Climate Proofing: A Risk –based Approach in Policy Making of Bucari Pine Forest

Development

Presented by

Jose Marie Eslopor

Ann Mharie Palomo

Presented to

Prof. Pepito R. Fernandez Jr.

March 2017
Introduction

Across time, the concept of development has evolved accordingly. In the context of the book written

by T. Forsyth, E. Green, and J. Lunn in 2011, “Introduction to International Development”, the word

development was determined and defined into three basic parts – as a vision, description or measure

of the state of being a desirable society, as a historical process of social change in which societies are

transformed over long periods, and as consisting of deliberate efforts aimed at improvement on the

part of various agencies, including government, all kinds of organizations and social movements

(Introduction to International Development, 2011) Development is foreseen as a societal progress to

which the society looks at it through the physical lens. They pointed out modernity as the ultimate

goal in becoming a developed nation –this notion was popular in the 1800s up to the Industrial

Revolution and the struggles of the mass movements.

As development has come into the picture of the society, it has brought forth numerous positive

impacts which led to the progress of the communities – through the infrastructures, industrialization,

economic development and the status of living of the members of the community. However, it has

also brought forth negative impacts and ill effects to the society, through the overexploitation of the

resources that the environment provides which led to environmental degradation – to the extent of the

effects of the unsustainable utilization of the resources from the environment. This paper analyses the

extent of participation of the government offices and various private and public stakeholders in the

policy making and implementation considering the natural and manmade risks that may hamper the

development and the sustainability of Bucari Pine Forest.

Sustainability Science

Sustainable science is a young discipline, which is haven’t embraced by everyone yet, especially in

the global academe. Well, this emerging discipline refers to a fairly well-defined subject borne out of

interdisciplinary research, especially between the interaction of ecology and the social sciences. At its

core, this field is merely based in the need to provide food, fuel, and fiber to current and the future

inhabitants of the planet earth. In other words, it’s the science behind the Brundtland Commission’s
oft-cited goals of sustainable development and hopes to understand and create long-term integrity of

the biosphere and human well-being.

Dimensions of Sustainability Science

Sustainability Science examines the interactions between global, social, and human systems, the

complex mechanisms that lead to degradation of these systems, and the naturally accompanying risks

to human well-being. Sustainability science as a new academic discipline and is considered a stepping

stone which can point the way to a sustainable global society by facing challenges that existing

disciplines that have not addressed. These include endeavors to simultaneously understand

phenomena and solve problems, uncertainty and application of the precautionary principle, the co-

evolution of knowledge and recognition of problems, and trade-offs between global and local problem

solving. With the existence of risk in the environment, both natural and human induced the goal for

sustainability is still at large. That is why there is a need of urgency to look and examine these

existing risks in the multi- facet of the environment to ensure that these risks will be given due

recognition as the globe transits to sustainability. However, addressing risks happening globally is a

multi-dimensional one, which means that, it will require a pure examination of the interlinkages of the

facets of the society from the ecological, economic, social and cultural. (Kates, 2015)

Sustainability Development in Policy Making

Awareness for sustainability is a key social concept in Sustainable Development discourse. The

associated policy objectives refer to raising public awareness of sustainability issues with a view to

encouraging alternative, sustainable consumption patterns. Policies typically include “green”

advertising campaigns, ecolabelling, awareness-raising events, environmental education programs,

and education for sustainable development (ESD) programs. These initiatives and campaigns

encourage consumers to engage in more environmentally benign behavior and to accept the

legitimacy of coercive environmental legislation (WCED, 1998). Increasing the awareness of the

people to risks present in the community, people will have the idea in framing policies that could be

suitable in their present situation. Innovations in environmental policy should be integrative,

preventive, production-integrated environmental protection and strategic as well as collaborative,

regulative and cooperative. The depth and breathe of societal transformation needed for sustainable
development became an object of struggle. Thus, environmental policy should possess characteristics

stated above to ensure a sustainable policy.

Climate Change: Responding to a Major Challenge for Sustainable Development

Climate change is emerging as one of the major challenges facing scientific and policy communities.

The inherent complexity will require much more integrated response scientifically to better

understand multiple causes and impacts as well as at the scientific-policy interface where new forms

of engagement between scientist, policy- makers and wider stakeholder communities can make a

valuable contribution to more informed climate policy and practice.

