four bacterial species (S. aureus, B. cereus, B. subtilis and B. megaterium). Cashew showed only inhibitory effects toward two bacteria (S. aureus and B. megaterium) while Palawan gabi did not inhibit any of the six bacterial species. None of the four extracts inhibited P. aeruginosa.

Hemagglutination and Antibacterial Potential of Leaf Crude Extracts of Selected Plants

in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, PhilippinesJhonamie Mabuhay-Omar1, Shellajean M. Omar2, Julius N. Burgos1,

Ciara Patricia Dicar1, Dan Clark S. Bacani1, and Edziel P. Hubo1

ABSTRACT

1College of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Western Philippines University, WPU-Puerto Princesa Campus2Palawan State University-Brooke’s Point Campus, Brooke’s Point, Palawan

Keywords:

HemagglutinationAntibacterialLeaf crude extractBlood typeTreatment

Our PalawanThe Scientific Journal of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

Research Paper

This article is also available on-line at www.pkp.pcsd.gov.ph

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2© 2017 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

INTRODUCTION Agglutination is a process applied in immunologic reactions including blood testing and other medical applications (Segen and Stauffer 2004 as cited by Ongpoy 2016). This process involves mixing an antibody with its corresponding antigen such as animal cell, bacteria or red blood cells that forms visible clumps. Blood grouping such as ABO blood groups can be done by observing the clumping of red blood cells in the presence of specific antibody. Agglutination for different blood groups upon application of plant extract is due to the lectin present in plants (George et al. 2011) called phytoagglutinin. Plant lectins are a class of proteins, non-immune in origin, which show a very specific interaction with carbohydrates (George et al. 2011). Lectins have great significance in the diet because of their involvement in gastrointestinal difficulties and erythrocyte agglutination (Zubcevic et al. 2016). Some lectins consumed by the body act as messengers that has the ability to bind to the sugars of cells in the gut and the blood cells, initiating an inflammatory response. Lectin is abundant on the seed and vegetative parts of a plant including roots, leaves, rhizomes and stems (Chrispeels and Raikhel 1991). It also serves as an important antigenic determinant of blood groups for blood type identification. Hemagglutination activity has been tested in wheat germ agglutinin, peanuts and dry cereal (Brady et al. 1978), tomato lectin (Vasconcelos and Oliveira 2004), navy bean lectin (Pusztai et al. 1979), 20 plant species found in human diet (Zubcevic et al. 2016), in tubers of Eranthis hyemalis (winter aconite) (George et al. 2011) and wild grasses (Ongpoy 2016). There are still many plants unexplored as to their potential in hemagglutination such as those found in Palawan. Plant extracts have enormous therapeutic potential. They are effective in the treatment of infectious diseases while simultaneously extenuating many of the side effects that are often associated with synthetic antibiotics. The beneficial effects of plant materials typically result from the combinations of secondary products present in the plant. In plants, these compounds are mostly secondary metabolites

such as alkaloids, steroids, tannins, and phenol compounds, flavonoids, steroids, resins, fatty acids and gums which are capable of producing definite physiological action on the body (Joshi and Edington 1990). In past decades, higher plants are well recognized for their ability to produce a wide spectrum of natural products with interesting bioactivities (Liu et al. 2007) such as antibacterial potential. Although hundreds of plants have been tested, their antimicrobial properties, many of them are not yet explored (Balandrin et al. 1985). Palawan, dubbed as the Philippines’ “Last Ecological Frontier”, has various plant species that are either endemic or introduced to the province and are being protected by the efforts of the government due to deforestation and over-harvesting. Due to Palawan’s uniqueness, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), declared it as a “Man and Biosphere Reserve” owing to its vast land area and topography divided by tall mountains ranges (https://pnni.wordpress.com/palawan-biodiversity-facts-and-figures). With the resources found within the reach, the flora of Palawan must be explored scientifically so they can be used in various applications such as medicine and allied health fields. This study sought to determine hemagglutination and antibacterial potential of selected plant extracts found in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Specifically, this study aimed to determine the agglutination of ABO (A, B, AB, and O) blood groups with different plant crude extracts and to determine the antibacterial potential of plant extracts which agglutinated all four blood types, only three blood types, only two blood types and only one blood type.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Locale of the Study and Collection of Plant Samples This study was conducted at the laboratory of College of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (CFAS), Western Philippines University-Puerto Princesa Campus, Bgy. Sta. Monica, Puerto Princesa City. Twenty plant species were used for this study, collected from different sites in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. These plants were

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Table 1. List of plants used in this study (Binomial names are based on Merrill ED, 1912, 1923; Quisumbing 1978; Pancho & Gruezo 2006, 2009; McPherson et al. 2010)

chosen randomly based on their availability nearby and based on usage and frequency of encounter by the local people. Some of these plants were endemic to Palawan while others were introduced species from other parts of the Philippines or other countries. The leaves were the plant parts used for this study. The plants were identified in terms of their local and scientific names (Table 1).

Preparation of plant samples and leaf extraction The leaves were washed with tap water and rinsed with distilled water after collection. The samples were blot dried and air dried for 2 hrs (Figure 1). Extraction was done by pounding through the use of sterile mortar and pestle, followed by squeezing through sterile cheese cloth and filtering with the use of Whatman filter paper.

Blood agglutination by different plant leaf extracts The blood samples for this study were obtained from healthy willing individuals of

both sexes who have blood types A, B, AB and O (n=16) (Zubcevic et al., 2016). The blood samples were treated with synthetic anti-sera to confirm blood types. After confirmation, a drop of blood of a specific blood type on a glass slide was mixed with a drop of extract using sterile toothpick and then observed using a microscope (100x magnification). The process was done promptly to avoid blood drying. Antibacterial Assay Cashew, Atsuete, Palawan gabi and Makabuhay were chosen to be tested for antibacterial potential as they agglutinated all four blood types, only three blood types, only two blood types and only one blood type, respectively. The leaf crude extracts of these four selected plant species were screened for antibacterial potential using filter paper disc diffusion method against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus megaterium, Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa which were obtained from Mindanao State University, Marawi City.

Local Name Scientific NameAcacia Samanea saman (Jacq.) Merr.Acapulco Senna alata L.Atsuete Bixa orellana L.Bakawan lalake Rhizophora apiculata BlumeBalayong Cassia nodosa Roxb.Balete Ficus indica L.Calamansi Citrus microcarpa BungeCashew Anacardium occidentale L.Ilang-ilang Cananga odorata (Lam.) Hook.f. & ThomsonKakawate Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Kunth ex Walp.Lagundi Vitex negundo L.Langka Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.Makabuhay Tinospora reticulata Miers.Muyo-muyo Lantana camara L.Palawaan Pitcher Plant Nepenthes palawanensis (McPherson et al. 2010)Palawan Gabi Colocasia sp. SchottPaper Tree Gmelina arborea Roxb.Sambong Blumea balsamifera L.Seresas Muntingia calabura L.Tuboy Ficus sp. L.

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4© 2017 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

Figure 1. a) washing of samples, b) air drying of plant leaves after washing.BA

The nutrient agar medium was prepared by dissolving 23 grams of nutrient agar in a flask with distilled water to a volume of 1000ml. The melted nutrient was then transferred to 24 test tubes and covered with lids. The test tubes were labeled and were sterilized by autoclaving at 15 psi for 30 minutes. After sterilization, the test tubes with the culture medium were allowed to cool down to about 45 degrees Celsius. The nutrient agar was then inoculated aseptically with a loopful of test bacteria and rotated gently between hands to ensure uniform distribution and then poured aseptically into its respective pre-labelled Petri plates and were allowed to solidify. The prepared filter paper discs (6mm diameter) from no.1 Whatman filter paper that were soaked from the prepared leaf crude extracts were placed aseptically at designated sectors inside the Petri plates. Amoxicillin (500 mg) was used as the positive control and distilled water as the negative control. The Petri plates were then incubated at 35˚ Celsius for 12-24 hours. After incubation period, the plates were examined for zones of inhibition. The zones of inhibition were measured using standardized transparent ruler in millimeter scale.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Hemagglutination by different plant leaf extracts The studied plant species with the

presence or absence of agglutination are presented in Table 2. Among the 20 plant species tested (first and second trial), 14 (70%) agglutinated with at least one blood type while 6 plant species (30%) did not exhibit agglutination (Figure 2). These results of agglutination were higher than the results obtained by Zubcevic et al. (2016) where they found agglutination to only 11 out of 20 plant species. Results of this study also showed that from the 14 plant species where extracts were capable of agglutination, 35.7% agglutinated blood type A, 50% agglutinated blood type B, 85.7% agglutinated blood type AB and 50% agglutinated blood type O (Figure 3). Blood type AB has the highest percentage agglutination which shows its sensitivity to coagulants. This result is similar to the result of Zubcevic et al. (2016) where blood type AB and O showed the highest percentage agglutination when applied with plant extracts found the human diet. There is no study yet that proved differences in sensitivity of blood types A, B, AB and O to different agglutinins and this area is worth doing a study in the future. Seven species showed inconclusive results due to discrepancy in the first and second trials and another trial must be conducted again for verification. Only Palawan Pitcher plant and Cashew leaf extracts consistently exhibited agglutination to all blood types (Table 2). It was observed during the conduct of the study that

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Plants usedAgglutination to different blood types

A1 A2 B1 B2 AB1 AB2 O1 O2 Positive agglutination

Specificblood type

Acacia - - + - - - - - B InconclusiveAcapulco - - - - - - - - None NoneAtsuete + + + + + + - - A, B, AB OBakawan Lalake - + + + + - + + A, B, AB, O InconclusiveBalayong - - + + + + + + B, AB, O ABalete - - - + + + - + B, AB, O InconclusiveCalamansi - - - - - - - - None NoneIlang-ilang - - - - - - + + O OKakawate - - - - - - - - None NoneLagundi - - - - - - - - None NoneLangka - - - - + - - - AB InconclusiveMakabuhay - - - - + + - - AB ABMuyo-muyo - - - - - + - - AB InconclusivePaper tree - - - - + - - - AB InconclusivePalawan Gabi - - - + - + - - B, AB NonePalawan Pitcher + + + + + + + + A, B, AB, O NoneSambong - - - - - - - - None NoneSeresas - + + + + - + - A, B, AB, O InconclusiveTuboy - - - - - - - - None None

Subscript 1, black + & - = first trialSubscript 2, red + & - = second trial

Table 2. Reaction of different blood types treated with different plant leaf crude extracts.

Figure 2. Percentage agglutination of the plant extracts to ABO blood groups.

these two plant extracts agglutinated all blood types very quickly (≤5secs) upon application and the blood coagulation was very distinct that can be seen even without the aid of a microscope (Figure 4). When viewed under microscope, big clumps of blood were observed (Figure 5). This suggests that these two plant species are strong blood coagulators which, if non-toxic,

can be used to stop blood flow from a wound (Ongpoy 2016). They can be sources of plant-based polymers that can be made into gel or bandage which can easily trigger blood clotting to save lives (Bloomberg News, 11:32 AM PHT November 19, 2014). The Palawan Pitcher Plant (Nepenthes palawanensis) is endemic to Palawan (McPherson 2010). At present, very

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Figure 3. Percentage agglutination of plant extracts to specific blood types.

Figure 4. Agglutination of Palawan Pitcher Plant leaf extract to blood type AB

Figure 5. Agglutination of Palawan Pitcher Plant leaf extract to blood type AB under microscope (100X)

There were 6 plant species which did not show agglutination in any blood type. These were the Kakawate, Lagundi, Tuboy, Calamansi, Acapulco and Sambong. According to Hamid et al. (2013), the lectin content in some parts of plants varies depending on what family they belong. It was further stated that non-legume plants contained lower lectin than those plants belonging to the legume family. However, the percentage of lectin content varies from one variety to another. Among the plants examined, only Kakawate belonged to the legume family, but Kakawate did not react to any of the blood types tested. Three of these 6 species were usually taken orally for medicinal purposes. These are the Lagundi, Calamansi and Sambong. This is encouraging to know because of some disputes in the effects of lectins in plant extracts which are heat-stable and react with the gastro-intestinal tract, causing

little is known about its ecology, habitat or threats and there appears to be an urgent need to conduct further research to develop appropriate conservation actions, considering its promising uses in biotechnology. Four species were found to have the capability of determining specific blood types: Atsuete and Ilang-ilang for blood type O; Balayong for blood type A; and Makabuhay for blood type AB. These species can be used as organic anti-sera to determine blood types without buying the commercially sold anti-sera. They can be added to the list of plant extracts already known as source of typing sera such as Dolichos biflorus L. as anti A, Ulex europaeus L. as anti H, Bauhinia variegata L. and Vicia graminea Sm. as anti N in MNS blood grouping (Harmening 1999), and Tridax procumbens L. and Vernonia cinerea L. as anti A and B, respectively, for ABO blood groups (Ongpoy 2016).

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Sum of Squares df Mean of

Square F Sig.

