Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff Puerto Princesa City, Palawan
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State of Environment of Palawan 2015 Updates (Final Draft: FOR COMMENTS) Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff Puerto Princesa City, Palawan ©2015 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff Page | 1 State of Environment of Palawan 2015 Updates (Final Draft: FOR COMMENTS) STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT OF PALAWAN: 2015 UPDATES Short extracts from this publication may be copied or reproduced for individual use, without permission, provided that this source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction for sale or other commercial purposes is however prohibited without the written consent of the publisher. Electronic copy is also available in www.pcsd.gov.ph and www.pkp.pcsd.gov.ph. Published by: PALAWAN COUNCIL FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT through its ECAN Knowledge Management Division PCSD Building, Sports Complex Road, Sta. Monica, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines Tel. No. +63 48 434-4235, Telefax: +63 48 434-4234 www.pcsd.gov.ph Editorial Board: Nelson P. Devanadera, Executive Director Josephine S. Matulac, Director II/Planning Department Technical Editors/Contributors: Madrono P. Cabrestante, Jr., Division Head/ECAN Knowledge Mgt. Wilson R. Pambid Marianne Faith Martinico-Perez Perlita I. Quiling Fernando E. Padilla May Ann Rapio Amelyn E. Dramayo Jenevieve Hara Bernard Mendoza Apollo V. Regalo John Vincent Fabello Jesus E. Bream Philippine Copyright ©2015 by Palawan Council for Sustainable Development, Puerto Princesa City, Philippines ISBN: _____________ Suggested Citation: PCSDS (2015): State of the Environment 2015 Updates, Province of Palawan, Philippines. Palawan Council for Sustainable Development, Puerto Princesa City. ©2015 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff Page | 2 State of Environment of Palawan 2015 Updates (Final Draft: FOR COMMENTS) Table of Contents Page Messages Executive Summary 7 Introduction 11 State of Palawan’s Environment – A Snapshot 11 SECTION 1: Environment and Natural Resources 15 I. Land and Forest Resources 15 II. Freshwater Resources 22 III. Coastal – Marine Resources 34 IV. Protected Areas 48 V. Biodiversity 52 VI. Climate Change 55 VII. Human Resources 56 SECTION 2: Natural Resources Management, Institutions and Governance 64 VIII. Key Economic Sectors Agriculture 64 Reef Fish and Fishery 65 Mining and Mineral Development 69 Oil and Gas 70 Tourism 72 IX. Physical Infrastructures 73 X. Employment 74 References 76 List of Figures List of Tables ©2015 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff Page | 3 State of Environment of Palawan 2015 Updates (Final Draft: FOR COMMENTS) List of Figures Figure 1. Bacuit Bay, El Nido, Palawan Figure 2. Aerial photo of Brooke's Point, Palawan Figure 3. Increasing trend of mangrove forest of Palawan, 1992 – 2010 Figure 4. Land Cover map, Province of Palawan, 2010 Figure 5. Tamlang Catchment, Southern Palawan Figure 6. Production of Almaciga and Rattan in Palawan Figure 7. Cave and cave bats Figure 8. Caves distribution map, Province of Palawan Figure 9. Sabsaban Falls, Brookes Point, Palawan Figure 10. River systems, Southern Palawan Figure 11. Range of TSS concentration of river stations in Southern Palawan, 2010-14 Figure 12. Range of TSS concentration of river stations in Northern Palawan, 2010-14 Figure 13. Range of BOD concentration of river stations in Southern Palawan, 2008-14 Figure 14. Range of BOD concentration of river stations in Northern Palawan, 2008-14 Figure 15. Range of Nitrate concentration of river stations in Southern Palawan, 2010-14 Figure 16. Range of Nitrate concentration of river stations in Northern Palawan, 2010-14 Figure 17. Range of Phosphates concentration of river stations in Southern Palawan, 2010-14 Figure 18. Range of Phosphates concentration of river stations in Northern Palawan, 2010-14 Figure 19. Average river discharge of river stations in Southern Palawan, 2010-14 Figure 20. Average river discharge of river stations in Northern Palawan, 2010-14 Figure 21. Manual rainfall collector installation and training on rainfall data collection Figure 22. The mangroves of Taburi, Rizal, Palawan Figure 23. Number of species, species diversity and average diameter-at-breast-height (DBH) of mangroves in Palawan Figure 24. Mangrove forests of Southern Palawan Figure 25. Sapling density, seedling density and average mangrove density in Palawan Figure 26. Mangrove density map of Palawan, 2004 Figure 27. Mangrove tree density map of Palawan, 2014 Figure 28. Live Coral Cover (LCC) Condition of Palawan, 2014 Figure 29. Changes in Palawan's Live Coral Cover Condition for the period 2004-2014 using the old classification/category Figure 30. Coral condition as of 2004, Province of Palawan Figure 