More mature climate strategies will require the integration of a wider range of mitigation, adaptation

and vulnerability consideration as well as the impacts on non-climate stressors.

Key words: sustainability, sustainability science, risk, climate, policy making, social pillars,

interdisciplinary

Statement of the Problem

The Philippines being a developing country is suffering from extreme vulnerabilities and impacts due

to its location together with other countries in the Pacific Ring of Fire, which is a major area in the

basin of the Pacific Ocean where many earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur. However, it is said

to be clear that there are not just climate factors alone that could hamper sustainability but as well as

human induced activity. To address this issue there should be policies that would regulate the actions

and consider the risks and impacts of both natural effects and human activities that could affect the

development and sustainability of the environment. This study entitled “Climate Proofing: A Risk-

Based Approach in Policy Making in Bucari Pine Forest Development” seeks to answer the following

questions:

1. What are the risks identified by the local government unit of Bucari, Leon, Iloilo, that could

hamper the development and sustainability of the Pine Forest?

a. Do the risks identified by the local government serve as the basis in policy making?

2. Are there existing policies inclined to the conservation, development and sustainability of the

Pine Forest?
 a. What are the policies formulated based on the identified risks in Bucari Pine Forest?

b. What are the mandated agency responsible in the policy making and implementation?

3. Does climate proofing in policy making an efficient approach in examining the sustainability

of the Pine Forest Development?

Objectives of the Study

This study entitled “Climate Proofing: A Risk-Based Approach in Policy Making at Bucari Pine

Forest Development”, aims to achieve the following objectives:

1. To assess whether policies and programs implemented are multidimensional in nature.

2. To identify the policies, present in Bucari Pine Forest and assess whether it follows the

characteristics of policy and governance.

3. To assess whether the government of Leon is framing their policies based on the risk

present in Bucari Pine Forest and assess whether the policies and programs are inclined

with climate changes approaches.

4. To examine the efficiency of climate proofing in the policy making and implementation

of the local government in the sustainability of Bucari Pine Forest.

Review of Related Literature

Climate Proofing

Climate proofing is a shorthand term for identifying risks to a development project, or any other

specified natural or human asset, as a consequence of both human and non-human induced climate

variability and change, and ensuring that those risks are reduced to acceptable levels through long-

lasting and environmentally sound, economically viable, and socially acceptable changes

implemented at one or more of the following stages in the project cycle: planning, design,

construction, operation, and decommissioning.( ADB,2014).

Risks and Vulnerabilities

‘Risk’ is the interaction between exposure to natural hazards including the adverse effects of climate

change and the vulnerability of societies arising from their geographical location (UNU-EHS and

Alliance Development Works, p. 42). Globally, the rise of new and unexpected risks and shocks has
impacted stable and poor societies alike, and some, especially the latter, have become increasingly

dysfunctional. The Philippines is peculiarly challenged to build economic resilience as indicated by its

high-risk exposure and vulnerability. The idea is very simple: the economy should be resilient to

withstand adversities (risks and shocks) and good economic policies have a large role to play in

building the economy’s resilience. The policy challenge is the identification of policy interventions,

that is, policies, programs, and projects that lead to resilience towards sustainability. There is a

growing global awareness of the adverse impacts of exogenous shocks to economies and the

importance of identifying critical responses to enable affected economies to recover from shocks and

rebuild. Most Philippine cities and municipalities are coastal communities; many are in low-lying

areas that are very vulnerable to rising sea level, and are located along the paths most often taken by

destructive typhoons.

The consequences of rapid and substantial human induced global climate change could be far

reaching and even lead to senior commentators to label it as one of the greatest threats facing future

societies (Martens, 2009). In fact, most of the climate change policies are inclined with mitigation,

which simply says that lessening the risk and activity of human beings that could hinders the society’s

leap towards sustainability. Climate change may vary from the across the globe, as well as its effects.

(Martens,2009). Furthermore, risks identification should not just involve climate change alone, but as

well as erosion, flooding, earthquakes and other frequent calamities.