B. Cereus Between Groups 4284.000 5 856.800 642.600 .000**Within Groups 24.000 18 1.333 Total 4308.000 23

B. megaterium Between Groups 1654.500 5 330.900 59.861 .000**Within Groups 99.500 18 5.528 Total 1754.000 23

B. subtilis Between Groups 3825.500 5 765.100 810.106 .000**Within Groups 17.000 18 .944 Total 3842.500 23

E. coli Between Groups 1032.208 5 206.442 17.223 .000**Within Groups 215.750 18 11.986 Total 1247.958 23

P. aeruginosa Between Groups .000 5 .000 . .Within Groups .000 18 .000 Total .000 23

S. aureus Between Groups 798.208 5 159.642 29.099 .000**Within Groups 98.750 18 5.486 Total 896.958 23

**highly significant at α=0.01

Table 3. Summary of ANOVA for the six bacterial species subjected to the different leaf crude extracts

subclinical effects in humans, especially when used in large quantities (Tommy et al. 2005). Lectins in excess can cause gastrointestinal damage, type-2 IgG immune responses, mild allergies and hemagglutination (Eroarome et al. 1998). It is therefore safe to consume Lagundi, Calamansi and Sambong orally as they exhibited non-agglutination to all blood types. For Acapulco and Kakawate, their external uses as antibacterial and antifungal agents are known but further studies are needed to prove them safe to be taken orally for other possible medicinal uses. For Tuboy, no records yet are available for its medicinal applications. For all the plant species that agglutinated at least one of the blood types tested, there can be other application for them. Agglutination with blood is due to the presence of lectin. Hamid et al.(2013) stated that lectin has great contribution on anti-insect, anti-tumor, antimicrobial and antiviral activities. Although lectins are identified as potential toxins, there are some lectins that are beneficial to the body. Lectins provide a diverse and an increasing

number of applications such as differentiating markers to study cancer cells (Matsumoto et al. 2010), characterize differentiation among stem cells (Wearne et al. 2006) and different biological activities that include anti-bacterial (Raja et al. 2011), anti-fungal (Freire et al. 2002), anti-HIV (Hoorelbeke et al. 2010), and immune-modulative effects (Reis et al. 2008). With the numerous and increasing applications of lectins, it is crucial and significant to identify novel plant sources of lectins especially that Palawan has mega diverse flora.

Antibacterial potential of the selected plant leaf crude extracts The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) in Table 3 proved that there were highly significant differences among the measured zones of inhibition shown by the different leaf crude extracts against the test bacteria (see Figure 6 & 7). The Makabuhay leaf crude extract showed zones of inhibition against the five test bacteria except P. aeruginosa. The Atsuete leaf crude extract showed inhibition against the four test

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Figure 6. Zones of inhibition exhibited by the different treatments towards the test bacterial species.

Figure 7. Sample Petri plate showing zones of inhibition exhibited by different leaf extracts and control treatments against Bacillus megaterium.

bacteria except E. coli and P. aeruginosa while cashew leaf crude extract showed zones of inhibition against S. aureus and B. megaterium. On the other hand, the Palawan gabi leaf crude extract showed no zone of inhibition against all test bacteria. It was further proven that the antibacterial potential of Makabuhay and Atsuete are next in rank to the positive control Amoxicillin (Table 4). It was followed by Cashew while Palawan gabi did not differ significantly from the negative control distilled water. The antibacterial property of the plant extract did not correspond to the number of blood types agglutinated by it. Although Cashew extract agglutinated all blood types,

its antibacterial effects are lower than those of Makabuhay and Atsuete. This shows that the lectins responsible for agglutination could have various effects and different applications, and other bioactive compounds are present in the leaves which caused antibacterial effects. Among the plant extracts tested for antibacterial property, Makabuhay and Atsuete showed promising effects. Although not comparable to positive control, it is worth noting that these inhibitory effects were obtained by using crude extracts. If extracted with solvents and purified by chromatography, these effects could probably become higher. Makabuhay plant contains a bitter principle, colombine (2.22%), traces of an alkaloid, and a glucoside.

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Treatment N Subset for alpha = 0.51 2 3 4

Water (negative) 24 .000Palawan Gabi 24 .000Cashew 24 3.708Atsuete 24 8.958Makabuhay 24 10.292Amoxicillin (positive) 24 20.792Sig. .445 1.000 .986 1.000

Means for groups in homogeneous subsets are displayed.a. Uses Harmonic Mean Sample Size = 24.000

Table 4. Tukey HSDa test comparing the effects of all treatments.

It also contains an amorphous bitter principle, picroretine and traces of berberine similar to glyzirrhizin (Ragasa 2000). Atsuete, on the other hand, contains carbohydrates, steroids, alkaloids, proteins, flavonoids, terpenoids, phenolics, tannins and glycosides (Keong et al. 2013). The results of this study on the effects of Cashew leaf extracts on the test bacteria supported the findings of Chermahini and Majid (2011) where its antibacterial potential is only effective against Gram positive bacteria such as S. aureus but not towards Gram negative such as E. coli. Cashew leaves are a rich source of tannins, a group of plant chemicals with documented biological activity (Chermahini and Majid 2011) such as antimicrobial effects (Lim and Murtijaya 2007). Flavonoids and other plant phenolics, such as phenolicacids, stilbenes, tannins, lignans, and lignin, are especially common in leaves of Cashew plants (Larson 1988). The active antibacterial property of these three plants, Makabuhay, Atsuete and Cashew could probably be attributed to these phytochemical components.

CONCLUSIONS and RECOMMENDATIONS

The leaf crude extracts of 14 out 20 plants collected in Puerto Princesa City have the ability to agglutinate ABO blood groups. Four species have the capability to determine specific blood types in the ABO blood group system; Atsuete (Bixa orellana L.) and Ilang-ilang (Cananga odorata Lam.) can determine blood type O, Balayong (Cassia nodosa Roxb.) for blood type A and Makabuhay (Tinospora reticulata Miers) for blood type AB. Cashew,

Atsuete and Makabuhay have antibacterial potential at varying degrees. With the results and limitations of the study, it is recommended that another trial be conducted to verify inconclusive results. Those plants used in this study that agglutinated or did not agglutinate with specific blood types can be used by local people for blood typing purposes. Those than can agglutinate all blood types must not be ingested and toxicity test must be conducted before it can be used to staunch blood flow from a cut or wound. On the other hand, those which did not agglutinate any blood type and have been taken orally for medicinal applications are safe to be used. Antimicrobial effects for all the plants studied can be done for better comparison. It will be of great importance to have screening for hemagglutination of endemic and native plants of Palawan as this information will help in policy making particularly in the conservation of our endemic flora and as well as in developing Palawan’s potential on new material source for biotechnology.

LITERATURE CITED

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Chermahini SH & Abdul Majid FA. 2011. Antimicrobial activity of cashew leaves’

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10© 2017 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

extracts used in cosmetics before and after treatment with activated carbon. Journal of Medicinal Plants Research Vol. 5(19) : 4740-4746

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Eroarome MA, Harinder PSM & Klaus B. 1998. Nontoxic Variety of Jatropha curcas using Latex Agglutination and Haemagglutination Methods and Inactivation of Lectin by Heat Treatments. Journal of the Science of Food Agriculture: 77(3), 349-352.

Freire MDGM, Gomes VM, Corsini RE, Machado OLT & de Dimone SG. 2002. Isolation and partial characterization of a novel lectin from Talisia esculenta seeds that interferes with fungal growth. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry. 40: 61-68.

George O, Solscheid C, Bertolo E, Fell J and Lisgarten D. 2011. Extraction and puri-cation of the lectin found in the tubers of the lectin found in the tubers of Eranthis hyemalis (winter aconite).

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Matsumoto H, Shinzaki S, Narisada M, Kawamoto S & Kawamoto K. 2010. Clinical application of a lectinantibody

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SN. 2011. Isolation and partial characterization of a novel lectin from Aegle marmelos fruit and its effect on adherence. PloS One. 6: e16231-e16231.

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Amorphophallus: (Newly Discovered) Through the WWF-Philippines, a new flowering plant species is found in the Municipality of Araceli. This amorphophallus species, with pink and yellow variations were found to be thriving at around 30-40 meters above sea level on the small rocky island. The group recommended further study and proper identification of this flora.

Photo Credits: M.Matillano/WWF Philippines

endemic speciesof Palawan

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12© 2017 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

Characterization of protein present in Lumabeng beans (Vigna umbellata) from Agutaya Island, Palawan was conducted using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Results revealed that Lumabeng bean flour contained 24.4 g protein/100g which is higher than other local bean varieties. The coliform test supply value and aerobic plate count supply value of test for the food samples with lumabeng flour as an additive also passed the safety standards set by the International Commission for Microbiological Specification of Food (ICMF) and the Philippine Food and Drug Authority (FDA). This study shows the viability and potential of lumabeng beans and possible derivatives to be a good source of protein-rich alternatives for the locals in combating malnutrition.

Ethno-Food Study and Protein Analysis of Lumabeng Beans (Vigna umbellata (Thunb.) Ohwi & H. Ohashi)

from Agutaya Island, Palawan, Philippines

Ronald S. Brillantes1

ABSTRACT

1Department of Education, Puerto Princesa City Division2San Jose National High School, Puerto Princesa City

Keywords:

Ethno-Food StudyProtein AnalysisCharacterizationHigh PerformanceLiquid Chromatography

Our PalawanThe Scientific Journal of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

Research Paper

This article is also available on-line at www.pkp.pcsd.gov.ph

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INTRODUCTION Onis et.al. (1993) described malnutrition as the “cellular imbalance between the supply of nutrients and energy and the body’s demand for them to ensure growth, maintenance, and specific functions.” Protein‐energy malnutrition is the most severe nutritional body depletion disorder among infants and young children in developing countries, attributable to inadequate energy and nutrient intake, partly due to high dietary bulk of weaning and infant foods. The gruels fed to children are typically of low nutrient and energy density (Ndagire, et al., 2015). In the Philippines, investigated by Wieser et. al., (2013) micronutrient deficiencies (MNDs) are a chronic lack of vitamins and minerals and constitute a huge public health problem. MNDs have severe health consequences and are particularly harmful during early childhood due to their impact on the physical and cognitive development. According to FAO (2001) Protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) and micronutrient deficiencies remain the leading nutritional problems in the Philippines. The general declining trend in the prevalence of underweight, wasting and stunting among Filipino children noted in the past 10 years was countered with the increase in the prevalence rate in 1998. The occurrence of malnutrition, where being underweight and chronically energy deficient, is exhibited in about 4 million or 31.8% of the total preschool population, 3 million or 19.8% of total adolescent population and 5 million or 13.2% of total adult population. Studied by Detzel and Wieser (2015), the Philippines has a large percentage of the population suffering from one or more forms of malnutrition including micronutrient deficiencies. Among Filipino children, the four major deficiency disorders are protein-energy malnutrition, iodine deficiency disorder, vitamin A deficiency and iron deficiency. Iron deficiency (manifested as iron deficiency anemia) is the most common form of malnutrition in the Filipino population, especially in children. Legumes play a prominent role in the diets of many vegetarians and may contribute to some of the health benefits associated with this eating pattern (Haddad and Tanzman, 2003). It is also rich in fiber, even compared

with other unrefined plant foods. One-half cup of beans provides between 5.2 and 7.8 g of total fiber compared with ~1.7–4 g of fiber per one-half cup serving of whole grains. They are also among the best sources of soluble fiber (Galisteo et. al., 2008). Reinforced by Messina (2014), beans are rich in a number of important micronutrients, including potassium, magnesium, folate, iron, and zinc, and are important sources of protein in vegetarian diets. According to Campbell et al. (2001), the current Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein at 0.8 g/(kg.day) is set as the safe and adequate intake for virtually all healthy men and women aged 19 years and older. The current harmonized United States–Canadian RDA for protein is 0.8 g/(kg·day) for all adults including older ones (Institute of Medicine 2005). Meanwhile, greater protein intake are required in elderly women aged ≥65 years and specifically over 80 years. They estimated an average requirement of 10–11 g/(kg·day), and thus an RDA of 12–13 g/(kg·day) (Rafii et al. 2015; Tang et al. 2014). The aim of this study is to determine the protein content and develop a protein-rich and nutritious product using lumabeng beans commonly found in the Island of Palawan which can also be commercially produced for supplementary feeding of children and at the same time, promoted for adolescent and adult population.

Lumabeng Beans of Palawan Lumabeng bean found in Palawan (Figure 1) is one of the usual lentils consumed by the locals. Its name originated from Agutaynen and Cuyunon dialect, and no other equivalent could be traced as of the study period. By observation, this bean is found to be thriving abundantly in the Agutaya Island located at north-east of Palawan mainland, though there are also areas wherein these leguminous plants are found such as in the Cuyo Group of Islands, Araceli-Dumaran and Roxas. There are even citations in Puerto Princesa City and other claims that these were also planted by the indigenous groups of Southern Palawan. Folklores and stories about the ingenuity and cleverness of Agutaynens (people of Agutaya) were greatly associated to their consumption of lumabeng beans. It was said that since

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14© 2017 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

Figure 1. Lumabeng (Vigna umbellate (Thunb.) Ohwi & H. Ohashi) in Palawan, Philippines. A. Habit of immature plant; B. Phenotypes of bean seeds (Photo taken by R. Brillantes, 2016)

A B

the Agutaynens have better access to this commodity, this folklore has triggered curiosity on the nutritional values of the Lumabeng. Physically, the lumabeng plant looks similar to mung bean plant. Its pods are green to violet, containing reddish to brownish beans with white hilum. Currently, the means of propagating lumabeng is through seeds and harvesting is usually all year round but the planting season is mostly done after the slash-and-burn (kaingin) practice of the locals wherein lumabeng seeds are planted together with upland rice. This is intercropped with rice to assure additional food source in case of calamities such as typhoons or even drought wherein the beans, being resilient enough to withstand such climatic conditions, can provide food for the farmers. Moreover, being a leguminous plant, it has the capability for nitrogen-fixing in soil, therefore improving and sustaining soil fertility. Since it is not yet mass produced in Palawan, lumabeng beans are not readily available in the local markets in great volumes especially in Puerto Princesa City. The produce are usually consumed within the community where the plants thrive, reaching other areas only during festivals such as Baragatan (celebration of Palawan’s founding anniversary) where representatives from different municipalities gather in Puerto Princesa to showcase various local products. Occasionally, these beans can be purchased in

local markets but due to its limited supply, the price is higher than other beans. Agutaynens and other Palaweños usually consume these beans as viand or as an additive to a viand (as the main ingredient or as an extender). These beans are treated just like any other beans as an alternate to meat for source of protein. At the moment, studies on Lumabeng beans are very limited. No data is readily available on its ecology and distribution in the province including its physiology. Being abundant in Agutaya and in selected areas of Palawan, people even believe that the said species of beans is endemic to the province but this is yet to be proven.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A. Acquisition of Samples and Materials Fresh Lumabeng beans were obtained directly from Agutaynen tribe in Agutaya Island. Six hundred (600) grams of fresh beans were washed with deionized water to free them from microorganism. Three (3) sterile aluminum pans were prepared where beans were distributed for sun drying process. After three days of sun drying, five hundred (500) grams of dried beans were then obtained and zip-locked in a plastic bag for protein characterization.

