There is more to El Nido in Palawan than its beautiful landscape and seascape.
A first-class municipality known for its crystal-clear waters and breath-taking island scenery, El Nido is home to a diverse species of birds, fish and amazing marine wildlife that adds value to ecotourism.
Also known for its stunning coral reefs and colossal limestone cliffs, El Nido is rich in biodiversity.
Unfortunately, decades of neglect and unsustainable tourism practices are threatening to destroy El Nido, a good reason it is now the subject of massive rehabilitation by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Protected area
Covered by this captivating town is the El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area, which also includes portions of the nearby Taytay town.
Established by virtue of a presidential proclamation signed by then-President Joseph Estrada on October 8, 1998, the El Nido-Taytay protected area is considered one of the largest marine sanctuaries in the Philippines.
It is approximately 90,321 hectares, where 36,018 hectares is terrestrial, while 54,303 hectares comprise the coastal and marine areas. It is shared by 18 barangays from the municipality of El Nido and three from the municipality of Taytay.
The protected area also covers a total of 1,442 hectares of mangrove area, 2,00 hectares of seagrass and 2,000 hectares of coral reef.
The highest peak in the protected area is on Cadlao Island, with an elevation of 640 meters. Spotted with karst limestone formations, the islands and the mainland El Nido is unique in many ways.
Before being declared a protected area, El Nido is previously covered by conservation measures aimed at protecting this beautiful town from destructive development projects and activities.
Administrative Order 518 signed in 1984 established a 360-square-mile maritime area in El Nido as a turtle sanctuary.
El Nido is one of the eight priority areas of the National Integrated Protected Areas Program (Nipap).
Beautiful lagoons
Within the El Nido-Taytay protected area are some of the tourist attractions being showcased by tourism officials of the municipality of El Nido and the provincial government of Palawan.
These include the Big Lagoon and Small Lagoon, the Secret Lagoon, all in Miniloc Island, and the Cadlao Lagoon in Cadiao Island.
Known as the country’s last ecological frontier, Palawan is a major source of wild-caught fish in Luzon.
According to the area’s biodiversity profile released by the DENR-Mimaropa region, a total of 197 species of fish species belonging to 28 families have been recorded within the area.
Commonly found species of fish within the area are damselfish, parrotfish, triggerfish, butterflyfish, angelfish, wrasse, grouper, snapper, rabbitfish, goatfish and barracudas. But often, sharks can also be found in its famed Bacuit Bay.
Marine turtle haven
Even before the establishment of the protected area, El Nido’s islands and islets are hosts to five of the seven marine turtles—the green sea turtle, hawksbill turtle, olive ridley, leatherback and loggerhead turtle.
El Nido is also frequented by dolphins and whales. Some of them have been recorded by the DENR, such as the bottlenose dolphin, spinner dolphin, bryde’s whale and humpback whale.
The rare sea cows, locally called dugongs, are also found in the seagrass areas of Barangay Corong-corong, Manlag and Aberawan.
Birds and fish sanctuaries
El Nido is known to host a number of native birds, including those that are identified with Palawan, such as the Palawan blue flycatcher, Palawan flowerpecker, Palawan tit and Palawan hornbill.
Two endemic species can be found in El Nido’s Taraw Cliff—the Amorphophallus natolii, and Amorphophallus salmoneus.
Besides the protected area, there are seven locally managed fish sanctuaries and marine protected areas (MPAs) that give marine ecosystems in El Nido double protection. These are the Mitri Island, Dilumacad Island, in Barangay Buena Suerte; Depelder Reef in Barangay Corong-corong; Masagana MPA in Barangay Masagana; Tres Marias, Guintongaoan/Turtle Island in Barangay Bebeladan; and Cagbatang MPA in Barangay Pasadeňa.
An outdoor laboratory
Henry Adornado, regional executive director of Mimaropa, said being rich in biodiversity, El Nido is ideal for the conduct of scientific research.
Adornado, a former director of the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau, said he had already appealed to the Department of Tourism to fund a study that will determine El Nido’s carrying capacity.
Such study will entail a cost of not less than P5 million, which will help policy-makers come up with better rules and regulations without compromising El Nido’s ecological integrity.