Whereas, there should be mature strategies that will require the integration of a wider range of

mitigation, adaptation, resilience and vulnerabilities considerations, as well as responses that are more

closely aligned with the non-policy realms (McEvoy et al.2006; Wilbanks and Sathaye 2007). In this

regard, there is an increasing recognition that, when policy evolves, new windows of opportunity may

also emerge which allow for the articulation of integrated options for long-term policy on climate

change approaches, as well as the building of local adaptive capacity and resilience to reduce

vulnerabilities to climate change and variability in the local areas. Ultimately, a coherent response

will require consideration of all the facets of this issue (Neufeldt et al.2002).
Sustainability and Policy

Given the rapid environmental burden on a global scale, humanity is experiencing a radical change: it

is imperative to guarantee a good life for nine billion inhabitants of the globe. However, this goal

cannot be reached by continuing today’s societal development patterns. Rather, a great transformation

(WBGU,2011) of global technological, economic, societal and cultural developments is needed. New

forms of knowledge will be needed for ecological monitoring and ecological problem analysis, as well

as for the development of technological, economic and social innovations. Therefore, with the

growing importance of knowledge production, the field of science policy appears in the new light.

Science policy can be a decisive driver for sustainable development in modern knowledge societies. It

is therefore important that science policy in general is discovered and further developed as an

important policy field regarding the goals of sustainable development (Schneidewind, 2016).

Furthermore, there should be a cohesive relationship between justice and sustainability towards policy

making, such that, policy formulated in the local level should be based on just process, where there is

a definite sector that could benefit from the policy and process that that would create meaningful

participation and representation of the included sectors. Lastly, policy should evolve in a

multidimensional and cross-generational aspect of the society. Multidimensional, means there is a

need for the policy to consider the multiple aspects of the given problem and another central concept

within sustainability thought; considering all the facets of the society that will probably contribute risk

in the process of the development. Policy making based on the cross generational aspects, where

policy formulated should build a central concern of long term effectiveness for future human

generations and other species and ecological systems, where intergenerational equity is the central

concept in sustainability thought. (Klinsky and Golub.2016)

Present Status of Bucari

Biodiversity

Biodiversity is defined as an ‘umbrella term’ referring to the organisms found in the living world

(Krishnamurthy, 2003; Ninan, Babu, & Ramakrishnappa, 2007). In addition, biodiversity covers many

aspects of biological variation and is assumed on a larger scale as all the life on earth (Sterling et al.,

2004).
 According to Groom (2005), the root threat to biodiversity is the increasing number of human

population and increasing level of consumption. Chape et al. (as cited in Thalany, 2013, p. 1),

explains that the areas that are bare to the exposure to the threats are caused by human activities such

as infrastructure development, recreation and tourism. These threats have become a concern to both

local and global levels and the loss in biodiversity is causing a negative impact to the livelihood,

food security and resilience to disaster (Chapman & Roberts, 1997; World Bank, 2015)

Biodiversity Conservation

Biodiversity Conservation is defined as the preservation, protection, sustainable use, and enhancement

of the biological diversity (Mutia, 2009). Biodiversity loss does not only affect economic growth but

as well as the capability of the economy to sustain future development in the larger scale (Ninan et al.,

2007). Biological conservation aims to promote sustainable development. In the case of Sagarmatha

National Park in Nepal, the establishment of the national park to stimulate the recovery of the forests

from over-exploitation was able to provide employment opportunities and community development

(McNeely, 1988). Biodiversity conservation through sustainable tourism is needed for the responsible

usage and management of resources and the environment responding to economic and social needs

(Thavarasukha, n. d.).

Forested Areas

Pine forests in the Philippines have only two main species namely, Benguet Pine and Mindoro Pine.

Benguet Pine can be found in high elevations between 500 to 2700 meters while Mindoro Pine grows

in lower elevations between 150 to 300 meters. Pinewood is used as a construction material and pine

trees act as a vegetable cover and water conservation (National Statistical Coordination Board,

[NSCB], 2010). Bucari Pine Forest of Leon Iloilo is considered as one of the Philippines protected

pine forest.