B. Preparation of protein characterization Five hundred (500) grams of dried bean

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15© 2017 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

samples were milled using flour mill. Three hundred (300) grams bean flour were then prepared and kept into the glass container and stored at 4°C prior to use. Characterization of protein was conducted at the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) laboratory. The analysis followed the standard protocol using Kjeldahl method and was carefully carried out in sequence.

C. Distillation of the sample The purpose of distillation was to separate the ammonia (the nitrogen) from the digestion mixture. The pH was raised in the mixture using sodium hydroxide (45% NaOH solution). This has the effect of changing the ammonium (NH4+) ions (which are dissolved in the liquid) to ammonia (NH3), which is a gas. Nitrogen was isolated away from the digestion mixture by distilling the ammonia (converting it to a volatile gas, by raising the temperature to boiling point) and then the distilled vapor is trapped in a special trapping solution of about 15 ml HCl (hydrochloric acid) in 70 ml of water. The trapping flask was removed and the condenser was rinsed with water so as to make sure that all the ammonia has been dissolved. The formula below was used to find the number of moles of ammonia that have been produced and then trapped from the sample(s). The number of moles of acid in the trapping flask originally (before any ammonia was trapped) was determined by multiplying the molarity of the acid solution by the volume of the trapping solution.

Equation 1. moles of acid = M Vwhere: M = molarity of acid V = volume of trapping solution used

(a derivation from the standard formula of Molarity where:Molarity=moles of solute/ volume of solution [in Liters]; standard formula used by Department of Science and Technology)

The number of moles of base (NaOH) that was added from the burette to neutralize the remaining acid (that was NOT neutralized by the ammonia), was computed using the following formula:

Equation 2. moles of base = MVwhere: M = molarity of base V = volume added from burette

(a derivation from the standard formula of Molarity where:Molarity=moles of solute/volume of solution [in Liters]; standard formula used by Department of Science and Technology)

The number of grams of nitrogen in the original sample of protein is determined by multiplying the “moles of nitrogen” by the atomic mass of nitrogen (mass of atoms of nitrogen):

Equation 3. gN = (moles of N)(14.0067)where: gms nitrogen = moles nitrogen x atomic mass [Eq. 3] (gN = molesN x 14.0067)

(Standard formula used by Department of Science and Technology)

D. Food preparation of Lumabeng bean flour products Food products from Lumabeng flour were made such as flour for bread and pastries, lumabeng tofu, and lumabeng milk. Tofu and lumabeng milk products were prepared through the help of Palawan Adventist Hospital Food Products personnel.

E. Microbiological analysis of Lumabeng bean flour food products Food products from Lumabeng bean flour such as pastry products were subjected to thorough microbiological testing conducted at the Regional Analytical Standard Testing for food at DOST Palawan.

i. Aerobic Plate Count (APC) Following the standard protocol of the Food and Drug Authority’s Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM) 1998, the aerobic plate count (APC) was conducted to determine the amount of microorganism in a product.

ii. Coli plate count Fifty (50) grams of food was weighed into sterile high-speed blender jar (see Chapter 1 and current FDA compliance programs for

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16© 2017 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

instructions on sample size and compositing). Frozen samples were softened by storing at <18 h, 2-5°C, but samples should not be thawed. A 450 mL of Butterfield’s phosphate-buffered water was added and blended for two minutes.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 1 presents the analysis of protein on Lumabeng bean flour. The results showed that 24.4 g of protein per 100g were found in Lumabeng beans using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). This value is found to be significantly higher than that of the usual beans consume as protein source such as soy beans and mung beans. These findings show lumabeng bean’s potential in serving as an alternative protein source, given almost double the soya bean’s protein content. Since lumabeng flour is used as an additive for the food samples, it is also important to know whether it contains harmful bacteria for the consumer. Table 2 shows the total coliform test on Lumabeng bean flour used as an ingredient for lumabeng bean pancake. The results of the test revealed that the food sample

had less than 1.5 MPN/100 ml which is safe based from the standard limits set by ICMF and US FDA (The total coliform test is based on the FDA-BAM). Thus in terms of food safety, the derived bean flour from lumabeng shows no hazard to the consumers. Table 3 shows the aerobic plate count test on food samples made from Lumabeng beans. The Aerobic Plate Count provides an overview of the colony forming units (Cfu) but does not necessarily differentiate the various bacteria present. The bacterial count gives us an idea on how sanitary the food sample is, providing a good indicator of spoilage level and overall safety of the product. The test revealed that Lumabeng bean flour food sample with 1,000 Cfu/g are within the level 1- satisfactory limit set by the ICMF and US FDA.

CONCLUSION AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS

The Agutaynens and Palaweños have long been consuming lumabeng beans as one of the indigenous source of protein in their diet. With the results from this study, it only showed that lumabeng provided essential protein source to the locals of Palawan, having found to contain higher protein than the usual beans and lentils available in the markets. Laboratory results on Total Coliform and Aerobic Plate Count further showed that lumabeng food products produced are safe for human consumption. Thus, lumabeng has high potentials to combat MNDs, specifically malnutrition which besets a large portion of the Filipino population. With these, the potentials of lumabeng as a local source of protein especially by the island municipalities is highlighted, paving the road for possible interventions to further explore propagation and commercialization of this bean variety for food security. Lumabeng can then be an important alternative for meat or other bean and lentil produce shipped from outside of the province, cutting down costs and improving nutrition availability for the public’s

Type of Beans Proteing/100g

Lumabeng bean 24.4 (FNRI)Soybeans, mature seeds, sprouted, raw 13.09 (USDA)

Mung beans, mature seeds, sprouted, raw 7.02 (USDA)

Table 1. Analysis of Protein on Lumabeng Bean Flour

Table 2. Total Coliform Test of Food Samples

Table 3. Aerobic Plate Count of Food Samples

Legend: FNRI- Food and Nutrition Research InstituteUSDA- United States Department of Agriculture

Legend: 3 to 100 MPN-Marginal limit by ICMF (International Commission for Microbiological Specifications of Food) 9 to 248 MPN – FDA

Food Total Coliform,MPN/100 ml

Lumabeng Bean Pancake ˂ 1.5

Type of Bean Aerobic Plate Count (Cfu/g)

Lumabeng Bean Pancake 1,000

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17© 2017 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

general welfare.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the conclusions, the following recommendations are hereby offered for consideration:1. Further significant analysis should be conducted to determine the phytonutrients present in lumabeng bean flour and its nutrient components.2. Further investigation should be conducted to enhance the efficacy of flour as pastry component.3. The local governments have to allocate funds for the improvement and enhancement of the project by assisting the community in adapting a better process on how to extract flour and manufacture food products derived from lumabeng.4. Nutritional profile of Lumabeng flour frequently used by the tribal communities as food are to be analysed for recommended dietary allowance for better nutrition.5. Encourage researches on lumabeng bean’s biology and physiology, documenting current population and distribution in Palawan.6. Study on the taxonomy of lumabeng beans is encouraged to establish the status of the local commodity. This can help assure proper future interventions for its protection and propagation.7. Explore the faster propagation of lumabeng which can aid food security especially to island municipalities where resources are limited.

REFERENCES

Campbell, W.W, Trappe, T.A., Wolfe, R.R. and Evans, W.J. 2001. The Recommended Dietary Allowance for Protein May Not Be Adequate for Older People to Maintain Skeletal Muscle. Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci (2001) 56 (6): M373-M380 doi:10.1093/gerona/56.6.M373

Detzel P. and Wieser S. 2015. Food Fortification for Addressing Iron Deficiency in Filipino Children: Benefits and Cost-Effectiveness. Ann Nutr Metab 2015;66 (suppl 2):35-42

FAO- Nutrition Country Profile of Philippines.

2001. PDF FileFood and Agriculture Organization. 2010.

Nutrition Country Profiles- Philippines. Available at: http://www.fao.org/ag/agn/nutrition/phl_en.stm

Food and Drug Authority. 1998. Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM), Edition 8, Revision A. Available at: https://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodScienceResearch/ LaboratoryMethods/ucm063346.htm

Galisteo M., Duarte J., Zarzuelo A. 2008. Effects of dietary fibers on disturbances clustered in the metabolic syndrome. J Nutr Biochem ;19:71–84.

Haddad E.H. and Tanzman J.S. 2003. What do vegetarians in the United States eat? Am J Clin Nutr; 78(suppl):626S–32S

Institute of Medicine. 2005. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrates, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein and Amino Acids. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, USA.

Messina, V. 2014. Nutritional and health benefits of dried beans. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. American Society for Nutrition. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/100/Supplement_1/437S.full#ref-16

Ndagire, C. T., Muyonga, J. H., Manju, R. and Nakimbugwe, D. 2015. Optimized formulation and processing protocol for a supplementary bean-based composite flour. Food Sci Nutr, 3: 527–538. doi:10.1002/fsn3.244

Onis M. de, Monteiro C., and Clugston G. 1993. The worldwide magnitude of protein-energy malnutrition: an overview from the WHO Global Database on Child Growth. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 71(6):

Rafii M., Chapman K., Owens J., Elango R., Campbell W.W., Ball R.O. 2015. Dietary protein requirement of female adults >65 years determined by the indicator amino acid oxidation technique is higher than current recommendations. J. Nutr. 145(1): 18-24 CrossRef, Medline.

Tang M., McCabe G.P., Elango R., Pencharz P.B., Ball R.O., Campbell W.W. 2014. Assessment of protein requirement in octogenarian women with use of

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the indicator amino acid oxidation technique. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 99(4): 891-898 CrossRef, Medline.

Wieser, S., Plessow, R., Eichler, K., Malek, O., Capanzana, M. V., Agdeppa, I., & Bruegger, U. 2013. Burden of

micronutrient deficiencies by socio-economic strata in children aged 6 months to 5 years in the Philippines. BMC Public Health, 13, 1167. http://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-13-1167

Photo Credits: CS Philippines

Palawan Horned Frog (Megophrys ligayae)Endangered Species under the IUCN Red list

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Our PalawanThe Scientific Journal of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

Feature Article

This article is also available on-line at www.pkp.pcsd.gov.ph

Expert Advice from the Scientific Advisory Panel of PCSDS:Output of the 3rd Meeting on 20 June 2017

Keywords:

critical habitatsTongka’t AliMangrove forest conservationThreatened speciesEdible bird’s nest

Five major issues that affect the management of Palawan’s natural capital were addressed by the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development-Scientific Advisory Panel (PCSD-SAP) as they convened for their third meeting on 20 June 2017 in Puerto Princesa City.

In this year’s meeting, PCSD-SAP, a body composed of renowned scientist and experts from different fields, deliberated matters concerning designation of critical habitats, harvest of edible bird’s nest, mangrove forest conservation, emergence of Tongka’t Ali industry, and management of threatened species in Palawan, along with the PCSD staff providing their expertise as resource persons.

These issues were exhaustively discussed at sub-panel level— 1. ‘Ecological and Biophysical’ and 2. ‘Socio-cultural and Economic’-- where the PCSD-SAP members were distributed according to the respective field of expertise. Before the day ended, the two sub-panels convened to build consensus on the science-based recommendations intended to support management and policymaking. Five sets of recommendations were formalized as Statement and Recommendations on the issues which would eventually be presented to PCSD (Council).

Compiled by: Jenevieve Hara, Luigi Lubrico, Kirsten Sagun, Ciara Dicar and Silvino AlcantaraPalawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff,Puerto Princesa City, PalawanEmail: [email protected]

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Introduction Since 2015, the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Scientific Advisory Panel or PCSD-SAP convenes annually to tackle issues regarding the environment and sustainable development of the Province of Palawan. The creation of the PCSD-SAP was an initiative of the PCSD staff (PCSDS) as a collaboration of scientists and experts across the country who have previous engagements in Palawan. It now has a total of 26 members. The meetings are held with the ultimate goal of producing policy recommendations from experts of different disciplines to serve as a guide or a basis of the local policy makers. Being experts from their own fields and as professionals who have been engaged in programs and projects or activities in Palawan, the panel members are expected to provide their expert opinion/advice based from their profession and experience in the province. Providing sound, science-based recommendations and suggestions in resolving the issues currently being faced by Palawan, the panel’s final outputs are deemed essential in shedding light to the local decision makers.

