The Benefits of Establishing and Sustaining the Batangas Environment Laboratory in Batangas Province, Philippines
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The Benefits of Establishing and Sustaining the Batangas Environment Laboratory in Batangas Province, Philippines CASE STUDY 19 Case Study 19 The Benefits of Establishing and Sustaining the Batangas Environment Laboratory in Batangas Province, Philippines Marivic P. Esmas*, Beverly F. Balahibo, and Luis Awitan Provincial Government-Environment and Natural Resources Office Batangas Provincial Capitol, Batangas Province, Philippines Key Message Province (PG-ENRO) is the Philippines’ first environmental monitoring laboratory • A water quality monitoring program is a operated by a local government. This necessary component of integrated coastal experience demonstrated that providing management (ICM). It provides scientific quality laboratory services to local data on pollution levels and impacts, serves government and the private sector is as a useful basis for management planning, not only feasible, but also an essential thereby informs and engages stakeholders component of ICM. The laboratory was on the state of the environment, and allows established in 1998 to overcome the timely intervention. problem of fragmented and inconsistent monitoring data collected by different • Maintaining an environment laboratory to academic institutions and private entities. support a monitoring program is costly but can eventually be sustained by stakeholders The local government recognized the that require such services, particularly crucial role of a laboratory in a monitoring when the laboratory attains accreditation. program and persisted despite difficulties It also increases local capacity, which can in maintaining it during the initial years. help with ICM scaling up and replication. Local capacity in environmental monitoring enables quick detection of trends so that appropriate policy and management Abstract interventions can be activated within This section is part of the book: shorter response periods. This helps to Chua, T.-E., L.M. Chou, G. Jacinto, S.A. Ross, and D. Bonga. (Editors). The Batangas Environment Laboratory under improve governance, political will, and 2018. Local Contributions to Global the Provincial Government-Environment decisionmaking. Strong connections with Sustainable Agenda: Case Studies in Integrated Coastal Management in the and Natural Resources Office of Batangas stakeholders improved the sharing of East Asian Seas Region. Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) and Coastal Management Center (CMC), Quezon City, Philippines. * Email: [email protected] 235 CASE STUDY 19 information and knowledge, which allowed for Municipal and commercial fisheries were active faster collective decisionmaking. As a technical but the encroachment of commercial fishers arm of the provincial government, the laboratory into the fishing grounds of municipal fishers provides scientific data on the environmental was increasing the conflict between them and quality of different water bodies including causing dwindling of fish stocks. Coastal and groundwater resources. Continued improvement marine habitats were degraded because of and investments towards excellence have elevated overexploitation, overfishing, and use of illegal it to a nationally accredited and internationally fishing methods. Erosion and siltation from the recognized laboratory. This case study highlights denuded watershed impacted heavily on seagrasses the need for an efficient environmental and coral reefs. About 61% of the province’s total monitoring program to contribute to effective land area was devoted to agriculture, including coastal management and the value of a dedicated coconut and sugar plantations, intermixed with environmental laboratory. backyard and commercial poultry and pig farming (MTE, 1996). Background Growth of the coastal population and settlements was also accelerating with the expanding economic The Province of Batangas established the ICM development further escalating the problems of program in 1994 to help address the issues and domestic waste collection and disposal and the challenges associated with pollution prevention sustainable use of marine resources (MTE, 1996). and management (PG-ENRO, 1996; Chua, 2006; Environmental (water) quality was deteriorating PEMSEA, 2006). The province was identified as a with the accumulation of solid wastes because of major industrial growth area in the Philippines, a inadequate disposal facilities. The use of chemical center for port development and a trans-shipment fertilizers in agriculture was also increasing hub (MTE, 1996). Batangas Bay was home to significantly. Controlling nonpoint sources of shipyards, petrochemical and oil refineries, and nutrients from backyard livestock raising activities chemical, textile, and steel fabrication companies. was difficult. The disposal of untreated industrial The natural attributes of Batangas Bay made it wastes was also starting to become a concern. suitable for port activities. Domestic, industrial and agricultural wastes were entering the waterways, rivers, and coastal In the early 1990s, about 80% of ships docked areas, aggravating the efforts in marine pollution in public ports while the rest in private ports. prevention. Industrial companies had their own port and berthing facilities and used the bay’s shoreline Prior to ICM adoption, monitoring data were for mooring, anchorage, and location of seawater fragmented and inconsistent based on studies intake pipes for cooling processes in their facility by different academic institutions and private operations. Industrial expansion was leading entities (PEMSEA, 2006). With the assistance of to increased vessel traffic rendering adjacent scientists from the University of the Philippines areas unsuitable for fishing and recreational – Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI), baseline activities. With the upgrade of Batangas Port environmental data for the bay were acquired. to an international, alternative port to Manila, The results of the environmental study showed shipping activity consequently was increasing that a potential health risk was imminent unless which further intensified resource use conflicts, further efforts were taken to identify and assess pollution, and the risk of oil spills and ship pollution sources and the extent of pollution loads, accidents. and to institute pollution control measures. While 236 The Benefits of Establishing and Sustaining the Batangas Environment Laboratory in Batangas Province, Philippines CASE STUDY 19 the principal use classification of Batangas Bay Institutionally, both a structure and an integrated was for the propagation of fish and other aquatic monitoring platform were missing. It was not life, beaches on the western side of the bay were until 1995, when PG-ENRO was created and being used for swimming, diving, and snorkeling. became operational that the blueprint for the Regular monitoring of pollution levels including Batangas Environment Laboratory (BEL) came coliform counts was needed so that timely health into fruition1. The functional multisectoral advisories could be issued. This highlighted the coordinating mechanism, Batangas Bay Region need for an on-site laboratory with adequate Environmental Protection Council (BBREPC), was equipment and qualified personnel. With the also established.2 establishment of the ICM program, the Province of Batangas was becoming more cognizant of the Prior to establishing BEL, an assessment of the challenges associated with pollution prevention capabilities of various institutions and companies and management, the need for sound scientific to obtain and analyze marine environmental information, and the development of local capacity. samples in the bay was carried out. The assessment also identified appropriate laboratories that could be engaged to create a self-sustaining monitoring Approach and Methodology program. The assessment activity involved visits to four hospitals, a water district office, two Collaborative Water Quality Monitoring Program: colleges, and 17 industrial firms. These institutions the development of the Batangas Environment were identified as potential collaborators in the Laboratory development and implementation of a marine pollution monitoring program where analysis An initial five-year Integrated Environmental of the major pollution parameters could be Monitoring Program (IEMP) was designed for the performed using existing laboratories in the bay Batangas Bay region to regularly assess the state area. and trends in marine pollution and to ascertain what improvements were occurring as a result With the start of the monitoring program in 1998, of pollution management schemes (Chua, 2006; PG-ENRO secured partnerships with various PEMSEA, 2006). The primary concern of the local institutions. While it refurbished a small building government was that an environmental monitoring to house BEL, hired two chemists, and provided a program is costly. A strategy to create collaborative budget for maintenance and operating expenses monitoring was explored for cost sharing and (Figure 1), contributions were made by partner other financing instruments. The idea was to companies, and academic and local government engage multiple partners in water sampling, data institutions. PEMSEA provided other basic gathering, analysis and decisionmaking. equipment needed by the laboratory. 1 The PG-ENRO acts as the lead coordinating agency. It is primarily mandated to coordinate and integrate the implementation of management programs among the different stakeholders in Batangas. Its more