Despite the importance of pine trees, the resource is under pressure and being misused through soil

brushing and forest fires (Ganzon, n.d.). There are also arguments arising that one of the factors

forests are being destroyed is due to the lack of non-forest dweller’s knowledge on the proper use of

forest when obtaining medicines, food, and other forest products (Lindberg, 1997). FAO (2015b)

estimates that the 1990’s annual global net rate of deforestation was around 129 million hectares of
total forest area. In addition, Aguda (n.d) stated that due to poor planning and execution of forest

management programs, there has been a weak enforcement of forest laws and lack of prioritization to

forest conservation. Bann (1998) suggested that in order to make sustainable forest management

decisions, the environmental, social, and economic value of the said resource should be determined.

On Environmental Issues

The top three environmental issues ranked by the study participants were solid waste (60%), pollution

(38%), and illegal logging (34%). According to the study participants, despite the actions made by

their respective barangays and the municipal government in responding to these issues, they remained

as major problems (Anaquita & Santos, 2016).

Degradation of Bucari Pine Forest

One-half of the study participants (50%) believed that Bucari

Pine Forest is experiencing degradation of natural resources.

The top three reasons of the degradation based on the study

participants included slash-and-burn (41%), illegal logging

(35%), and deforestation (22%).These were followed by

increase in the number of residents (20%), no conservation

efforts (13%), and influx of tourists (6%). Other reasons

included landslides, conversion of land and quarrying. The

result suggests that study participants in the upland barangays had more idea of the current situation in

Bucari Pine Forest since they were located near the pine forest.

Table 1: Factors contributing in the degradation of Bucari Pine Forest as Santos and Anaquita’s
thesis identified as of 2016.
Laws and Policies Amended
House Bill No. 5072, Section 16 Article II of the Philippine Constitution (Declaration of Principles

and State Policies), stated the declaration of Bucari Pine Forest as Ecotourism Spot in Iloilo, further

declaring it as the Summer Capital of Western Visayas. In line with this, in order to promote viable

and sustainable development with the right of the people to a balanced ecology, The Bucari

Development Task Force was created by virtue of Executive Order no. 170 issued by Iloilo Provincial

Governor Arthur D. Defensor.

In the issuance of this bill the policies and programs in the development of Bucari Pine Forest should

be framed after Republic Act. 9593 otherwise known as the Tourism Act of 2009. DENR, DOT,

DILG and LGU shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations. Furthermore, they will also

conduct assessment of the effects of development in the safety and well- being of the place and the

people inhabiting the place.

DENR-DILG JOINT MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 98-01. States that, Section (1.1) The

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) shall be the primary government agency

responsible for the conservation, management, protection, proper use and sustainable development of

the country’s environment and natural resources. (1.2) The LGUs shall share with DENR the

responsibility in the sustainable management and development of the forest resources within their

territorial jurisdiction. Toward this end, the DENR and the LGUs shall endeavor to strengthen their

collaboration and partnership in forest management. (1.3) Comprehensive land use and forest land use

plans are important tools in the holistic and efficient management of forest resources. Towards this

end, the DENR and the LGUs together with other government agencies shall undertake forest land use

planning as an integral activity of comprehensive land use planning to determine the optimum and

balanced use of natural resources to support local, regional and national growth and development.

Setion 17 Article 3: “Pursuant to national policies and subject to supervision, control and review of

the DENR, implementation of community-based forestry projects, which include integrated social

forestry programs and similar projects; management and control of communal forest, establishment of

tree parks, greenbelts, and similar forest development projects.”

Sec 17. Article 3.5: 3.5 To the Sangguniang Bayan “Approve ordinances and pass resolutions

necessary for an efficient and effective municipal government, and in this connection, shall: Protect

the environment and impose appropriate penalties for acts which endanger the environment, such as

illegal logging and smuggling of logs, smuggling of natural resources products and of endangered

species of flora and fauna, slash and burn farming.

Under Joint Memorandum Circular 98-01, all local government units together with the Department of

Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Department of Interior and Local Government

(DILG) are mandated to share the responsibility of sustainable management and development of

forest resources. Thus, there is a need to strengthen the collaboration and partnership between DENR

and the LGU in forest management. The memorandum enabled the Municipality of Leon, Iloilo to

embrace the Forest Land Use Plan. FLUP will now serve as our bible in the implementation of our

environmental programs especially for Barangay Bucari. The document chart of FLUP will lead the

LGU to implement and formulate policies on how to take are and sustain the Bucari Pine Forest

through looking the possible obstacle in the process of sustainability of the place. The FLUP of the

municipality of Leon can now be integrated into their Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP), both

are tools for a holistic and efficient management of forest resources, aimed at enhancing the

municipality’s economic growth and development.