Members of the Scientific Advisory Panel The recently held meeting was participated by 16 of its members. Among them were Dr. Angel C. Alcala, a National Scientists of the Philippines, former Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary and current Chair of Silliman University Angelo King Center for Research and Environmental Management; Dr. Perry S. Ong, wildlife specialist from College of Biology- University of the Philippines Diliman; Dr. Benjamin C. Bagadion Jr., former DENR Undersecretary and a retired professor of the Asian Institute of Management; Dr. Porfirio M. Aliño of the University of the Philippines-Marine Science Institute; Dr. Rafael P. Creencia, environmental consultant and former UPLB professor; Dr. William Sm. Gruezo, botanist and former UPLB professor; Dr. Evelyn B. Pantig, former Department of Tourism Undersecretary and former dean and director of the Philippine Women’s University;

Mr. Eduardo E. Queblatin from the Philippine Watershed Management Coalition; Engr. Roland F. Rodriguez, mine engineer and former PCSDS Executive Director; and Dr. Guillermo R. Tabios III of the University of the Philippines Institute of Civil Engineering. For the institutional members, the following also attended the meeting: Mr. Jose Angelo Palma, President and Chief Executive Officer of World Wildlife Fund for Nature Philippines; Dr. Elsa P. Manarpaac, President of the Western Philippines University; Prof. Marissa S. Pontillas, OIC President of Palawan State University; and Prof. Mildred P. Palon representing President Pinlyn Dahili, O.P. of the Holy Trinity University.

Recommendations during the 3rd Meeting This 2017, the 3rd meeting of the PCSD-SAP was held last June 20 at the Ivywall Hotel, Puerto Princesa City. Four issues were initially prepared for the groups discussion, divided into 2 sub-themes:

Ecological/ Biophysical Sub-theme:1. Critical Habitats as Core Zone2. Edible Bird’s Nest Harvesting

Socio-cultural/ Economic Sub-theme:3. Mangrove Forest Conservation4. Tongkat Ali Industry

An additional topic which is about Palawan’s Threatened Species under the Ecological/Biophysical Sub-theme was added during the meeting proper by the Panel members. This was deemed as an important contemporary issue by the member attendees, thus adding the said topic in-situ. The 3rd meeting of the panel was chaired by Dr. Tabios III. For the Ecological/Biophysical Sub-theme, Dr. Perry Ong was chosen as the chairperson while Mr. Queblatin was elected for the Socio-Cultural Sub-theme.

By the end of the one-day event, the panel was able to produce five sets of policy recommendations. These advices will be forwarded to the Council and made available to the general public as reference.

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Figure 1. Statement and Recommendations on the Issues on Critical Habitat as Core Zone.

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Figure 2. Statement and Recommendations on the Issues on Edible Bird’s Nest Harvesting.

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Figure 2.a. Continuation of the Statement and Recommendations on the Issues on Edible Bird’s Nest Harvesting.

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Figure 3. Statement and Recommendations on the Issues on Mangrove.

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Figure 4. Statement and Recommendations on the Issues on Tongka’t Ali Industry.

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Figure 5. Statement and Recommendations on the Issues on Threatened Palawan Species.

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Figure 6. Members of the PCSD Scientific Advisory Panel together with selected PCSD staff.

Figure 7. PCSD SAP Members during the plenary session.

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As a regular monitoring of the actions and efforts done for the Palawan Biosphere Reserve, the International Co-ordinating Council of the Man and Biosphere Programme (MAB-ICC) wrote UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines requiring an updated periodic report for the management authority. This is to highlight the issues forwarded to the province as well as the recommendations and actions taken by the Palawan BR management.

The degradation of Palawan’s natural forest due to bad agricultural practices and illegal logging were among the issues raised both by local and international communities. With the issues enumerated by MAB-ICC, the Palawan BR Management provided a report on the latest efforts done to respond to the said issues.

Our PalawanThe Scientific Journal of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

Feature Article

This article is also available on-line at www.pkp.pcsd.gov.ph

Facing the Odds: Palawan Battles against Forest Destruction(An Update from the Palawan Biosphere Reserve Periodic Report 2015)

ABSTRACT

Compiled by: John Vincent B. Fabello, Edwin L. Caabay,Apollo V. Regalo and Arnica D. MortilleroPalawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff,Puerto Princesa City, PhilippinesEmail: [email protected]

Keywords:

Forest DestructionBiosphere ReservePalawan BRManagement

Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff

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1. ENHANCED FOREST MANAGEMENT TO AVOID BAD AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES AND ILLEGAL LOGGING:

1.1 BAD AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES

In its periodic review report, the Palawan BR submitted the following proposed action on this issue: development of Sustainable Agriculture Policy and Plan for Palawan BR incorporating organic and traditional farming technologies. As early as 2013, collaborative efforts from the government, non-government organizations and peoples’ organizations is being done in Palawan to abate bad agricultural practices. Though the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development has not yet adopted a policy on sustainable agriculture, its partner agencies like the Department of Agriculture, the Palawan Provincial Agriculturist’s Office and the Puerto Princesa City Agriculturist’s Office promote ‘organic farming’ pursuant to Republic Act No. 10068 or “ An Act Providing for the Development and Promotion of Organic Agriculture in the Philippines and for Other Purposes” on this sustainable agriculture practice. Nevertheless, the PCSD has identified the need of adopting the national policy on sustainable and organic agriculture for Palawan BR. Examples of initiatives in the Palawan BR in response to this issue/concern:

Promotion of Organic Agriculture The Palawan Research and Experiment Station of the Department of Agriculture, the Provincial Agricultural Center and the City Agriculturist Office promote sustainable agriculture through agricultural intensification and organic farming. This is consistent to the established policy of the national government as mandated through Republic Act no. 10068. The said policy clearly declares the intent of the government which Palawan BR and the Provincial Government of Palawan uphold by promoting, propagating, developing further and implementing the practice of organic agriculture in the Philippines that will cumulatively improve its condition and enrich the fertility of the soil, increase farm production, reduce pollution and destruction of the environment, prevent the depletion of natural resources and further protect the health of farmers, consumers

and the general public. The Palawan Agricultural Center serves as the coordinating points for research and development, training and extension of integrated agricultural resource technologies of the Department of Agriculture in the province of Palawan. Within the Center are several laboratories:

1. Palawan Soils Laboratory – regional facility responsible for analysis of soil for proper fertilizer recommendation.

2. Tissue Culture Laboratory – it is involved in the collection of stocks, plant materials, and preparation of culture media and construction of a greenhouse.

3. Seed Testing Laboratory – is responsible for testing the seeds for purity, germination, variety and moisture content to meet quality standard. The Center also houses the Department of Agriculture-Research Outreach Station (DA-ROS) which is mandated to promote Palawan’s agricultural growth through research and development. Its efforts are focused on the upliftment of the quality of life of small farmers on the sustainability of resources viability over longer term. Meanwhile, the City Government of Puerto Princesa adopted the Organic Agricultural Program for 2015 by virtue of the City Ordinance No. 688 (An Ordinance Adopting the Puerto Princesa Organic Agriculture Program of 2015). The said ordinance particularly envisions to integrate organic farming as means of livelihood in rural barangays of the city and eventually enhance sustainable food production in the said areas to provide the needed support for continuous agri-tourism development. Through the City Agriculturist’s Office, the city government continuously conducts trainings and establishment of demo farms. Most of the trainings conducted focused on diversified farming technology, organic vegetable production, nursery establishment and development of good agricultural practices for banner products in Puerto Princesa City. The trainings were participated by the residents from the barangays of the city. An example of organic agricultural endeavor in Puerto Princesa City is the Aloha Natural Farm, which was established on a 2.8

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hectares of land. Farming began ten years ago on denatured, demineralized soil infested with cogon grass, Imperata cylindrica. Before the intervention made by Aloha House, a non-stock, non-profit, NGO (Non-Government Organization) and charitable mission serving the community of Palawan and the Philippines, the agricultural practices which are widely used in the area are: mono-cropping practice, use of exotic varieties in farming, use of inorganic fertilizers, proliferation of wastes or garbage which were dumped and produces negative impact to agriculture and conversion of the agricultural lands into industrial or residential areas. Crops grown at Aloha Farm include 55 vegetables, 33 herbs and diverse fruits. Intensive raised-bed vegetable production is a mixture of annual and perennial plants. A closed-loop mushroom production program with an on-farm culture laboratory is another example of their sustainable agriculture philosophy. Livestock includes pastured poultry eggs and meat, natural pork, cow and goat milk, tilapia and earthworm. Crop rotation, legume usage, companion planting, composting, green fertilizers, mulching, cover cropping, minimal tillage, insect habitat, and livestock integration were also introduced.

1.2 ILLEGAL LOGGING

In its periodic review report, the Palawan BR submitted the following proposed action on this issue: development of policy on legal source of timber through the implementation of the Communal Forest Policy. Forest is a principal natural resource of Palawan. Having the largest forest cover among the provinces of the country (689,161 hectares both terrestrial forest and mangrove), Palawan contributes significant portion to the Philippines’ entire forest cover, comprising 10% of its total forest cover. Since the approval of the RA 7611 (Strategic Environmental Plan for Palawan Act), the passage of the PCSD Resolution No. 92-11 (A Resolution to call for a limited operation for a period of three years by the Timber License Agreement (TLA) holder in Palawan in the areas which had been agreed upon by the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development with DENR and the TLA holders subject to

close monitoring of the TLA operations and for other purposes)was the PCSD’s immediate response to protect Palawan’s remaining forests. This action led to reduction of almost three-fourths of the total operable logging area of the commercial logging operators and further resulted to the demise of TLA holders in the province. The PCSD acknowledges that the increase in population as well as the inevitable development in Palawan, considering the need for habitation, will put pressure on its natural capital. To be able to address the pressing needs of population increase and inherent demand for wood by the increasing population, a policy on the establishment of a production forest or communal forest was pushed to give way for a legal source of timber/wood in each municipality in the province.

Communal Forest and the National Greening Program On 28 November 2008, the PCSD passed Resolution No. 08-376 “Adopting the Guidelines on the Establishment and Management of Communal Forests (CnF) in the Province of Palawan”. Said resolution was guided by the Joint PCSD-DENR Administrative Order No. 01 Series of 2008 which aims to pilot test for one (1) year the proposed CnF guidelines to gain experience on its establishment and implementation. Results of the pilot testing activities will serve as input in the crafting of the final CnF guidelines to ensure success in its province-wide application. CnF establishment in Palawan is a policy that took several years in the making to make sure that the forest resources of the Province will not be put at stake once it is “legally” opened for harvesting in the objective of providing legal wood sources. Initially, four (4) local government units (LGUs) were identified as pilot test areas: Busuanga to represent the environment of island municipalities, San Vicente in the north, Puerto Princesa City in central Palawan and Quezon in the south. However, as of 2015, due to the CnF site identification and declaration procedures and budget requirements, only the Municipality of San Vicente was able to complete the formulation of a Forest Land Use Plan (FLUP), a prerequisite for CnF declaration.

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The Municipality of Quezon has only started the initial FLUP preparation in 2012; the Municipality of Busuanga has not identified a conflict-free suitable area given that the bulk of their substantially forested lands is within the Yulo-King Ranch (YKR) managed by the Bureau of Animal Industry of the Department of Agriculture. The City of Puerto Princesa, on the other hand, is yet to revalidate its outdated timber stand inventory. The process for FLUP formulation and approval was not anticipated to go beyond the initial one (1) year pilot testing period, as such, the implementation was stalled. Until then, nearly three (3) years after the PCSD adoption of the CnF Pilot Testing Guidelines, Executive Order No. 23 “Declaring a Moratorium on the Cutting and Harvesting of Timber in the Natural and Residual Forests and Creating the Anti-Illegal Logging Task Force” was signed by the President of the Republic of the Philippines on 01 February 2011. A few days later, Executive Order No. 26 was passed

creating the national convergence of DA-DAR-DENR for the establishment of the National Greening Program (NGP) with the aim of planting 1.5 billion trees in 1.5 million hectares for a period of six (6) years (2011-2016) in all available public lands. Aside from being a reforestation initiative, the NGP is also seen as a climate change mitigation strategy as it seeks to enhance the country’s forest stock to absorb carbon dioxide, which is largely blamed for global warming. It is also designed to reduce poverty, providing alternative livelihood activities for marginalized upland and lowland households relating to seedling production and care and maintenance of newly-planted trees. As a convergence initiative among the Departments of Agriculture, Agrarian Reform and DENR, half of the targeted trees to be planted under the program would constitute forest tree species intended for timber production and protection as well. The other half would

LOCATION/ MUNICIPALITIES

Area and number of seedlings planted

Area (Hectares) No. of SeedlingsCORON 1,044 487,100ROXAS 619 294,000TAYTAY 1,114 815,280PUERTO PRINCESA CITY 728 440,800NARRA 477 557,002QUEZON 614 1,002,475BROOKES POINT 780 2,573,200

AREA

2016 (Actual, in hectares)

2015(Actual, in hectares)

Regular NGP Regular NGP Mangrove Beach Forest

CENRO PPC 558CENRO Quezon 90 160 542CENRO Brooke’s Point 100 940CENRO Roxas 400 550CENRO Taytay 200 550CENRO Coron 100 560

Table 1. National Greening Program (NGP) in Palawan, 2011-2014.

Table 2. Summary of Maintenance and Protection of Established Plantations.

Source: Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office, DENR, 2015.

