Integrated Natural Resources
and Environment Management

UPLB INREM

UPLB-INREM connects with Palawan stakeholders for its natural capital accounting project
Published on
The RE-INVEST WPS Project 2 team and Kalayaan LGU officials pose for a group photo after the focus group discussion and presentation of initial study findings.

The Interdisciplinary Studies Center for Integrated Natural Resources and Environment Management (UPLB-INREM) conducted a field visit in Puerto Princesa City and the municipality of Quezon on July 16-20, 2023.

Implemented under the “Resource Inventory, Valuation, and Policy in Ecosystem Services under Threat (RE-INVEST): The Case of the West Philippine Sea” or RE-INVEST Program, the field visit was conducted in preparation for activities of the “Natural Capital Accounting of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems in the West Philippine Sea” of RE-INVEST WPS Project 2.

It aimed to establish partnerships and build rapport with stakeholders in the RE-INVEST WPS Project 2 study sites.

Using the case of the West Philippine Sea, the project aims to prototype a framework for coastal and marine natural capital accounting that can guide current and future ecosystem accounting initiatives elsewhere in the Philippines.

An integral output of the project involves establishing and strengthening linkages with local stakeholders, particularly in capacity building, policymaking, and decision analysis.

In April 2023, the project team concluded its fieldwork activities in Brgy. Pag-asa in Kalayaan, the lone municipality under the Kalayaan Island Group.

To continue its linkage efforts and validate study results, the project team held a focus group discussion with representatives of the Kalayaan local government unit, where the team also presented the initial findings of its research activities.

The project team with members of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff. (Photo by Christian Ray C. Buendia)

The project team with representatives of Palawan State University. (Photo by Christian Ray C. Buendia)

Members of the project team discuss partnership terms with representatives of Western Palawan University. (Photo courtesy of Art John I. Agapito)

Courtesy visit with Palawan PG-ENRO Atty. Noel E. Aquino. (Photo by Christian Ray C. Buendia)

This year, the project is set to implement fieldwork activities in Western Palawan, where the extensive coastline facing WPS presents considerable challenges in terms of the scope and extent of ecosystems to be covered.

This, together with the project’s thrust to increase local capacities in ecosystem accounting, underlines the need to foster local partnerships in the area.

Given current national initiatives to institutionalize natural capital accounting, ecosystem accounting is projected to increase in demand.

The partnership meetings were conducted on the heels of exploratory meetings held virtually in June 2023 with the Palawan Council of Sustainable Development Staff, Palawan State University, and Western Philippines University.

The meetings aimed to provide an overview of the project, discuss the terms of the proposed memoranda of understanding to formalize the collaborations, and identify ways forward in implementing the project activities in Western Palawan.

UPLB-INREM also visited the office of Palawan Provincial Government-Environmental and Natural Resources Officer (PG-ENRO) Atty. Noel E. Aquino. PG-ENRO Aquino welcomed the project and emphasized the significance of its results in policy processes and decision-making.

The project team also conducted field reconnaissance activities in Brgy. Buenavista, Puerto Princesa City and Brgy. Alfonso XIII, Quezon to gather local contacts and initial information on the area’s ecosystem services, including fisheries provisioning, coastal protection, and recreation services.

Site reconnaissance in a community-based sustainable tourism site in Brgy. Buenavista, Puerto Princesa City. (Photo by Christian Ray C. Buendia)

Field reconnaissance in Brgy. Alfonso in the Municipality of Quezon. (Photo courtesy of Ezekiel R. Dimagiba)

RE-INVEST WPS Project 2 is a three-year project that will run from March 2022 until March 2025. It is funded by the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD).

The project is the second component of the RE-INVEST Program, which is jointly implemented by UPLB-INREM, UP Marine Science Institute, and the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea of the UP College of Law.

The field visit was headed by Dr. Canesio D. Predo and Dr. Asa Jose U. Sajise, co-leaders of RE-INVEST WPS Project 2. They were joined by Dr. Juan M. Pulhin and Dr. Gem B. Castillo, project specialists; Christian Ray C. Buendia, Pauline Cielo P. Palma, and Adrian Pablo V. Sasi, research associates; and Ezekiel R. Dimagiba and Art John I. Agapito, DOST-PCAARRD staff under its Socio-Economics and Research Division. (Christian Ray C. Buendia and Farah Y. Sevilla; first posted on https://uplb.edu.ph)