On the contrary, as per stated in the Local Government Code of 1991 – Section 26 (Duty of National

Government Agencies in the Maintenance of Ecological Balance) of Chapter 2: General Powers and

Attributes of Local Government Units states that “It shall be the duty of every national agency or

government-owned or controlled corporation authorizing or involved in the planning and

implementation of any project or program that may cause pollution, climatic change, depletion of

non-renewable resources, loss of cropland, range land or forest cover, and extinction of animal or

plant species, to consult with the local government units, non-governmental organizations, and other

sectors concerned and explain the goals and objectives of the project or program, its impact upon the

people and the community in terms of environmental or ecological balance, and the measures that will

be undertaken to prevent or minimize the adverse effect thereof.”

This FLUP signing is the first in the Philippines as the municipality of Leon is poised not only to

sustainably manage its forest resources but also to promote the ecotourism potentials of Bucari and

attract investors that will ensure economic boom for the municipality. “The project has also given

emphasis to the role of women in the development of the area. In the formulation of FLUP, women

were consulted on how they can help in the development, the interventions used for the project to

make it more gender sensitive and responsive to women and how the project helped advance the role

of women and children towards the program,” disclosed Planning and Management Division Chief

Edna B. Locsin of the DENR.

FLUP ensures environmental stability in the area by guiding the community on how to manage their

natural resources wisely. A good FLUP provides the framework for identifying sustainable

management strategies and investment priorities; promote the sustainable production of desired goods

and services; and promote community participation in the planning and management of forest

resources. Since, Bucari is considered as protected pine forest area in Region VI, DENR Region VI is

the leading agency that mandates most of the programs and policies in the place.

With the signing of FLUP in the municipality of Leon, there is now an open participation and

coordination with the DENR RO. VI and the Local Government Unit of Leon. However, policies

followed by the municipality, in terms of Bucari development is from the national level, and is being

assessed by the DENR RO VI if they really follow the policies and environmental laws mandated by

the national level.

Due to the increasing risk in the pine forest as was stated above in table 1, DENR, in partnership with

DILG, CSO’s and NGO’s conducted several programs that are inclined with the lessening of the risk

stated above. Since slash and burn is widely practice in the place it was mandate by DENR RO VI

that this activity should be stopped. To decrease the carbon footprint emission in the place the DENR

and the Society of Filipino Foresters Incorporated conducted a Carbon Neutral Program. This

program is still under FLUP; further it aims to reach the target of 5000 trees to be replanted in the

Pine Forest, this program further aims to start the mitigation in the place which are caused by the risk

stated above.
Methodology

This research on the Climate Proofing: A Risk – based Approach in Policy Making of Bucari Pine

Forest Development follows a qualitative format of research data gathering method, particularly

desktop research, archival research and data analyses on the gathered data from the various book

sources and thesis review of the previous studies conducted in line with the chosen topic. The

researchers gather the initial data through desktop and archival research of some of the online and

peer reviewed journal articles related to sustainability science, sustainable development, risks and

vulnerabilities, social pillars, policy making and implementation, and the data of current situation of

Bucari Pine Forest incorporating it with the initial key readings given to the class which were the

topics on Sustainability Science (Kates, R, 2010 and Michelsen, et.al., 2009), Sustainability and

Science Policy (Schneidewind and Klinsky, 2016), and Climate Change and Sustainable Development

(Martens, 2009). The researchers utilized the online website of the province of Iloilo

(www.iloilo.gov.ph/Leon) to be able to initially gather the general facts about the research local and

other related topics that might contribute to the research.

For the indepth data gathering, the researchers gathered secondary data from the recently published

thesis on Economics under the class of Dr. Alice Joan G. Ferrer, entitled “Willingness to Pay for the

Conservation of Bucari Pine Forest in Leon, Iloilo” by Argenna Anaquita and Jose Maria Paolo

Santos on June 2016. These methods of data gathering will lead to answer the initital objectives of

the study which is to identify the effects of climate proofing and the policies implemented in Bucari

Pine Forest and the community around it. Moreover, it will also identify the sustainability measures in

terms of economic, environmental, and social development of the community.

