Development of an LCA within ARMM: The Case of Bud Bongao, Tawi-Tawi

Tawi-Tawi Island is one of the Bud Bongao or Bongao Peak is Tawi- 117 important and endemic Tawi’s most famous mountain. Standing 340 meters above sea level, it encompasses 250 bird areas in the . hectares and is home to important biodiversity resources. It is recognized as The island is the most important one of the last remaining moist forests in area for the conservation of the the archipelago. Bongao Peak is threatened and restricted-range bird located in Bongao, a third-class species of the municipality in the province of Tawi-Tawi. Endemic Bird Area (EBA) as it retains It is the capital town and business center of more extensive forests than Tawi-Tawi province. Based on the 2000 anywhere else in the EBA. It is the census, Bongao has a population of 58,174 only place where the Sulu bleeding- people in 10,146 households, with a land heart pigeon (Gallicolumba menagei) area of 25,042 has. has definitely been recorded, although there is remarkably little The peak is located in recent information on the status of Pasiangan, which is bounded on the this elusive species. It is also the only northeast by the provincial road adjacent to Important Bird Area with a known coastal waterlines, on the southwest by population of the Tawi-Tawi brown mangrove swamp, on the western portion dove (Phapiteron cinerieceps), the blue- by Nalil road, and on the north by Mt. winged racquet-tail (Prioniturus Kabugan. Bongao Peak has a steep and hilly verticalis), and the Sulu hornbill mountainous terrain and the western (Anthracoceros montani). Home to such portion of the area is mostly of rocky diverse wildlife, Tawi-Tawi is Key formation. The area is covered with mixed Biodiversity Area No. 126 in the vegetation of both dipterocarp and molave Zamboanga and Tawi-Tawi type forest. The largest molave tree in the Biogeographic Region. Philippines has been recorded in this peak. Believed to be the gravesite of a The biodiversity holy man (some say one of the early assessment conducted for Bud Muslim missionaries) and a popular Bongao recorded 45 species of pilgrimage destination where Muslims trees, including the and even Christians pray and give endangered dao (Dracontom- offerings for some supplications, Bud elon dao), the vulnerable molave (Vitex parviflora), and Bongao is considered as one of the Dungon (Heritiera sylvatica), sacred sites in the province. which are indigenous to Tawi- Tawi. On fauna, a total of It is called the “healing mountain.” Many fifteen species of birds has residents believe that the holy shrine at the peak of been recorded in Bud Bongao. the mountain fulfills their wishes and aspirations. These include threatened and The mystical aura of the mountain and its richness restricted-range species such in fauna and flora entice visitors to the province to as the endangered Tawi-Tawi climb Bud Bongao. brown dove (Phapitreron cinereiceps), the vulnerable However, with increasing human activities in rufous-lored kingfisher Bud Bongao, threats to its flora and fauna as well as (Todirhamphus winchelli), the to the holy place are becoming increasingly evident. near-threatened Mantanani The biodiversity value and traditional importance scops-owl (Otus mantanan- of Bud Bongao make it worthy of recognition, ensis), and the vulnerable preservation, and conservation. Customary laws eagle-owl (Otus exist governing the behavior of visitors to the gurneyi). Tampat area. Among them are the following:

1. Wear clothing that covers the upper and lower parts of the body and that does not define the body contour. 2. No alcoholic drinks in the vicinity. 3. No littering or dispersal of waste. 4. No cutting or destruction of trees. 5. No hunting, trapping, or harvesting of wildlife; 6. No compulsory collection of fees for spiritual visit in the Tampat. 7. Bring food as offering. 8. If a Muslim, wash hands before going to the Tampat. 9. Remove footwear before stepping into the Tampat. However, even with the existence of This started off with an inception customary laws and conservation efforts by meeting or orientation on the goal and local groups, threats still exist in Bud objectives of the project, the mechanisms Bongao. of implementation, and the roles in the project of World Wildlife Fund – as Bud Bongao is being challenged NewCAPP’s Local Responsible Partner – of DENR, and of the LGU of Bongao. Timber poaching, by forest loss. This generated the buy-in needed from unrestrained human visitations, and the provincial government, the local improper solid waste disposal are problems government of Bongao down to the happening in the area. Timber poaching for barangay level, national line agencies, house construction, boat building, furniture- the academe, non-government making, and for selling has resulted in soil organizations, the Armed Forces of the erosion. In particular, poaching of the Philippines, and community-based remaining clump of giant bamboo in the area organizations. is expected to lead to the eventual disappearance of the said species in the area. Towards the establishment of Bud Bongao as an LCA, a full-blown Unregulated entry points to Bud assessment of the area was conducted. Bongao have also aggravated the problem The assessment had the following of improper solid waste disposal due to a components: biodiversity assessment of number of people visiting the holy place and Bud Bongao and Kabugan ranges, leaving their wastes in the area. This is mapping of boundaries, policy land expected to affect the quality of water coming information, socio-economic and from Bud Bongao and draining to the coastal institutional assessment of Bud Bongao part of the Bongao municipality. Conversion and Bud Kabugan including the affected of forest areas into agriculture and barangays, and development of an settlement is also becoming a prevailing effective Information and Education issue. Campaign (IEC) framework.

The establishment of Bud Results of these baseline studies Bongao as a Local Conservation were communicated through a Area (LCA) started when the New Stakeholders’ Workshop for validation. One of the highlights of this activity was Conservation Areas in the the consensus reached to designate Bud Philippines Project (NewCAPP) Bongao as the conservation area and the commenced implementation in nearby peak, Bud Kabugan, as the Tawi-Tawi on 2 November 2010. production area. The Bongao LCA Management Plan as supported by Municipal Ordinance No. 202 has the following objectives to arrest the immediate threats undermining the conservation of Bud Bongao and to ensure that an effective management organization operates to carry out the needed activities. These objectives are as follows:

1. Secure the boundary of the conservation 6. Design and implement an IEC area and its management zones by the campaign to raise public provision of control and physical markers awareness on the value of the in its designated ingress and egress points. conservation area and to 2. Promulgate regulations and operate a heighten the sense of community-based but multi-level ownership among communi- enforcement system to ensure compliance. ties living around it. 3. Develop and operate a solid waste 7. Work with concerned agencies management program to have a garbage- for the adoption by farming free conservation area through reduction, households of agro-forestry recycling, and reuse. and other practices that complement the protection of 4. Identify and rehabilitate degraded areas, the conservation area and in including forest areas that should be rationalizing land tenure. restored and eroded trails and slopes that 8. Institute and operate a should repaired. management structure and 5. Prepare and implement an ecotourism plan system to ensure that the to enhance the value of the conservation objectives of the management area, to educate visitors on its biodiversity plan and the goals of the and cultural importance, and to operate a conservation area are mechanism for sustainable financing. attained.

Following these baselines studies, the The participatory approach LCA Plan formulation was undertaken. The adopted in the LCA establishment planning process provided venue for process has impacts on the lives of delineation of the conservation area boundary Tawi-Tawian for it has awakened the and the identification of appropriate sense of responsibility of every management zones. Measures and actions for community towards the mountain. improved biodiversity conservation have been A realization among local tenants on outlined in the LCA Plan of Bud Bongao. This the importance of land titling and LCA Plan has been adopted through a land registration has encouraged (SB) Resolution. them to process the documentation of their property rights. The Municipal Ordinance No. 202, Series of discovery of the biodiversity and 2013 declared Bud Bongao as an LGU- ecological conditions of Bud Bongao managed LCA in the Philippines and the first and Kabugan ranges has also in the Autonomous Region in Muslim inspired the commitment and Mindanao (ARMM). Subsequently, the support of local partners and project organizational structure necessary for stakeholders alike. implementation of the LCA Plan has been laid out. The SB of Bongao passed and approved A success factor that has led to the Municipal Resolution creating the Bud the LCA establishment was the Bongao Management Council. active participation of the local policy makers in the LCA planning At the provincial level, the Sangguniang activities. Moreover, the persistence Panglalawigan (SP) of Tawi-Tawi created the of the municipality and every major Joint Management Coordinating Committee stakeholder in declaring Bud through an SP Resolution. Municipal Bongao as a conservation area has Resolution No. 07 has declared March 1 as Bud likewise had a positive impact on the Bongao Day. project.