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comprise agroforestry species. Areas eligible for rehabilitation under the program include all lands of the public domain. Specifically, these include forestlands, mangrove and protected areas, ancestral domains, civil and military reservation, urban greening areas, inactive and abandoned mine sites and other suitable lands.With the continuing implementation of the National Greening Program involving multi-sectoral stakeholders, the future supply of timber and other forest resources can be ensured through proper monitoring and implementation of appropriate silvicultural practices within the planted areas.

Timber Poaching Together with DENR-Palawan, the PCSD is continuously seeking alternative solutions in combating timber poaching in the province. Its PCSD Wildlife Enforcement Team is actively doing its role in arresting illegal logging activities. Hotspots/areas were identified where illegal wildlife trade is

happening and close monitoring of these areas were done to limit and arrest illegal activities. In 2015, the enforcement team apprehended and seized illegal log shipment in Culion Island consisting of 100,000 board feet of premium hardwood species of timber. Intelligence gathering and doing arrests on illegal logging and wildlife trade in the province is consistently being improved. PCSD’s partnership with the Bantay Kalikasan Enforcement Team of the Provincial Government of Palawan further strengthened the resolve to stop the proliferation of illegal logging activities.

REFERENCESPCSD. Palawan Biosphere Reserve

(Philippines) Periodic Report 2015 (Progress-Update Report) on the Periodic Report Recommendations of 2012 Endorsed by the International Co-ordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB-ICC) UNESCO. 2015.

Palawan Bearded Pig (Sus ahoenobarbus)“near threatened” species under the IUCN Red list

endemic speciesof Palawan

Photo Credits: CS Philippines

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Among the various issues and concerns raised to the management of the Palawan Biosphere Reserve by the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme International Co-ordinating Council (MAB-ICC) are matters concerning its wildlife and their habitats. These are but only some of the pressing issues being faced by Palawan, but despite these, the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD), the onsite Biosphere Reserve management authority, continuously sets the mechanisms and exerts efforts to reduce these issues’ impacts to the environment.

Our PalawanThe Scientific Journal of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

Feature Article

This article is also available on-line at www.pkp.pcsd.gov.ph

Managing Palawan Biosphere Reserve’s Wildlife and their Habitats

(An Update from the Palawan Biosphere Reserve Periodic Report 2015)

ABSTRACT

Compiled by: Niño Rey Estoya, Levita A. Lagrada and Arnica D. MortilleroPalawan Council for Sustainable Development,Puerto Princesa City, PalawanEmail: [email protected]

Keywords:

WildlifeHabitatMan and Biosphere Programme International Co-ordinatingCouncil

Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff

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1.1 ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE

In its periodic review report, the Palawan BR submitted the following proposed actions on this issue: intensify law enforcement, engagement of communities, training and deputation of Wildlife Enforcement Officers; revitalization of the community listening post and quick response system. Illegal wildlife trade is being addressed through intensification of law enforcement by engaging local communities in surveillance and apprehension especially in providing reliable on-the-ground and real-time information about illegal activities, strong partnerships/collaboration among different government agencies, training and deputation of Wildlife Enforcement Officers (WEOs), establishment of Wildlife Traffic Monitoring Units (WTMUs), capability-building training of WEOs, and forward planning for revitalization of the Community Listening Post and Quick Response System (CLP-QRS).

1.1.1 Surveillance and Apprehension Intelligence and surveillance activity is very significant and necessary in order to ensure effective enforcement and sustained information gathering on the ground, and where incentives/allowances must be provided to all concerned. This is one of the strategies employed in order to level up the enforcement of wildlife laws and related policies. As a result, the operations of existing national and international organized/syndicated wildlife trading of Palawan wildlife species have been tracked down. The structure of organized and syndicated trade of Palawan wildlife is illustrated in Figure 1. Further, during the period 2010- 2015, 39% of apprehended persons were foreign nationals and against whom cases were filed. This would imply that an improved capacity of Palawan’s enforcement groups were able to track down even the tactics of these foreign nationals with complex established network (refer to Figure 2).

Figure 1. The Structure of Organized/Syndicated Trade of Palawan Wildlife Species. (Source: Palawan Biosphere Reserve [Philippines] Periodic Report 2015)

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1.1.2 Active Participation of Other Enforcement Agencies in Combating Wildlife Poaching There is a strong collaboration among the PCSD and other government enforcement agencies in combating wildlife poaching. These agencies include the Philippine National Police–Maritime Special Boat Unit (PNP-Maritime-SBU), Philippine Navy, Philippine Coast Guard and Western Command. Efforts of the said collaboration resulted to apprehension from 2012 to 2014 of foreign nationals and confiscation of subject wildlife species. Appropriate disposition methods were employed on the confiscated dead and live wildlife specimens in accordance with the related PCSD guidelines. Live marine turtles were released back to open seas while dead ones were either buried or preserved. All of these disposition methods were properly documented to ensure that these evidences can still be presented in court whenever necessary and/or as ordered or requested by the same (Figure 3).

Figure 2. Percentage of Persons Arrested/and Filed with Criminal Cases (Source: Palawan Biosphere Reserve [Philippines] Periodic Report 2015)

1.1.3 Training & Deputation of Wildlife Enforcement Officers There are 189 individuals deputized as Wildlife Enforcement Officers (WEOs) and 12 volunteers in the entire province as of July 2017. These WEOs come from different entities such as the local government units of El Nido, San Vicente, Aborlan, MMPL Area, Roxas and Puerto Princesa City as well as from different government agencies such as PCSDS, Bureau of Fisheries & Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), Office of Transport Security (OTS), Baywatch and NGOs.

1.1.4 Establishment of Wildlife Traffic Monitoring Units (WTMU) WTMUs assigned in airports and sea ports inspect cargoes to ensure that persons involved in illegal wildlife trade are apprehended, and at the same time, deter individuals from illegal wildlife transport/trade. The photographs in the succeeding figures show the WTMUs (in blue polo-shirt uniform) doing inventory of confiscated wildlife from airports and seaports.

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Figure 3. Photos of Illegal Wildlife Poaching Cases in Palawan. Top Row: In 2012, 43 heads of marine turtles and assorted marine shells were confiscated from Vietnamese fishers aboard a fishing vessel; 2nd Row: approximately 10,000 marine turtle eggs were confiscated from Malaysians in 2013; 3rd Row: In 2014, 500 marine turtles (dead and alive) were confiscated from Chinese fishers aboard a fishing vessel; Bottom Row: In 2014, 20 tons of different shark species were confiscated from Vietnamese fishers aboard a fishing vessel.(Source: Palawan Biosphere Reserve [Philippines] Periodic Report 2015)

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Figure 4. Wildlife Enforcement Officers’ Training. Left: Training of Philippine Navy Personnel in 2013; Right: WEO Training in Taytay, Palawan in 2014.

Figure 5. Confiscated wildlife being inventoried by the Wildlife Traffic Monitoring Units.

From 2010 to 2015, Wildlife Traffic Monitoring Units have been established in Coron, El Nido, Roxas, Quezon, Brooke’s Point and Puerto Princesa City (refer to Figure 6) especially in exit/entry points (e.g. airports and seaports). These are identified as “Hotspot Areas” in the province because of the high occurrence or intensity of illegal wildlife trade. In these areas also, WEOs have been functioning and complementing with the WTMUs in their enforcement-related activities.

1.1.5 Wildlife Enforcement Officers (WEO) Conference On November 24, 2015, a WEO Conference was conducted by the PCSDS which was participated by deputized WEOs from the local government units of Roxas, El Nido and Puerto Princesa City, as well as representatives from other government agencies in Palawan. The conference aimed to understand the status of Wildlife Enforcement in Palawan especially

involving deputized WEOs in order to formulate strategies to address the most pressing needs of wildlife enforcement to which WEOs can be of significance. The conference resulted to: 1) identification of current challenges, gaps and needs of wildlife enforcement and corresponding actions or solutions, 2) identification and development of the necessary procedures/protocol in wildlife enforcement involving deputized WEOs which shall later on be integrated into the WEO manual of operations (eg. information/intelligence report handling; actual enforcement operation), and 3) performance evaluation of deputized WEOs. Further, the development and revitalization of Community Listening Post and Quick Response System using short messaging system (SMS) was discussed in the conference and shall form part of the WEO operations manual that will be produced.

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1.1.6 Capability-Building Training of WEOs, WTMUs and PCSD Staff WEOs, WTMUs as well as PCSD staff were not only trained on how to conduct and accomplish the required forms necessary in the surveillance activities, apprehension and filing of appropriate cases in court but also on the required technical skills. Thus, in 2012 and 2014, trainings on wildlife identification, restraining and handling were conducted in order to facilitate confiscation procedures and minimize possible stresses to wildlife involved. Experts were tapped to give hands-on training as shown in figure 7.

1.1.7 Creation of Multi-Partite Enforcement Teams/Bodies The Provincial Law Enforcement Task Force, Anti-illegal Logging Task Force and Environmental Enforcement Program were created during the period 2012-2015 to address illegal logging issues, and illegal wildlife trading and poaching. Members of these teams are composed of representatives from the different enforcement entities such as BFAR, Provincial/City Police Office, Criminal Investigation

Figure 6. Strategic Locations of WTMUs and WEOs in Palawan

and Detection Group (CIDG), PNP-Maritime Special Boat Unit, Western Command, Naval Forces West, 570th Composite Tactical Wing, Philippine Coast Guard, Bantay Palawan Task Force, Municipal/City Gov’t, and Palawan NGO Network, Inc.

1.1.8 International Cooperation In 2013 and 2014, PCSDS participated in the so-called “Operation Cobra” organized by China, USA, South Africa, ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN), South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SA-WEN) and Lusaka Agreement Task Force (LATF) which aimed to: 1) prevent, detect, suppress and apprehend criminals and disrupt criminal networks that exploit elephants, rhinos, pangolins, big cats, Tibetan antelope and great apes in Africa, North America and Asia, 2) gather information and intelligence on the illegal exploitation of elephants, rhinos, pangolins, big cats, great apes, Tibetan antelope and other wildlife, and 3) build wildlife law enforcement capacity nationally and regionally, among others.

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Figure 7. Demo-Training on Wildlife Handling and Ivory Identification. Top: Mr. Salvador Guion (left side), a wildlife handler of the Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center (PWRCC) and Dr. Rebong (right side) demonstrating proper wildlife restraining and handling; Bottom: Training of selected PCSD Staff by the USAID on Ivory identification.

As a result, Philippine authorities including PCSDS that participated in the said operation were able to seize 65 pangolins, 2 giant clams, 6,985 Trochus sp., 8 Triton sp., 157 Turbo sp., 496 Pinctada maxima, 55 Cassis cornuta, 124 Cypraea tigris and 42.05 kg parts of other different CITES specimens as shown in Figure 8.

1.2 CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THREATENED SPECIES AND THEIR HABITATS

In its periodic review report, the Palawan BR submitted the following proposed actions on this issue: declaration of Critical Habitats as Core Zones under ECAN; establishment of Biodiversity Monitoring System; implementation of the programme on adoption of flagship species; operation as CITES Management Authority for Palawan;

implementation of the Wildlife Act. In the implementation of the Wildlife Act, there is a special consideration for Palawan since the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development is mandated to implement the said law instead of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Agriculture. Under Section 4, it is clearly stated that the jurisdiction on the management and protection of the terrestrial and aquatic flora and fauna is vested on PCSD. Under Section 19, the same office will be the lead in the designation of Management and scientific authorities for International Trade in Endangered Species of wild flora and fauna of Palawan. To further empower the management of these resources through the help of the complementing agencies of the government, the PCSD has adopted and approved the PCSD Administrative Order No. 12, series of 2011 or

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he “Detailed Guidelines in the Implementation of RA 9147 & Joint DENR-DA-PCSD AO #1 As May Be Made Applicable in the Province of Palawan.”

1.2.1 Habitat Protection And Management: Critical Habitats as Core Zones under ECANThe Legal Framework The PCSD declared Critical Habitats as Core Zones under ECAN pursuant to PCSD Resolution No. 13-481. The guidelines embodied in this resolution prescribe the requirements and procedures how the identified and established “Critical Habitats” shall be declared as “Core Zones” under the ECAN Zoning in accordance with the provisions of RA 9147 (Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act) and the SEP Law. Moreover, the existing “Core Zone” which can be identified through scientific methods as habitats of threatened species may be declared as Critical Habitats to ensure strict protection. Penal provisions prohibit activities such as dumping of waste products detrimental to wildlife, squatting or otherwise occupying any portion of the critical habitat, mineral exploration and/or extraction, burning, logging and quarrying. An imprisonment of one (1) month to eight (8) years and/or a fine of Five Thousand Pesos (PhP 5,000.00) to Five Million Pesos (PhP 5,000,000.00) shall be imposed to those who will violate these. To ensure the protection of the critical habitats, the “Critical Habitat Management

Board” (CHMB) will be created. This will be responsible for the formulation of a “Critical Habitat Management Plan”. The PCSD will exhaust effort to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) or Partnership Agreement with concerned local government units, people’s organization (PO), non-government organizations (NGO), indigenous peoples/indigenous cultural communities (IP/ICC), private sector or other concerned entities for the management of critical habitat ensuring shared governance/responsibility in managing natural resources. Critical Habitats in the Province of Palawan In accordance with the aforementioned guidelines, certain areas in the municipality of Dumaran, Palawan were already declared as Critical Habitat in 2014. Cleopatra’s Needle, which is adjacent to the Puerto Princesa Underground River, was recently declared in 2016. In order to strengthen the enforcement of wildlife laws and policies within the Dumaran Critical Habitat, trainings for the deputation of Wildlife Enforcement Officers (WEOs) were conducted through the collaboration of the Dumaran Municipal Government, Katala Foundation, Inc. (KFI) and PCSDS. There were a total of fourteen (14) KFI personnel deputized as WEOs who can police within the range of the Dumaran Critical Habitat. By virtue of the Wildlife Act, they were already empowered to enforce existing wildlife laws, rules and regulations.