Conceptual Framework

This study entitled “Climate Proofing: A Risk-based Approach in Policy Making of Bucari Pine

Forest Development” identifies how the risks are identified and integrated in formulating the policies

intended for the sustainability of the Bucari Pine Forest.

According to the diagram of the conceptual framework of this study, it requires active participation

from the multi-stakeholders to be able to identify the risks that may hamper the development of the

pine forest and through identifying these risks, it will serve as the bases in the policy that will be

implemented to be able to ensure the sustainability of the Bucari Pine Forest as an ecotourism spot at

the same time promoting its conservation.

Analysis

In analyzing the case of the sustainability of the policies for the development of Bucari Pine Forest, it

has been identified that participation among the various levels of public and private stakeholders in

the society, from the national down to the local, played a vital role in identifying the risks and the

framing of the policies to ensure the conservation and sustainability of the pine forest itself – as well

as engaging the community to become an ecotourism site that would also help in the advancement of

the economic stability of the people in Bucari, Leon, Iloilo. Moreover, in the case of Bucari Pine

Forest Development, the participation of the stakeholders was identified in a top-bottom structure

wherein the risks were identified by the government agencies, such as the DENR, through the studies
conducted in the locale. While the policies which act as safety nets in the conservation and

sustainability of the forest comes from the national government – in the form of policies and laws and

are adapted in the local ordinances at the municipal level through a collaborative effort from the

DENR-LGU-CSO collaboration.

First Reading: Dimensions of Sustainability

Case Risks Policies and Actors Dimensions of Sustainability

programs

Bucari Pine -Influx of - House Bill -DILG

Forest tourist No. 5072 -DOT  ENVIRONMENTAL

Development deforestation -Tourism act -DENR  SOCIAL

-population of 2009 -LGU  ECONOMIC

-slash and - Joint -CSO’S CULTURAL

burn Memorandum -NGO’S

-no Circular 98-

coservation 01

efforts -FLUP

-solid waste - Carbon

-soil erosion Neutral

Program

In the case of Bucari Pine Forest Development, the policies and programs formulate and implemented

by the Government considers the Ecological dimension of sustainability. The programs and policies

are usually incline to the environmental aspect. The FLUP and Carbon Neutral Program focuses on

the conservation of Bucari Pine Forest through establishing plans and activities that would eliminate

and lessen the risks present in the place. Furthermore, it also considers the economic dimension of

sustainability, considering the influx of tourist as a risk in the sustainability of the place is great

strategy in developmental planning of Bucari. The House bill 5072, promulgating Bucari as an

Ecotourism Spot of Western Visayas under DENR RO VI will certainly invite a lot of investors in
place and tourists, thus boosting the economic part of the Municipality. Since the proclamation of

Bucari as an Ecotourism Spot and the signing of FLUP, first in Western Visayas in Municipality of

Leon, there is now a greater participation in terms of policy and program making among the various

agency of the government. Policies and programs are being regulated and are mandate by the

Regional Office of DENR. There is also a consultation happening in terms of policy making between

the DILG, DENR and LGU. DENR also acts as a trainer to the LGU on how to monitor the efficiency

of the policies and programs. Lastly the issuance of bill no. 5072, the policies and programs in the

development of Bucari Pine Forest should be framed after Republic Act. 9593 otherwise known as the

Tourism Act of 2009. DENR, DOT, DILG and LGU shall promulgate the necessary rules and

regulations. Furthermore, they will also conduct assessment of the effects of development in the

safety and well- being of the place and the people inhabiting the place. The project has also given

emphasis to the role of women in the development of the area. In the formulation of FLUP, women

were consulted on how they can help in the development, the interventions used for the project to

make it more gender sensitive and responsive to women and how the project helped advance the role

of women and children towards the program

Second Reading: Policy and Governance

Case Risks Policies and Actors Policy Characteristics

programs

Bucari Pine -Influx of - House Bill -DILG

Forest tourist No. 5072 -DOT  EFFECTIVE

Development deforestation -Tourism act -DENR LONG TERM

-population of 2009 -LGU  INTEGRATIVE

-slash and - Joint -CSO’S  PREVENTIVE

burn Memorandum -NGO’S  ENVIRONMENTAL-

-no Circular 98- PROTECTIVE

coservation 01 STRATEGIC

efforts -FLUP  COLLABORATIVE

 -solid waste - Carbon REGULATIVE

-soil erosion Neutral

Program

In the case of Bucari Pine Forest Development Plan, the policies implemented were analyzed

