From Ridge to Reef: An Ecosystem Based Approach to Biodiversity Conservation in the Philippines Final Program Performance Report Prepared for Grant No. AID-492-IO-11-00001 USAID Philippines Submitted to: Rebecca Guieb, Agreement Officer Technical Representative, USAID Philippines Copies to: Sallie H. McElrath, USAID Rodel Lasco, ICRAF Gil Saguiguit Jr., SEARCA By: WorldFish, World Agroforestry Centre, and Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture Submitted on: 31 May 2013 Contact: Maripaz L. Perez Regional Director for Asia WorldFish c/o SEARCA Building College, Laguna Philippines Phone/Fax: (6349)- 536-0202 [email protected] USAID Ridge to Reef Final Program Performance Report…May 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 5 II. PROGRAM RESULTS, IMPACT AND MAJOR SUCCESSES .................................................. 6 2.1 Contribution to Reversing Degradation of Coastal Resources ............................................ 6 2.2 Contribution to Increasing Livelihoods ............................................................................. 16 2.3 Contribution to Enhanced Institutional Capacity .............................................................. 18 2.4 Contribution to information/database management .......................................................... 24 2.5 Project Sustainability ......................................................................................................... 24 2.6 Assessment of EB-ABCD Objectives and Expected Results Relative to its Overall Budget and Human Resources ....................................................................................................... 26 III. KEY LESSONS LEARNED FROM PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION ..................................... 31 IV. PERFORMANCE AND PROCESS EVALUATION OF THE PROJECT ................................. 33 4.1 What Has the Program Achieved? .................................................................................... 34 4.2 What Processes Did and Did Not Work? .......................................................................... 35 LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Summary of plantation accomplishments 10 Table 2 Summary of technical assistance provided to strengthen CRM programs in six coastal sites in Misamis Occidental 11 Table 3 Summary of resource assessments and key recommendations relative to livelihood interventions 13 Table 4 Summary of the CEFE and Livelihood Training courses conducted by gender of participants 16 Table 5 List of implemented livelihood projects 17 Table 6 Summary of capacity-building activities implemented by the project 22 Table 7 Summary of accomplishments vis-à-vis targets by USG Indicator 27 Table 8 Summary of accomplishments vis-à-vis targets by project component 28 Table 9 Relevant core indicators and key performance questions 33 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Snapshot of the project website homepage 25 Figure 2 Signing of IBAMO Memorandum of Agreement 26 Figure 3 Member of the Board of Directors of MOMMAI 26 2 | P a g e USAID Ridge to Reef Final Program Performance Report…May 2013 ACRONYMS BAWASA Barangay Water and Sanitation Association BFAR Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources CBMP Community-Based Management Planning CEFE Competency-Based Economies Formation of Entrepreneurs CLE Coastal Law Enforcement CRMP Coastal Resource Management Plan DENR Department of Environment and Natural Resources DILG Department of Interior and Local Government DOLE Department of Labor and Employment DOST Department of Science and Technology DOT Department of Tourism EAF Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries EB-ABCD From Ridge to Reef: An Ecosystem Based Approach to Biodiversity Conservation and Development ENRO Environment and Natural Resource Office FGD Focus Group Discussions FIN FishBase Information and Research Group, Inc. GMP General Management Plan IBAMO Iligan Bay Alliance of Misamis Occidental ICRAF International Centre for Research in Agroforestry IEC Information, Education and Communication IPAF Integrated Protected Area Fund IPRA Indigenous People Rights Act LCE Local Chief Executive LGU Local Government Unit MCS Monitoring, Control and Surveillance M & E Monitoring and Evaluation MMRNP Mt. Malindang Range Natural Park MOAP Misamis Occidental Aquaculture Park MOMMAI Misamis Occidental Mangrove Management Association Inc. MPA Marine Protected Areas NCIP National Commission on Indigenous People 3 | P a g e USAID Ridge to Reef Final Program Performance Report…May 2013 NIPAS National Integrated Protected Areas System OCWD Oroquieta City Water District PALS Philippines Australia Local Sustainability PAMB Protected Area Management Board PASu