Figure 8. Seized wildlife species. Left: Pangolins, Right: Other CITES specimens.

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Table 1. Proposed Critical Habitats in the Province of Palawan

Proposed Critical Habitat Status/Updates

Victoria-Anepahan Mountain Range (VAMR).

Threats analysis conducted; Logical framework formulated; Coordinating body created such as follows: • PNNI: Ms. Loreto Cagatulla• IDEAS : Mr. Roger Garinga• WPU: Dr. Lita Sopsop• NTFP-EP Philippines: Mr. Manuel Uy• PCSDS: Merlinda Hilario and Levita Lagrada• UNDP: Dr. Ma. Teresa Aquino• ELAC: Atty. Gerthie Anda

Lake Tagbungsaing in Quezon, Palawan

Community resource mapping conducted

Lake Manguao in Taytay, Palawan Biodiversity assessment conducted;

Declared already as Local Conservation Area (LCA) by the Municipality of Taytay, Palawan

Crocodile Sanctuaries in the municipality of Balabac and Rizal, and province of Palawan

Confirmed already the presence of crocodiles through actual field surveys and community interviews. Surveys were conducted in partnership with CPPI and PNNI

Within Ancestral Domain Claim of Batak Tribe in Roxas, Palawan

Resource and biodiversity assessments conducted; consultation with the barangay and municipal LGUs and awaiting their response;

Other identified areas will likewise be declared as critical habitats. Initial works related to these areas have been done already by several entities such as PCSDS, local government units concerned, Western Philippines University, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Palawan NGO Network Inc. (PNNI), Environmental Legal Assistance Center (ELAC), Institute for the Development of Educational and Ecological Alternatives Incorporated (IDEAS), Crocodylus Porosus Philippines, Inc. (CPPI) and Non-Timber Forest Products Inc. (NTFP-EP). These proposed critical habitats include the “Victoria-Anepahan Mountain Range (VAMR), Lake Tagbungsaing in Quezon, Palawan; Lake Manguao in Taytay, Palawan; crocodile sanctuaries in Balabac and Rizal, Palawan; and portions of the ancestral domain claim of Batak Tribe in Roxas, Palawan. Specific actions conducted in the proposed sites in relation to the guidelines for the declaration of “Critical Habitats” are already identified.

1.2.2 Species Management Policy Development: Adoption of Flagship Species Policies in the adoption of flagship species by LGUs is now being developed to ensure the conservation of these species. The draft “Guidelines on the Selection and Management of Flagship Species by the Local Government Units” has been reviewed by the Palawan Wildlife Management Committee (PWMC) which recommended the same to the PCSD for the latter’s subsequent adoption and approval. The guidelines aim to ensure that species selected by LGUs shall be effective and that private entities are engaged in the conservation and management of the subject species including their habitats. In the same guidelines, all LGUs at the municipal level are required to submit their respective selected flagship species for the latter’s approval and subsequent declaration as such by the PCSD. After which, LGUs are required to formulate “Conservation Strategies” for the management

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and conservation of their chosen flagship species.

Policy Development: Adopt-A-Wildlife Species Program In order to provide avenues for a public-private-partnership among the LGUs, the private sector, NGOs, POs, academic and scientific institutions and other interested individuals and pursuant to the government’s international commitment to conserve biodiversity and prevent species extinction, the PCSD approved on 28 May 2015 the Adopt-A-Wildlife Species Program, (A-Wild Pro), through PCSD Resolution No. 15-527 (“Establishing the Adopt-A-Wildlife Species Program, A-Wild Pro, for the Conservation of Threatened Species and Its Habitats in the Province of Palawan and Providing the Guidelines Thereof”) . It is expected that through this program, conservation actions can be pursued in collaboration with private entities without making any additional costs to them in accordance with Section 34 of RA 9147 and Section 101 of RA 8424 or the Tax Code of 1997 which specifically provide for exemption from donor’s tax and allowable deduction from taxable income, respectively, the said conservation actions. In relation thereto, a mechanism is being worked out with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to prepare guidelines that will identify and describe procedures that will facilitate the implementation of PCSD’s A-Wild Pro. It is expected that contributions or donations to “Adopt-a-Wildlife Species Program” would ensure the protection and conservation of certain wildlife species.

Policy Development: Disposition of Turned Over, Donated and/or Confiscated Wildlife Pursuant to Section 8 of PCSD AO # 12 which provides for the PCSD to establish wildlife rescue centers in Palawan, PCSD Resolution No. 13-480 (“Approving the Guidelines for the Establishment and Management of Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in the Province of Palawan”) was adopted and approved for implementation in the province. In the said guidelines, it is not necessary for the PCSD to

establish its own center but it can accredit centers that would qualify to the standards indicated therein. Criteria for the disposition of wildlife housed at the rescue and/or rehabilitation centers are set in the same guidelines which guide PCSD/S in the disposition of donated, turned over or confiscated wildlife.

Policy Development: Threatened Species List In order to guide all entities working towards the conservation and protection of Palawan’s rich wildlife resources, the PCSD Resolution No. 10-413 (Updated List of Terrestrial/ Marine Wildlife in Palawan and their Categories Pursuant to Republic Act 9147) was updated in 2014 through PCSD Resolution No. 15-521 (A Resolution Approving the 2014 Terrestrial and Marine Wildlife in Palawan and their Categories pursuant to Republic Act 9147, otherwise known as the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act). In summary, the list included wildlife species which are classified as Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN) and Vulnerable (Vu) as shown in Table 2.

Establishment of Biodiversity Monitoring System In order to monitor the status of biodiversity for conservation and management purposes, the Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) started in 2015 to employ Biodiversity Monitoring System (BMS) in 2015 and will continue it on an annual basis. The Palawan Flora, Fauna and Watershed Reserve Puerto Princesa City likewise plan to establish monitoring plots within the area in 2016. The Dumaran Critical Habitat (a local conservation area in the municipality of Dumaran, Palawan), through its forest wardens, performs regular patrolling within the designated areas which form part of the BMS methods.

International Celebration In accordance with the declaration of the “World Wildlife Day”, the celebration in the province started in 2014. An exhibit aimed to promote people’s knowledge and awareness of Palawan’s very rich wildlife resources both terrestrial and aquatic as well as to encourage them to protect and conserve these resources

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Table 2. Summary of Wildlife Species and Their Conservation Status Pursuant to PCSD Resolution No. 10-413.

Terrestrial and Marine Wildlife

Critically Endangered

Species

Endangered Species Vulnerable Total

Birds 10 28 39 77

Reptiles 8 6 4 18

Mammals 5 9 16 30

Amphibians 3 10 13

Insects 2 2

Freshwater Fish 4 1 5

Marine Fishes 2 10 12

Bivalves 8 1 9

Gastropods 5 1 6

Crustaceans 1 8 9

Flora 26 45 186 257Sharks and Rays 1 1 14 16Mangroves 1 3 4Sea Cucumber 4 4

TOTAL 56 114 292 462

was held at Robinson’s Place Palawan. It was the same reason why the exhibit featured marine and terrestrial ecosystems of Palawan as shown in Figure 9. All wildlife specimens utilized or displayed in the exhibit were either confiscated, donated or turned over to PCSDS during the period 2012-2014 for proper custody. These displays were witnessed/viewed by students from different academic institutions in the city as well as the general public who visited the mall during the exhibit period. The celebration of the World Wildlife Day for the succeeding years until 2017 was through the Kiddie Wildlife Summits wherein PCSDS, in partnership with various agencies and institutions such as the Western Command (WesCom), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), JCI Peacock, Arena Island, Katala Foundation Inc. (KFI) and World Wide Fund Philippines (WWF), conduct information campaign. Schools are invited to participate on a chosen venue where

discussions about wildlife and conservation as well as relevant games and workshops are conducted.

1.2.3 Regulation RA 9147 or the “Wildlife Act” does not prohibit the utilization of wildlife resources for economic purposes to contribute to the sustainable development goals. However, it must ensure that these resources are not exploited. Thus, in order to sustainably manage and regulate the collection and utilization of wildlife resources, the PCSDS issues different permits as provided for in the Act (RA 9147), depending on the type of uses. These permits include Wildlife Farm Permit (WFP), Wildlife Collector’s Permit (WCP), Wildlife Gratuitous Permit (GP), Local Transport Permit (LTP) and Wildlife Special Use Permit (WSUP). As can be observed in Figure 10, there was an increase in the issuance of LTP, WCP and WSUP which started in 2014 until 2015 owing to the implementation of the

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Figure 9. Wildlife Exhibit during the World Wildlife Day in 2014 at Robinson’s Place, Palawan.

Revised PCSD Administrative Order No. 5, series of 2014 (Guidelines for the Regulation and Monitoring of Catching, Culture, Trade, Transport and Export of Reef-fish-for-food in Palawan). Although this order allows the collection of economically important marine fishes for economic purposes, specifically for Plectropomus leopardus, Epinephelus coioides and E. fuscoguttatus, it provides for size and seasonal restrictions to ensure that these resources are sustainably managed. The issuance of WCP allows for the catching of the above-indicated species, WSUP allows individuals to engage in the buying and selling or trading of the same fishes, while LTP allows WSUP holders to bring these marine fishes from the province to anywhere else in the Philippines. Further, PCSD, being the CITES Management Authority as stipulated under Chapter III, Article 1, Section 19 of the Wildlife Act, for both terrestrial and coastal-marine areas in Palawan as recognized by the CITES Secretariat in 2012, regulates the exportation and importation of wildlife specimens and for

which, “Export Permit, Import Permit” and export/import certifications were issued by the PCSDS. Figure 11 shows that in a 3-year period of issuing export and import permits/certifications, PCSDS issued the highest number in 2014 specifically for non-CITES species. It was due to the operation in 2014 of Malaysian Airlines from Malaysia to Palawan and vice versa which carried individuals with edible birds nest permitted by the Malaysian government to be brought/traded to the Philippines. Eventually, it decreased in 2015 with the suspension of Malaysian Airlines’ flight to Palawan. Export and import of CITES-listed species were issued with “Export and Import Permits” with CITES logo, respectively, while non-CITES species were issued with “Export and Import Certifications without CITES logo,” respectively.

1.2.4 Local and International Cooperation In order that the global perspectives on wildlife resources conservation and protection including their habitats are implemented at the

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Figure 10. Number of Wildlife Related Permits Issued from 2010 to 2015.

national and local level, as well as share the local experiences to global partners, the PCSD/S and its partners/stakeholders in the province participated in the different international fora such as, IUCN-SSC-Pangolin Specialist Group Conference in Singapore in 2012, ASEAN Meeting on the Protection of Marine Turtles Foraging Habitats in Malaysia in 2012, CITES Conference of the Parties (CoP) in Thailand in 2013 and South Africa in 2016, COBRA in Thailand in 2013 and First Pangolin Range States Meeting in Vietnam in June 2015.

Last September 2016, the PCSD as the CITES Management Authority in Palawan, prepared a proposal presented during the Conference of Parties (CoP) meeting in Africa. The proposal was about the uplisting of the endemic Palawan Pangolin (Manis culionensis) from Appendix II to Appendix I. Due to the rampant illegal trade and poaching of these species, the proposal was crafted to further intensify enforcement and protection to the pangolins. According to CITES, the said species’ new proposed category would mean

Figure 11. Permits issued for export and import of wildlife specimens.

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Figure 12. Participants of the Province-wide Consultation Workshop for the Development of a Wildlife Management Program of Palawan held on 23 October 2015.

that these animals are “…the most endangered among CITES-listed animals and plants. They are threatened with extinction and CITES prohibits international trade in specimens of these species except when the purpose of the import is not commercial for instance for scientific research…” Eventually, the proposal was approved. At the provincial level, the Palawan Wildlife Management Committee (PWMC) created under PCSD Administrative Order No. 12 was reactivated in 2015 to provide technical assistance to the PCSD in its implementation of the Wildlife Act. The PWMC is composed of the heads of offices of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources –Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (DENR-PENRO), Department of Agriculture – Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR), Palawan State University (PSU), Western Philippines University (WPU), Holy Trinity University (HTU), Provincial ENRO, Port Manager of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), Airport Manager of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), Chairman of the League of Municipal Mayors of Palawan, Palawan NGO Network, Inc. (PNNI) and

Provincial Philippine National Police (PNP). Lately, a Consultation Workshop for the Development of a Wildlife Management Program of the province was held at the Palawan Sustainable Development Training Institute (PSDTI) in Puerto Princesa City (Figure 12). It was participated by different stakeholders and aimed to identify the gaps and pressing needs for wildlife management attuned to sustainable development agenda of the province and the State. The conduct of the said workshop was funded by the Philippine Tropical Forest Conservation Foundation (PTFCF) in partnership with the Katala Foundation, Inc (KFI).

REFERENCE

PCSD. Palawan Biosphere Reserve (Philippines) Periodic Report 2015 (Progress-Update Report) on the Periodic Report Recommendations of 2012 Endorsed by the International Co-ordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB-ICC) UNESCO. 2015.