31. Coral condition as of 2014, Province of Palawan Figure 32. Seagrass Cover, 2004 and 2014 Figure 33. Seagrass density by municipalities showing baseline and monitoring data, Palawan Figure 34. Seagrass condition monitoring Figure 35. Forest cover within the protected areas in Palawan Figure 36. Existing network of marine protected areas in Calamianes, Northern Palawan (established with the assistance from the Fisheries Improved for Sustainable Harvest, FISH Project) Figure 37. Palawan’s flora and fauna Figure 38. Palawan Forest Turtle (Siebenrockiella leytensis) Figure 39. The rediscovered Palawan Toadlet (Pelophryne albotaeniata) Figure 40. Distribution of households according to level of vulnerability to climate change in Palawan Figure 41. Palawan's populace Figure 42. Population growth and projected population of Palawan and Puerto Princesa City Figure 43. Most populous municipalities (excluding Puerto Princesa City). Figure 44. Age-Sex pyramid of household population of Palawan (excluding Puerto Princesa City), 2010 Figure 45. Population map of Palawan, 1995 Figure 46. Population map of Palawan, 2010 ©2015 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff Page | 4 State of Environment of Palawan 2015 Updates (Final Draft: FOR COMMENTS) Figure 47. Map of PCSD-Proclaimed Tribal Ancestral Zone Figure 48. Indigenous people of Palawan Figure 49. Volume of cereals production in Palawan, 1990-2014 Figure 50. Fishery production in Palawan vis-a-vis the Philippines Figure 51. Source of fishery production in Palawan, 1980-2014 Figure 52. Comparison of trends on Grouper Production in Palawan and the Philippines Figure 53. Live reef fish production in Palawan. Figure 54. Pearl farms in Palawan with PCSD/SEP Clearance Figure 55. Mineral production in Palawan Figure 56. Oil and gas production, Palawan Figure 57. Offshore energy applications in Palawan Figure 58. Nature at its best in the island of Palawan: The Puerto Princesa Underground Figure 59. Trend of tourist arrival in Palawan, 1995-2012 Figure 60. Road length and condition, Palawan Figure 61. Private building construction in Palawan Figure 62. Percentage Employment per sector, Palawan ©2015 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff Page | 5 State of Environment of Palawan 2015 Updates (Final Draft: FOR COMMENTS) List of Tables Table 1. Analysis of changes in Palawan's biophysical environment Table 2. Land cover change in Palawan, 2005-2010 Table 3. Summary of identified, assessed, and classified caves/karst system in the Province of Palawan, 2008-2014 Table 4. River monitoring stations in Palawan Table 5. River stations and ranking vis-a-vis River water classification, 2014 Table 6. Raingauge monitoring stations installed by PCSDS Table 7. Number of mangrove species, biodiversity index and diameter-at-breast height by municipality Table 8. Average mangrove density by municipality of Palawan, 2004-2014 Table 9. Coral reef condition in the different municipalities of Palawan. Table 10. Palawan's coral reef condition based on the old category-classification Table 11. Distribution of condition of seagrass communities by municipality, Palawan Table 12. Protected areas in Palawan as of 2014 Table 13. Species account of selected fauna, Palawan. Table 14. Updated list of terrestrial and marine wildlife in Palawan and their categories pursuant to Republic Act 9147 through PCSD Resolution No. 15-521, s. 2014 Table 15. Population density by Municipality, Province of Palawan Table 16. Pearl culture and farming industries in Palawan Table 17. Operating mineral production sharing agreement (MPSA) in Palawan ©2015 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff Page | 6 State of Environment of Palawan 2015 Updates (Final Draft: FOR COMMENTS) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Forest, Land Cover and Land Use 1. Palawan’s total forest cover reduced from 55% in 1992 (at 789,488 hectares including mangroves) based on PCSDS land cover mapping to around 48% (689,161 hectares including mangroves) in 2010 based on the Philippine land cover map published by the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA). 2. The annual rate of Palawan’s forest loss at 5,500 hectares/year for the period 1992 (JAFTA) - 2010 (NAMRIA) is far lower than the 1979 to 1984 rate at 19,000 hectares/year. However, the perceived forest loss may still reduce as certain areas in Palawan appeared to have been misclassified in the NAMRIA land maps, citing for example the ‘claim’ by the Protected Area Management Board of the Rasa Island Wildlife Sanctuary where the NAMRIA map has interpreted the existing ‘beach forest’ as ‘perennial crops’. 3. The mangrove forest increased from 3.5% (50,602 hectares) in 1992 to 4.4% (63,532 hectares) in 2010, at an approximate rate of 700 hectares/year. Out of the total 28 true mangrove species (under 19 families) recorded in the Philippines, 23 mangrove species that belong