Protected Area Superintendent PES Payments for Environmental Services PSC Project Steering Committee RABA Rapid Agro-biodiversity Appraisal RUWASA Rural Water and Sanitation SB Sangguniang Bayan SEARCA Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture SEC Securities and Exchange Commission SSF Small-scale Fisheries SWAT Soil and Water Assessment Tool TWG Technical Working Group UPLB University of the Philippines at Los Baños USAID United States Agency for International Development WTP Willingness to Pay 4 | P a g e USAID Ridge to Reef Final Program Performance Report…May 2013 I. INTRODUCTION Interconnected coastal systems composed of coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds, beaches, estuaries and the watersheds, forests and other upland ecosystems that feed them have historically been the basis for subsistence, security and culture of local communities in the developing world. Coastal ecosystems also constitute an important renewable resource for a wide range of other development uses, such as settlement, transportation, fisheries, aquaculture, forestry, mining, industry, waste disposal and tourism. In many cases, coastal ecosystems are subject to a variety of stresses including sedimentation (largely because of deforestation for agriculture, human settlement, other non-agricultural production uses including road-building), pollution (industrial waste, urban run-off, and sewage disposal), increased harvesting to meet the demands of a growing population, and temperature and sea level variations due to climate change (e.g. El Niño events). Such habitat destruction is a major threat to biodiversity and is one of the leading causes of species extinctions. It is against this backdrop that on 4 February 2011, WorldFish, in association with World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF), Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and FishBase Information Research Network, Inc. (FIN) commenced a twenty four months grant agreement with the U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission in the Philippines. The objective of the project “From Ridge to Reef: An Ecosystem Based Approach to Biodiversity Conservation and Development” (EB-ABCD) was to address key issues affecting biodiversity conservation considering the practical need for natural resource utilization around the Mt. Malindang area. To achieve this objective, the Program focused on three themes: 1. Reversing degradation of coastal resources: finding ways to reduce transfers of chemicals, nutrients and sediments from agriculture and forestry in catchments to coastal waters; rehabilitation of fish habitats damaged and destroyed by these processes and valuation of all links in aquatic production systems. 2. Enhancing livelihoods of coastal people: determining the factors that underpin livelihoods; identifying technologies and policies to improve the existing means of earning income and obtaining food from coastal resources; and ways to create alternative, supplementary and sustainable livelihoods that could wean communities from a more extractive use of the natural resource. 3. Capacity building and information/data base management: for effective information dissemination for policy making and identification of appropriate strategies that would sustain efforts toward biodiversity conservation and management following the ecosystem based approach. To be able to do this the project pursued eight components that directly addressed the three themes indicated above namely: Project 1: Understanding material transfers from watersheds and reducing ‘downstream’ effects of agriculture and forestry on coastal aquatic ecosystems 5 | P a g e USAID Ridge to Reef Final Program Performance Report…May 2013 Project 2: Addressing non-optimal use of resources through valuation and “environmental payments” Project 3: Identifying, mapping and strengthening management of critical coastal habitats Project 4: Understanding the factors determining livelihoods for poor coastal people and facilitate the application of ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) Project 5: Restoring production from capture fisheries Project 6: Developing technologies for alternative or supplementary livelihoods for coastal people Project 7: Resource mapping for effective resource management and monitoring Project 8: Capacity Building in biodiversity conservation and natural resources management The project covered six coastal municipalities (Oroquieta City, Aloran, Panaon, Jimenez, Sinacaban and Tudela) and the upland municipality of Don Victoriano Chiongbian in the Province of Misamis Occidental all within the Mt. Malindang area. This final report provides a summary of all the activities accomplished under this grant together with an assessment