THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) will finance environmental and sustainable tourism projects in El Nido and Coron in Palawan, two critical islands that government authorities have been monitoring since last year on pollution-related and easement concerns.
In a news statement, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said the projects fall under its Transforming Communities Towards Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Tourism (TouRIST) Program, a coordinated effort by various government agencies and local stakeholders in partnership with multilateral development banks in implementing sustainable tourism destination development in the country.
Among the projects to be funded by a $100-million ADB assistance are vital urban infrastructure and services such as solid waste management, drainage and sanitation, and clean drinking water in El Nido and Coron. ADB will also help build the capacity of local stakeholders to protect and conserve healthy oceans and rehabilitate key biodiversity-based tourism sites. The projects are planned for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2020.
“Palawan is known as the country’s ‘last ecological frontier’ and we want to ensure its rich marine ecosystem, particularly in El Nido and Coron, will be protected amid the rapid growth in tourist demand,” said Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat after a meeting last week with ADB officials led by its Country Director for the Philippines Kelly Bird.
For his part, Bird said, these projects are “critically important for the ADB because we share with the Philippine government the goal of seeing local economies thrive on an environmentally sustainable path.”
He added, “Tourism, when managed properly, can be a catalyst for inclusive development that can lift residents of El Nido and Coron out of poverty,” he stressed.
To implement the projects financed by the ADB, Romulo Puyat created a project steering committee composed of senior officials from the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza), Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap); as well as the Departments of Finance, Public Works and Highways, the Interior and Local Government, Environment and Natural Resources, Health, and Transportation.
A government task force led by Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu, Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Año, and DOT’s Romulo Puyat, decided last August to keep El Nido open for tourism despite reports of high fecal coliform levels in several areas around Bacuit Bay. Instead, the task force closed off several outfalls located in Corong Corong, Cabugao, Masagana, and the El Nido Estero to swimming and boat tours.
The task force also threatened to close down hotels and resorts without DOT accreditation, and is monitoring the compliance of several establishments with easement ordinances, business permit regulations, and other environmental laws.
Earlier, the DOT said it was also tapping some $300 million in financial assistance from the World Bank for infrastructure projects in Bohol, Siargao, Siquijor, Davao City and Samal Island.
Romulo Puyat said then, “we can keep promoting these destinations, but if they don’t have the proper infrastructure, are unable to manage disasters and crises, or the people don’t benefit from jobs that are tied to the tourism activities in the area, then we are not really uplifting tourism and its targeted beneficiaries.” She said, this way, the DOT will have a more “wholistic approach” to tourism development. (See, “World Bank, ADB make available $400 million in loans for tourism projects,” in the BusinessMirror, October 3, 2019.)
Palawan has been reaping accolades this year, starting with its inclusion in Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Islands Awards for 2019. It came in second after Bali, Indonesia. Earlier this month, Palawan was also chosen by readers of Condé Nast Traveler as among the Best Islands in Asia for 2019.