He said El Nido offers biologists a great learning experience given its unique island ecosystems and the surrounding coastal and marine areas.
“It is rich in terrestrial and marine biodiversity. It has a lot of secrets waiting to be uncovered,” he said in Filipino.
Pollution, human encroachment
Carol Esmenda, El Nido-Taytay protected area assistant protected area superintendent, said El Nido’s water is deteriorating owing to pollution caused by direct discharge of untreated wastewater from the mainland.
Worse, developments, such as the construction of break walls in the beach to protect resorts, is seriously threatening marine turtles, El Nido’s flagship species.
Esmenda said in an interview with the BusinessMirror on May 14 that because some locals are selling their properties to foreign investors, El Nido is experiencing a construction boom, with or without necessary permits, even within the supposedly protected area.
This, she said, is causing a lot of distress to El Nido’s already threatened terrestrial and coastal habitats.
“Because of development in the beaches, like human encroachment, marine turtles are unable to find their way back to their nesting grounds. Marine turtles have this unique characteristic that they go back to where they were hatched to lay eggs,” she explained in Filipino.
Some locals, she said, are also reportedly consuming turtle eggs, and some egg gatherers are secretly selling them to tourists.
P10-M Ipaf
Esmenda, however, is confident that stronger protection will soon be put in place for protected areas with the approval of their work and financial plan that will utilize the P10 million in revenues generated by the park.
The fund is from the automatic Integrated Protected Area Fund (Ipaf) which allows the protected-area management to retain 75 percent of the revenues they generated in the operation of a protected area.
“Last December we came up with the work and financial plan, and [it] was approved, so we are hoping to hire more park rangers to protect the park,” she said, confiding that the protected are has only two boats, one of which is already unserviceable.
She said they plan to hire 10 more park rangers and hopefully, acquire even small motorized boats to strictly enforce a policy guided by 2015 carrying capacity study on the maximum number of boats to be allowed operating in El Nido.
“Before, we only ask favors from the Philippine Coast Guard and LGUs [local government units] for us to use their boats because it is also part of their mandate. Hopefully, with our Ipaf, we can have our own boats and more rangers to protect the park,” she said.
According to Esmenda, the park rangers will also help create the ecotourism rules and regulation, so as to ensure the protection and conservation of El Nido’s threatened wildlife.
Easement rules violation
Records from the DENR-Mimaropa Office revealed a serious violation of the easement rule in El Nido. Of the combined 603 commercial and residential units inventoried by the DENR in the area, 285 are commercial establishments, while 318 are households. So far, 496 violators of easement rules have been issued a notice to vacate, representing 82 percent of the total number of inventoried buildings.
According to Adornado, the DENR continues to issue notices to vacate to violators of the easement rules. Of those issued with notices to vacate, 99 owners of these commercial and residential establishments have so far complied with the order.
Adornado said the DENR with the help of experts from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) and the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) are determined to enforce environmental laws, particularly the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004.
He said water samples are being collected from outfalls and those that fall below accepted standard in terms of coliform bacteria depending on the gravity of the violation.
Some establishments, he said, are issued with a notice of violation, while some have already been issued a cease-and-desist order, effectively stopping their operation, pending compliance of corrective measures.
“Some establishments are already putting up their own wastewater-treatment facilities, and some are already connecting to sewer lines,” he said.
Saving El Nido
According to Adornado, saving El Nido’s rich biodiversity by strictly enforcing environmental laws and regulating tourism will ensure sustainable tourism that will benefit communities.
Compared to Boracay, Adornado said the problem besetting El Nido is a lot more manageable with ample budget.
He said enforcing environmental laws entails costs outside the regular budget of the DENR, and sometimes require the expertise of DENR personnel from other units such as the MGB.
He said going island to island, patrolling the vast territory and going resort to resort requires manpower, as well as logistics to mobilize people.
Adornado said El Nido boasts of unmatched natural beauty. Its landscape, the beaches, its pristine waters make it a tourist magnet. Keeping it that way, he said, will be the only way for the communities to continue enjoying nature’s bounty.
“If you are an environment lover, the landscape, El Nido is really beautiful. If we can maintain its beauty, it will be of great benefit to the people in El Nido,” he said.
Image credits: Jonathan L. Mayuga