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Palawan’s coral reefs has an expanse of about 11,000 square kilometers. This represents 42% of the total Philippines’ reefs estimated at 26,000 square kilometers. This aggregate total reef area implies large potentials for fisheries. However, due to natural stressor, such as storms, increasing seawater temperature, and strong waves, as well as anthropogenic pressures such as illegal fishing practices, pollution, sedimentation, pressures from coastal development, tourism-related activities, infestations, and especially the direct and indirect impacts of climate change, the coral reefs are degrading. This makes it necessary for coral reefs, as well as their surrounding communities, to be monitored and assessed regularly. Regular monitoring is a vital activity so as to determine reef status as well as in identifying the stressors in the area which will serve as the basis in coming up with protective measures for the reefs. Based on the results of PCSDS coastal resource assessments and coastal resource monitoring reports, majority of the coral reefs of Palawan are in fair condition. However, monitoring survey reports revealed that the coral cover has decreased to 36.3%. Most of the monitoring sites in Palawan were observed to have been affected by dynamite and cyanide fishing while natural factors such as strong wave actions and rise of sea surface also contribute.

A Review of Palawan’s Coral Reefs

Carlos Alfredo A. Castillo

ABSTRACT

ECAN Zones Management – Coastal/MarinePalawan Council for Sustainable Development,Puerto Princesa City, PalawanEmail: [email protected]

Keywords:

CoralsAssessmentMonitoringCoastal Resource management

Our PalawanThe Scientific Journal of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

Forum/Conference PaperThis article is also available on-line at www.pkp.pcsd.gov.ph

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INTRODUCTION

Coral reefs are vital component of the coastal-marine ecosystem and is an equally important resource. They serve as habitats and nursery grounds for a wide range of marine organisms such as fish, crustaceans, cephalopods, and algae. The organisms in coral reefs are considered as resources so it can be said that reefs contribute greatly to fishery production. According to McAllister (1988), reefs in excellent condition may provide up to 180 kg/ha/yr of fish, those in good condition may provide up to 130 kg/ha/yr, and those in fair and poor condition provide only 80 and 30 kg/ha/yr of fish, respectively. Coral reefs also reduce the strength of incoming waves, preventing erosion and damage to areas along the coast. The Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) is one of the agencies that monitor the status of the coastal-marine resources, which includes coral reefs. There have been many different methods used to monitor coral reefs, such as the manta tow, reef check, and line intersect transect method. This paper concentrates on those reports made which used the line intersect transect method.

METHODOLOGY

Secondary data gathering was used in this paper. The data was obtained from Coastal Resource Assessment and Coastal Resource Monitoring Reports conducted by PCSDS. Both hard and soft copies of the reports were analyzed to ensure the accuracy of the data. The reports analyzed date from 1997 to 2016. The two sets of data for each municipality that were compared were the initial baseline data and the monitoring data obtained from the most recent coastal resource monitoring activity. It is important to note that the data used in this paper are only those which were obtained using the Line Intercept Transect method (LIT) established by English et al. (1997). The data obtained using the Manta Tow method was excluded because the two different methods produce data that are not comparable. The LIT method requires accurate measurement of benthic cover using a transect while the Manta Tow method employs visual estimations. Due

to this exclusion, some municipalities have no data to be presented or compared.RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

As seen in Table 1, based on the PCSDS baseline and monitoring surveys conducted for 1997- 2016, the coral reefs in the province were in fair condition. With the most recent data available, the municipalities of Quezon, Busuanga and Roxas have the highest percentage coral cover while Cuyo, Agutaya and Magsaysay had the least. However, even if both baseline and monitoring surveys indicated that the corals are in fair condition, trend analysis shows that the percentage of coral cover was apparently decreasing. Figure 1. shows that the average percentage cover of the baseline survey was 42.38% while that of the monitoring survey conducted was 36.30%. This shows that an average decrease in coral cover of about 6.08% occurred. It is also worthy to note that ten (10) of the twenty-four (24) municipalities experienced a decrease in coral cover while only seven (7) had an increase, the other seven (7) municipalities had no data available. Majority of the reports mentioned that destructive fishing practices such as dynamite and cyanide fishing were evident in the monitored sites, contributing to the decrease in coral cover. Other activities like farming were noted to be possible contributors while natural phenomena is also considered as an influencing factor in coral reef deterioration. The alarming decrease in coral cover has a disastrous effect to the food security of the local communities as well as to the health of the coastal-marine ecosystem. Since corals serve as the habitat and nursery for many marine organisms, the decrease in cover would in turn decrease the population of the marine organisms in the area, thereby reducing maximum sustainable productivity. Species that should be abundant in that area may become scarce, affecting the livelihood of the surrounding communities which may lead to small conflicts or resorting to more efficient but destructive fishing practices. Areas with degraded reefs are also more prone to erosion due to increased exposure to wave motion. To avoid this outcome, the reefs must be protected and allowed to recover. The reefs can be protected through the establishment of MPAs, which will

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MunicipalityBaseline Monitoring

ChangeYear Percentage

Cover (%) Condition Year Percentage Cover (%) Condition

1 Aborlan 2003 52.74 Good 2013 44.56 Good -8.18

2 Agutaya 2002 31.47 Fair 2009 11.26 Poor -20.21

3 Araceli 2000 51.67 Good 2005 27.63 Fair -24.04

4 Balabac 2012 31.03 Fair No data No data No data No data

5 Bataraza 2003 55.51 Good 2012 41.33 Fair -14.18

6 Brooke's Point 2000 48.83 Fair 2008 40.59 Fair -8.24

7 Busuanga 1999 30.82 Fair 2003 50.52 Good 19.7

8 Cagayancillo 2007 54.77 Good No data No data No data No data

9 Coron 2000 No data Poor No data No data No data No data

10 Culion 1999 33.80 Fair No data No data No data No data

11 Cuyo 2003 46.22 Fair 2010 6.03 Poor -40.19

12 Dumaran 2001 37.64 Fair 2010 39.06 Fair 1.42

13 El Nido 2002 22.57 Poor 2004 37.37 Fair 14.8

14 Jose Rizal 2003 49.14 Fair 2011 49.44 Fair 0.3

15 Kalayaan No data No data No data No data No data No data No data

16 Linapacan No data No data No data No data No data No data No data

17 Magsaysay 2002 41.69 Fair 2009 15.98 Poor -25.71

18 Narra 1997 51.81 Good 2013 42.16 Fair -9.65

19 Puerto Princesa City 2016 46.00 Fair No data No data No data No data

20 Quezon 2005 55.38 Good 2015 50.75 Good -4.63

21 Roxas 2000 45.81 Fair 2014 50.34 Good 4.53

22 San Vicente 2000 36.23 Fair 2015 37.38 Fair 1.15

23 Sofronio Española 2001 46.06 Fair 2011 32.21 Fair -13.85

24 Taytay 2001 20.85 Poor 2014 40.54 Fair 19.69

AVERAGE - 42.38 Fair - 36.30 Fair -6.08

Table 1. Baseline and Monitoring Status of Palawan’s Coral Reefs.

Figure 1. Average Coral Cover Condition of Palawan

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allow the coral reefs to begin and continue their natural recovery. Coral rehabilitation programs that are scientifically proven may also be used to increase coral cover.

CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATIONS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS

Based on the given data, current practices and conditions, it is highly likely that the coral reefs of Palawan will continue to degrade at a rate that is noticeable. Each hectare of coral reefs lost has an ecological and economic effect. With the loss of habitat and food, marine organisms may leave the area or die out, lowering the diversity of the area and destabilizing the ecosystem. Fish population will also decrease, leading to a decrease in fish production, increase in the prices of fish, and problems for those who rely on the fisheries sector for their sustenance and/or income. With the exception of the natural occurrences, the problem of degrading coral reefs may be addressed through the complimentary activities such as IEC, community consultations and community-based management. Curtailing the illegal fishing practices will contribute much to coral reef recovery. Activities such as coral rehabilitation may also aid in the recovery of the coral reefs, however, this must be implemented with caution based on sound research in order to pursue the balance of the concerned reef. Protecting the coral reefs by declaring certain areas as MPAs will greatly reduce the stress on the reefs, allowing nature to take its course and begin the process of recovery.

REFERENCES

English, S., Wilkinson, C., Baker, V. 1997. Survey Manual for Tropical Marine Resources 2nd Edition. ASEAN-Australia Marine Science Project: Living Coastal Resources, Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB No. 3, Townsville Mail Centre, Australia 4810.

McAllister, D.E. 1988. Environmental, Economic and Social Costs of Coral Reef Destruction in the Philippines. Galaxea 7:161-178.

PCSDS (2003): Coastal Resource Assessment: Municipality of Rizal, Province of Palawan. Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff. Puerto Princesa City, Philippines.

PCSDS (2005): Coastal Resource Monitoring: Municipality of Araceli, Province of Palawan. Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff. Puerto Princesa City, Philippines.

PCSDS (2006): In-Depth Coastal/Marine Survey Report for El Nido Municipality Palawan Council for Sustainable Development, Puerto Princesa City, Philippines.

PCSDS (2006): In-Depth Coastal/Marine Resources Survey Report for Busuanga Municipality. Palawan Council for Sustainable Development, Puerto Princesa City, Philippines.

PCSDS (2007): Coastal Resource Assessment: Municipality of Cagayancillo, Province of Palawan. Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff. Puerto Princesa City, Philippines.

PCSDS (2009): Coastal Resource Monitoring: Municipality of Agutaya, Province of Palawan. Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff. Puerto Princesa City, Philippines.

PCSDS (2009): Coastal Resource Monitoring: Municipality of Brooke’s Point, Province of Palawan. Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff. Puerto Princesa City, Philippines.

PCSDS (2009): Coastal Resource Monitoring: Municipality of Magsaysay, Province of Palawan. Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff. Puerto Princesa City, Philippines.

PCSDS (2010): Coastal Resource Monitoring: Municipality of Cuyo, Province of Palawan. Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff. Puerto Princesa City, Philippines.

PCSDS (2011): Coastal Resource Monitoring: Municipality of Dumaran, Province of Palawan. Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff. Puerto Princesa City, Philippines.

PCSDS (2011): Coastal Resource Monitoring: Municipality of Sofronio Española,

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Province of Palawan. Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff. Puerto Princesa City, Philippines.

PCSDS (2012): Coastal Resource Assessment: Municipality of Balabac, Province of Palawan. Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff. Puerto Princesa City, Philippines.

PCSDS (2012): Coastal Resource Monitoring: Municipality of Bataraza, Province of Palawan. Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff. Puerto Princesa City, Philippines.

PCSDS (2013): Coastal Resource Monitoring: Municipality of Narra, Province of Palawan. Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff. Puerto Princesa City, Philippines.

PCSDS (2014): Coastal Resource Monitoring: Municipality of Roxas, Province

of Palawan. Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff. Puerto Princesa City, Philippines.

PCSDS (2014): Coastal Resource Monitoring: Municipality of Taytay, Province of Palawan. Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff. Puerto Princesa City, Philippines.

PCSDS (2015): Coastal Resource Monitoring: Municipality of Quezon, Province of Palawan. Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff. Puerto Princesa City, Philippines.

PCSDS (2015): Coastal Resource Monitoring: Municipality of San Vicente, Province of Palawan. Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff. Puerto Princesa City, Philippines.

Beach Thick Knee (Esacus magnirostris)A nesting pair of beach thick knee was found in a small island off of Araceli, Palawan. This is the first documented nesting of the said species in the country. This bird species is classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN.

Photo Credits: M.Matillano/WWF Philippines

endemic species of Palawan

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The Zero Carbon Resorts for Sustainable Tourism Project is a foreign-assisted project implemented in Palawan, Philippines. It aims to promote sustainable production and focusing on reduction of resource consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. Based from the learnings with the implementation of ZCR in the province, it was estimated that the current members have saved around PhP 304 Million within a year which is already a promising amount for the small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It was also estimated that their resource savings by adopting the green technologies and concepts from ZCR were significant, thus promoting less pressure on resource extraction and use from the environment.

The Zero Carbon Resorts for Sustainable Tourism Project:Promoting Biodiversity Friendly Enterprise

Atty. Adelina B. Benavente-Villena1

ABSTRACT

1Deputy Executive DirectorPalawan Council for Sustainable Development StaffPuerto Princesa City, PalawanEmail: [email protected]

Keywords:

Zero Carbon Resorts ProjectSustainable TourismBiodiversity Friendly Enterprise

Our PalawanThe Scientific Journal of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

Forum/Conference PaperThis article is also available on-line at www.pkp.pcsd.gov.ph

Paper presented during the 1st Biodiversity Congress organized by the Biodiversity Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on 22-24 May 2017 in Manila, Philippines

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53© 2017 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

INTRODUCTION

Our country is blessed by a bounty of natural resources. Our lands and seas are haven of unique flora and fauna which could only be found within our domains. These are the country’s treasures which draws more tourists thus contributing to the economic boom of the Philippines. But with the current trend of technological advancement, development and urbanization, these resources are placed at risk. People tend to choose over destructive practices to be able to achieve economic growth, giving less priority to the environment. But it is arguable that development would always mean environmental destruction because there are hundreds of means and ways to balance our ecological assets with the aspired economic growth and one way is to realign tourism-related enterprises to become pro-environment industries.

The Zero Carbon Resorts Project Zero Carbon Resorts (ZCR) for Sustainable Tourism Project is a 4-year project funded by the European Union’s SWITCH-Asia Program led by Gruppe Angepasste Technologie

(GrAT) or Centre for Appropriate Technology based in the University of Vienna in Austria. The Green Leaf Foundation and Healthy Public Policy Foundation of Thailand and Centro de Investigaciones Energeticas, Mediombientales y Tecnologicas, Spain are the project partners. Meanwhile, the Department of Tourism (DOT), Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), Department of Energy (DOE), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) are the associates. The Palawan Council for Sustainable Development implements the ZCR in the Palawan with the key tourism sites in El Nido, Coron-Busuanga, San Vicente and Puerto Princesa City.