according to the policy characteristics that it entails to identify whether these policies promote

sustainability of the the pine forest development. It has been identified that the policies are effective,

integrative, preventive, environmental protective, and collaborative for the main reason of advancing

the environmental needs of the pine forest for its conservation and the sustainable use of the

community as well; which advances both the environmental and economic agenda of the society.

These policies aims to effectuate integrative, and collaborative policies and programs to be able to

mitigate the risks that may hamper the sustainability and development of Bucari Pine Forest – through

local ordinances that safeguards the natural resources from the human infested activities that may

promote environmental degradation and deforestation in the area. However, the policies were also

identified to have unsustainable features such that – it is not strategic enough, pointing out the

planning and implementation process of the developmental plan, also the policies were not regulative

and were projected in a short-period of time wherein sustainability and long-term effectivity were not

taken into consideration because of the top-bottom approach in the policy implementation. It was seen

that as long as there is this national ordinance promoting the conservation of protected areas, there is

already a need to implement it right away to the community without even assessing its compatability

with the current conditions of the locality.

Third Reading : Climate Change

Case Risks Programs and Adaptive Mitigation Consideration of non

Policies –climate stressors

Bucari Pine -Influx of - House Bill At some point Some of the The toursim act of

Forest tourist No. 5072 these measures or 2009 considering the

Development -deforestation -Tourism act measures are programs influx of tourism in

 -population of 2009 not enough such as the the place is a goo

-slash and - Joint for the place Carbon example of policies

burn Memorandum to become neutral that considers non-

-no Circular 98- adaptive program is climate stressors.

coservation 01 inclined to

efforts -FLUP mitigating

-solid waste - Carbon measures

-soil erosion Neutral

Program

The policies and programs inclined with climate change do not adhere to the goals of the climate

change policy which is adaptation, mitigation andd consieration of non-climate stressors. Although

there are policies and programs conducted such as the Carbon Neutral Program, which aims to plant

5000 trees, this does not mean that the place is now capable to mitigate. There is lack of surveillance

and evaluation whether they have reached the quota of 5000 trees, second, trees planted are not

verified whether they can withstand the climate type of the place, third the trees were not ensured

whether they grew or they died, and lastly after planting the tree no after care was conducted, thus we

can say that this program is for media purposes only. In considering non-climate stressors, the

consideration is at a single foci only which is the influx of tourism. Other non-climate stressors such

as the agriculture and livelihood aspects where not given much attention in promulagating policies.

Furthermore, as the FLUP focuses more on the developement and giving more stress in the influx of

tourism, the essence of Bucari as the “vegetable basket of the visayas” slowly vanishes; wherein other

case may states that not all vegetables sold in Bucari is not really from Bucari but from other places

such as San Remegio Antique.

Conclusion

The Bucari Pine Forest have undergo several stages before it was delared as tourism zone. Before it

was promulgated, there are a lot of risk present in the place because of human activities. With the

promulgation of the house bill, and the appointment of DENR RO VI as the primary agency, there are
now adoption of laws and policies as well as programs that could be beneficial in the sustainability of

the place. Furthermore, these policies and programs are patterned in accordance to the present

situation of place, wherein programs and policies are created to address the sustainability of the place

and lessening the risks present in there. There is also a full participation from the different agencies,

particularly DENR, DILG, DOT, LGU and some CSO’s. There is also a visible multiscalarity of the

process becasue of the involvement from the National, Regional, Provincial and Municipal Level in

addressing the probable cause of risks in the process of sustainability and development. Policy

making patterned from climate proofing approach is not sustainable in the case of Bucari Pine Forest

Development. In the Dimensions of sustainability, they neglected the cultural aspect. In Policy and

Governance the characteristics of sustainable policy was also undermined. Lastly, policies and

programs are only focusing on the mitigation process and less attention is given to adaptation and non

climate stressors that could possibly affect in the sustainability of development of Bucari Pine Forest.
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