ZCR Strategy and Methodology ZCR Project aims to contribute to sustainable development of the tourism sector and its value chain in the Philippines and Thailand with focus on reduction of resource consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. It also promotes sustainable production and consumption. To attain such, the following strategies and methodologies are used by ZCR: 1. Reduce, 2. Replace and 3. Redesign (Figure 1).

Figure 1. The Zero Carbon Resorts Strategy and 3R Methodology

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ZCR aims to make tourism industries to be energy efficient in a sustainable and competitive way, thus utilizing the 3Rs on a progressive approach for the stakeholders.

Reduce This level includes the implementations of activities with zero or low investment costs. This includes the simplest change in guest and staff behavior which can further contribute to the lowering of resource consumption. This involves establishment of easy to achieve measures yet remarkable improvement in resource efficiency.

Replace In this strategy, establishments are encouraged to switch to renewable resources or materials. It also includes the substitution of outdated and inefficient technologies with the updated ones, including the implementations with medium to high investment costs.

Redesign This includes the highest level which can be attained by establishments in adopting the ZCR concepts. It includes the development of energy and water autonomous establishments and adoption of knowledge from ZCR learning centers. For instance, this may include the shift of the tourism establishment’s sole dependence on the usual energy power supplied by the local electric company to use of photovoltaic (PV)

Solar System. As a model of the ZCR Strategy, a ZCR Showcase Cottage is built at Irawan, Puerto Princesa City (Figure 2). The model cottage was built using local building materials, off-the-grid system with cool roofing ang breathing walls. Energy demand is supplied by a photovoltaic solar system while water supply is from rainwater harvesting technique. Green technologies which can be seen within the cottage are low flow water closet, shower head and faucet, solar cooker, solar lightings, solar water heater and natural waste water treatment.

Membership As of May 2017, ZCR Project in Palawan has a total of 331-member SMEs (Small-Medium Enterprises). The Muncipality of El Nido, which is one of the most sought-after tourist spot in the provice, has the most number of members (80) as seconded by Puerto Princesa City (75). Membership for the ZCR Project also expands to the island municipalities such as Busuanga, Culion and Coron. Being members of the ZCR, the management of these establishments have been briefed and oriented to the existing green technologies which an be utilized in line with their industry. Other tourism related SMEs are also invited to join the project from the smallest souvenir shops up to high end hotels. Regular monitoring is conducted to assure the implementation of the ZCR concepts while

Figure 2. The Zero Carbon Resorts Showcase Cottage.

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55© 2017 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

trainings and technical seminars for local policy makers are also organized.

Going Green and Gaining More By adopting the technologies and green strategies from the ZCR Project, it was estimated that member enterprises in Palawan have already had high savings due to their shift of resource use. In terms of Energy, there have been about 22,554,778.37 kWh saved per year which is equivalent to the consumption of 53,320 homes. For the water resources, 593,306,279.48 liters are saved in a year which can provide for the needs of 4,850 households. In fuel use, 2,156,924.60 liters saved which can be compared to the average annual consumption of 2,630 cars. For the carbon dioxide emissions, 15,760,973.36 kilograms of carbon dioxide cut down which is comparable to the emissions for one year of 7,500 cars. In terms of economic gain for the enterprise, the current ZCR members all in all can save around Php 304 Million which is already a promising amount for the business sectors involved. But aside from the potential savings of the establishments, the reduced impacts of their altered resource use can already be translated into reduce environmental damage. For instance, with the estimated saved water resource, less demand for freshwater and its production is already implied which may mean less pressure from drawing water

Location No. of SMEsCore Areas Puerto Princesa City 75

El Nido 80Coron 66San Vicente (Port Barton) 63

Other Areas Busuanga 14Culion 2Linapacan 2Brooke’s Point 3Narra 3Bataraza 7Quezon 3Roxas 11Taytay 2

TOTAL 331

Table 1. Tally of the ZCR member SMEs in Palawan

resources from Palawan’s watersheds and other sources. In the long run, exploitation and exhaustive extraction of these freshwater resources which serves as an important habitat or component for our wildlife can be decreased. Meanwhile, reduced carbon dioxide emissions can mean mitigation of climate change’s aggravation. By cutting down carbon dioxide emissions, there will be higher chances of lowering the environmental abnormalities such as increase of temperature and climate pattern fluctuations which may further disturb our ecological systems if not resolved. CONCLUSIONS

Development is already an undeniable fact but this does not necessarily mean giving up the environment for our economy’s sake. Through green innovations and interventions such as the Zero Carbon Resorts Project, we can further prove that we can still aim for a sustainable kind of development. The experiences of Palawan in the Zero Carbon Resorts Project implementation have provided a new venue to be explored by the province and the rest of the country in creating green jobs with promising returns. By supporting these kinds of interventions, we can now create enterprises that are biodiversity and environment friendly.

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Our PalawanResearch Bits

Developing Sustainable Alternative Livelihoods in Coastal Fishing Communities in the Coral Triangle:

Indonesia and Philippines

I. Duration/Area of Coverage36 months Balabac, Palawan, Philippines

II. Funding Institution: Foreign/Local Asian Development Bank – Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction

III. Implementing Partners Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff Center for Environment and Sustainable Development Foundation, Incorporated

IV. Project ObjectiveDevelop alternative livelihoods by pilot-testing support mechanisms that will involve women and indigenous people.

VI. Updates on Activities (January to June 2017) Component A – Social Preparation• Rolling out of business plan and skills training for the Balabac communities• IEC Campaigns and community organizing• Interfaith group mangrove tree plantingComponent B – Livelihood Development and Implementation• Coordination with TESDA and PPSAT on Skills Development Training• Conduct of the skills training, producing 20 graduates on mat and basket weaving and 39 graduates on welding and masonryComponent C – Project Management• Close collaboration with partners through meetings• Conduct of team writeshop• Online social marketing of the Molbog handicraft

VII. Contact Person PCSDS Glenda Cadigal [email protected] [email protected] Tel. No. (63)-(48)-434-4235/434-4234

CESDFI Josefina Ma. Ferriols-Pavico Executive Director Center for Environment and Sustainable Development Foundation, Inc. Unit 504 Manila Luxury Condominium 30 Pearl Drive Ortigas Center, Pasig City1600 Tel. 02 5421202; +659062431272; +639298657318 Mobile No. +639062431272 Email: [email protected]

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Our PalawanResearch Bits

Philippine Wealth Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services (Phil-WAVES) – Development of Ecosystem Accounts for Southern Palawan Pilot Area

I. Duration/Area of Coverage

2013-2017 covering Southern Palawan

II. Funding Institution: Foreign/Local

World Bank/Department of Environment and Natural Resources

III. Implementing Partners Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), National Irrigation Administration-Provincial Irrigation Management Office (NIA-PIMO), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), Provincial Government of Palawan-Provincial Planning and Development Office (PGP-PPDO), Western Philippines University (WPU), Palawan State University (PSU), Holy Trinity University (HTU), Municipality of Sofronio Espanola, Municipality of Brooke’s Point, Municipality of Bataraza, Municipality of Quezon, Municipality of Rizal, Conservation International (CI), Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD)

IV. Project Objectives

The Phil-WAVES project aims to inform decision makers on the sustainable use of key natural resources by developing and constructing ecosystem accounts for Southern Palawan, and analyzing the trade-offs associated with different natural resource and ecosystem service use scenarios through policy analysis.

VI. Updates on Activities (January to June 2017)

• Participated in the Phil-WAVES Spatial Modelling (Recreational Opportunity Spectrum for Palawan Workshop) at the World Bank Office Manila, One Global Place, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, March 7-8, 2017. • Presentation of the Phil-WAVES report to the Technical Working Group and production of the Technical Report

The Phil-WAVES Project has officially ended last April 2017.

VII. Contact Person

BMB: Zenaida B. Munoz [email protected]; [email protected]

PCSDS: John Francisco A. Pontillas Tel. No. (63)-(48)434-4235/434-4234

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Our PalawanResearch Bits

Zero Carbon Resorts Towards Sustainable Development of the Tourism Sectors in the Philippines and Thailand

(ZCR for Sustainable Tourism)

I. Duration/Area of Coverage May 2014 to MAY 2018, being implemented in Palawan, Philippines and Thailand

II. Funding Institution: Foreign/Local The project is financially supported by the European Union under the SWITCH-Asia Program, and is being implemented by GrAT- Center for Appropriate Technology, Austria (Project Lead); CIEMAT, Plataforma Solar de Almeria (PSA), Spain; Green Leaf Foundation (GLF), Thailand; Healthy Public Policy Foundation (HPPF), Thailand; and Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD), Palawan, Philippines.

III. Objectives This project will not only continue the replication of ZCR Phase 1 strategies in many regions of the Philippines but expand and adapt the method to Thailand. With additional focus on access to finance and match with Green Hotel certification, a cross country exchange of best practices will be facilitated through exchange visits and strong policy dialogue. The project aims to contribute to the sustainable development of the tourism sector and its value chain in the Philippines and Thailand with focus on reduction of resource consumption and CO2 emissions. In both countries, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) will demonstrate the value of green tourism by increasing resource efficiency and using renewable energy.

IV. Updates on Activities (January to June 2017)

For this period, the following were the activities conducted under the Zero Carbon Resorts Project:• Continuous assessment of establishments for the 2017 ZCR Green Certification Award• Awarding of the 2016 Zero Carbon Resorts Awards Towards Green Certification: • Two (2) Technical Seminars for policy makers conducted in Coron and El Nido, Palawan

2016 ZCR Award 2016 ZCR Special Award 2016 ZCR Special Citation

1. Sangat Island Resort (Coron)

1. Asia Grand View Hotel (Coron)

1. Balay Tuko Garden Inn (PPC)

2. Palanca Guest House (Coron)2. Daluyon Beach and Mountain Resort (PPC)

3. Secret Paradise Resort (San Vicente)

4. Puerto Pension Inn (PPC)

• Conducted Technical Sharing Session and Training on On-Site Energy Assessment in El Nido and Puerto Princesa City• Participation of the Zero Carbon Resorts Project on the SEP Caravans in various municipalities of Palawan, promoting the project’s objectives and progress• Participation in the First National Biodiversity Congress, presenting “The Zero Carbon Resorts for Sustainable Tourism Project: Promoting Biodiversity Friendly Enterprise.”

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• Participation to local events and exhibits such as the (1) Love Affair with Nature – Mangrove Reforestation Activity, (2) World Environment Day celebration – with mangrove planting activity, (3) PCSD Photo Exhibit – Opening of SEP Silver Anniversary Celebration at Robinson’s Place Palawan, (4) 3rd World’s Best Island Tourism Sympo at Robinson’s Place Palawan and (5) Perlas de Hunyo exhibit at Robinson’s Place Palawan. Official ZCR videos are played and brochures distributed during exhibits while project information were disseminated through tarpaulins for other events.

V. Contact Person

Atty. Adelina B. VillenaDeputy Executive Director, PCSD and Project Lead, [email protected] Tel. No. (63)-(48)-434-4235/434-4234Website: www.ZeroCarbonResorts.eu

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About The Main Authors

Dr. Jhonamie A. Mabuhay-Omar is an Associate Professor in the College of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences of the Western Philippines University. Some of the subjects she teaches are General Microbiology and Parasitology, Microbial Ecology, Animal Morphoanatomy and Physiology, Marine Microbiology, and Environmental Management and Protection. She has been engaged in researches on agglutination of blood groups using leaf crude extracts and antimicrobial potentials of various aquatic and terrestrial flora and fauna of the province. She had her Master’s Degree on Developmental Science (Ecology), PhD in Developmental Science Major in Environmental Microbiotechnology and Post Doctorate Studies on Molecular Biodiversity at the Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation- Hiroshima University, Japan

Mr. Ronald S. Brillantes was a former high school teacher handling science and research subjects for almost fifteen years. He was awarded as Best High School Science Teacher in the Division of Palawan (2010) and a recipient of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Palawan Chapter Judge Felomino Vergara Award in the field of Education. Mr. Brillantes is taking his Doctor of Education degree major in Educational Management at Palawan State University and is a holder of a Master’s Degree in Teaching Science and Supervision and Instruction. He is currently an Education Program Supervisor in the Department of Education MIMAROPA Region, Pasig City.

Mr. Carlos Alfredo Castillo is currently a Research Analyst for the Coastal and Marine Unit of the ECAN Zones Management Division of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development. He focuses on coastal resource monitoring and coral assessments in Palawan. He is a licensed open water diver and a graduate of BS Biology major in Marine Biology from Palawan State University and a volunteer of Scubasurero, a youth-initiated project intended for coastal clean-ups engaging scuba divers in collecting solid wastes found in coral reefs.

Atty. Adelina B. Benavente-Villena attained her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Major in Agribusiness at the Aquinas University of Legazpi as Magna Cum Laude and obtained Bachelor of Science in Commerce, Major in Economics at the University of Nueva Caceres. She has completed her Bachelor of Laws with Silver Medal for Academic Excellence in the Study of Law at the Palawan State University in Puerto Princesa City and passed the Philippine Bar Examination in 1997. She holds a Masters Degree on Urban and Regional Planning. She served in the ECAN Zones Management and Enforcement Division (EZMED) of PCSD. She was previously the ECAN Operations Department Chief in 2015, and at present, she is the Deputy Executive Director of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff.