Lantin 1 English 12 Ma. Angela Lantin R31 April 8, 2016 Clean Up Act: Water and Land Pollution on Boracay Island As A Hindrance To Attaining Sustainable Coastal Tourism Plenty of articles have been written about Boracay Island and there are many different views in the pool. There are articles such as “Boracay Island is Beach Perfect”, and “Boracay Island – One of the worlds best beaches” On the other hand, there are articles similar to “Bor “Borac acay ay-- A Para Paradi dise se in Dist Distre ress ss”” and and “Bor “Borac acay ay on the the edge edge of disa disast ster er.” .” The The aforementioned articles were written in the years 2005, 2007, 2012, and 2015 respectively. The shift in mood between the articles is unsettling and makes one question the current state of the island. Boracay has always been a top destination for foreign and local tourists, it is known for its crystal clear waters, powdery sand, and more recently its nightlife. Tourists flock to the island, particularly during summer months, and naturally their consumption creates waste. The amount of waste accumulating on the island has always been a concern and it is high time serious long-term action is taken to address the problem.
“Based on a recent article of Engr. Tresha Lyn G. Lozanes, EMS II on Managing Solid Waste on the Island of Boracay, ‘the island is generating 7 to 10 tons daily waste. Since last year, the volume increased by 20% during peak season from December to May’….” (Virrey-Pizzato). With the copious amounts of waste being produced, some of it finds its way to the coastal waters. There have been reports on the unpleasant odor and accumulation of algae on the shores of Bulabog beach. Data has been retrieved confirming high levels of coliform bacteria in the water inducing such reactions that may be putting off the tourists. Scientists report that the waste going into the waters surrounding the beach are contaminating them with “waste nutrients” and that the rapid algae growth is a sign of this (Dulay). Coliform bacteria is simply evidence that waste has been or is present in the waters, the bacteria itself is not the agent that transmits illness. Despite this, the presence of coliform bacteria in the water is still a matter of concern regarding health due to the fact that it indicates that other organisms, those capable of spreading disease, are present in the water.
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Lantin 1 The high levels of coliform is reminiscent of the same scare in 1997, the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources’ (DENR) Environmental Management Bureau
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Lantin 2 (EMB) office in Western Visayas reported that coliform bacteria levels in a drainage outlet that empties into the sea in Sitio Bulabog in Boracay exceeded safe standards and reached 47,460 most probably number (mpn) per 100 millimeter (ml). The safe level is 1,000 mpn/100ml for swimming and other human contact activities. The incident caused a decline in tourist arrivals thus hurting Boracay’s tourism industry during that period of ti me.
Boracay’s tourism industry stems solely from the coastal environment. Coastal tourism allows for an escape from the rush of daily life, time to spend with friends and family, and ultimately creates chances for leisure time. An archipelago such as the Philippines, being primarily made of islands, is the perfect place for this industry to flourish since there is an abundance of beaches to make the most of. Other than creating opportunities for leisure, coastal tourism opens doors to economic growth. It influences hikes in proceeds from foreign exchange, increase in government income, the formation of business opportunities, and the creation of jobs (Coastlearn). Coastal tourism also serves as a platform for education on the environment and helps promote appreciation for it and the natural resources it provides. It is essential to make coastal tourism sustainable to keep these windows of opportunity open so that future generations may also reap its benefits. Unfortunately, sustainability is currently unattainable for the coastal tourism industry of Boracay due to insufficient infrastructure for waste management, feeble enforcement of sanitation policies, and lack of tourist awareness thus these issues need to be addressed immediately by government authorities.
Sustainable coastal tourism depends greatly on the preservation of the desirable physical aesthetic of the environment. On account of this dependence on the appearance of the environment, attaining sustainability puts forth specific demands. This means that there are certain matters that must be taken into careful consideration when aspiring for sustainable coastal tourism that do not necessarily apply to other tourism sites. An example would be ensuring the cleanliness of coastal waters. This is in view of the fact that the industry is directly affected by environmental degradation (Ong et. al 550). If the resources provided by the environment are used warily, the eradication of such can be avoided thus keeping the coastal tourism industry alive (Wong 23).
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Lantin 3 However, in majority of coastal tourist sites, the supply of natural resources is unable to cope with the demand for such resources coming from the influx of tourists. Tourist consumption rates of food and water overrun the local supplies. Food supply is depleted quantitatively while water supply is degraded both quantitatively and qualitatively due to excessive usage and pollution. With the abuse of food and water supplies come trash and commonly- particularly during peak season, the local infrastructure is unable to manage the copious amounts of garbage. The inadequate infrastructure contributes to water pollution that induces change in the properties of the water creating algal bloom, health threats to wildlife, and unappealing aesthetics (Ghosh 68).
As mentioned earlier in the paper, Boracay Island has and is currently still dealing with issues of water and land pollution. According to an article published by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), “The environment chief [Ramon J.P. Paje] said the evident cause of beach pollution, which can be a big turn off for most of the tourists, is the lack of proper drainage system in the area (Department of Environment and Natural Resources).” Boracay Island’s current sewerage grid, operated by Boracay Island Water Company (BIWC) has yet to be completed making it difficult for a number of residential and commercial establishments to connect to the facility thus their contaminated wastewaters are being illegally discharged elsewhere and making way to the coastal waters.
Aside from water pollution in Boracay there is also the problem of land pollution. Boracay’s nightlife has made a considerable reputation for itself as being the best. Both foreign and local tourists visit the island to take advantage of the numerous bars and parties. But nights full of partying, food, and alcohol inevitably leave behind considerable amounts of garbage. On a beach cleanup operated by Nestea and Boracay Foundation Incorporated (BFI), 201kg worth of non-biodegradable litter was gathered and 102.5kg of trash was found in the waters after Laboracay 2015- a party hosted for labor day celebrations (Garcia). The waste produced on the island primarily comes from daily tourist consumption such as paper and plastic food packaging, bottles of liquor, cans of soda, scrapped electrical appliances, kitchen wastes, and so forth. Improper disposal of these wastes contributes to both land and water pollution on the island by adding to unsegregated garbage heaps, clogging water pipes, and contaminating the coastal water (Virrey-Pizzato).
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Lantin 4 According to Benito C. Bengzon- Undersecretary for Tourism Development, reports of the recent high coliform levels did not disturb the rate of tourist arrivals in Boracay and they still expect the number of tourists visiting the island to increase (Andrade). This is precisely why local and national authorities need to start acting on the current insufficient structure and lax enforcement of rules. More tourists are expected to come to the island, which entails more tourist consumption and more waste. There will come a time that the waste management system on Boracay island will not be able to handle the extensive amounts of visitors and if no action is taken it will be too late and this could greatly affect the coastal tourism industry of Boracay.
In order to maintain Boracay’s reputation as an island paradise with crystal clear waters and untarnished white sands, waste management must be closely monitored and further pollution of the island must be averted. As mentioned earlier in the paper, the current foundation for operations on waste management are meager and cannot handle the trash produced on the island. Thus it is imperative that local and national authorities improve and maintain waste management operations on Boracay Island. Sufficient infrastructure renders more efficient waste management and treatment thus preventing waste leakages into the coastal waters.
Government authorities have addressed the waste management concerns in the past with the implementation of a segregation program for solid waste and the beginning of the operation of a centralized water treatment plant. According to the International Finance Corporation (IFC) the initial solid waste segregation program implemented on the island proved successful. The program involved the set up of Materials Recovery Facilities (MRF), where waste is properly segregated and processed, in each barangay of the island. The Boracay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) together with support from government authorities implemented the project in April 2008 by reason of the IFC’s observation in 2005 that waste segregation is not practiced on the island and no solid waste management facilities were in operation. As a result of the employment of this operation, main tourist sites had been deemed “garbage-free” (Ong et. al 555-556).
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Lantin 4 Unfortunately, as tourism continues to flourish in Boracay and tourist arrivals continue to spike each year, these miniature MRFs can no longer accommodate the amount of
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Lantin 5 garbage being produced by tourist consumption. Local government units (LGU) have noted this and according to Roanne Joy B. Sallave, an employee at the DENR of Region 6, “ The LGU-Malay has filed an application for issuance of Presidential Proclamation and/or Special Patent over a parcel of land… in Brgy [Barangay]. Yapak, Boracay Island…. the LGU is now anticipating the need to have a permanent area that shall be solely used for its MRF to address the burgeoning garbage/waste materials collected daily…(Sallave).” It is important the application is approved soon so that operations can begin. An area designated solely for the purpose of operating an MRF will undoubtedly aid in processing the copious amounts of garbage produced daily and relieve pressure on the MRFs at each barangay to process quickly thus making operations more efficient.
In conjunction with solid waste management practices, the Boracay Water Supply System (BWSS) and BIWC initiated construction of centralized water treatment plants. Studies conducted on the water quality presented promising results as the coliform and pH levels decreased. Although studies have proven that the centralized water treatment system works, it is incomplete and according to Ramon J.P. Paje, a number of residential and commercial establishments have not been able to connect to the unfinished sewerage grid. The capabilities of the incomplete sewerage grid cannot handle the large numbers of tourists that visit Boracay (Dulay), particularly during the peak season, which explains the “seasonal” algal bloom during peak months. It is vital that the water treatment facilities are completed to eradicate sewage outflow that is contaminating the coastal waters in order to ensure and maintain the cleanliness and desirable aesthetic of Boracay’s pristine waters.
Amidst the operation of these programs, there is the need for proper enforcement of sanitation policies in order to supervise operations involving these facilities and to regulate the amounts of trash going into them. In the words of Atty. Dodo Dulay , “Boracay, touted as one of the world’s best beaches, is in danger of turning into an environmental disaster due to the spotty enforcement of sanitation and wastewater rules…” Waste segregation systems cannot be left unmonitored and the authorities have the responsibility of ensuring that such operations run smoothly hence potent enforcement of current environmental policies is essential to prevent any further damage on the coastal environment. Improvements made on the way policies are enforced means tighter supervision of tourist waste disposal and the
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Lantin 6 processing of these wastes to ensure the garbage winds up in the correct place rather than the shore and coastal waters.
In light of the problems regarding inadequate solid waste management, responsibility for handling biodegradable and recyclable waste was given to the barangays in Boracay while the residual waste is to be handled by local government units (LGUs) (Virrey-Pizzato). However, tourism-related organizations need to provide more assistance to smaller firms, such as LGUs, that lack the financial resources so that these firms can help with the implementation of sustainability programs (qtd. in Bui 2000) (Ong et. al 565). A prime example of this situation would be the Boracay Island Master Plan (BMDP) in the late 1980s. The Department of Tourism (DOT) began their plans for sustainable tourism in Boracay when the BMDP was created to handle the influx of arrivals due to rising visitor rates on the island. The Local Government Code (LGC) in 1991 resulted in the handing of responsibility of efforts towards managing the development of Boracay Island from the DOT over to the LGU which in turn led to the failure to implement the changes specified in the BMDP since the LGU lacked sufficient resources to oversee the management required by the program. Due to the LGUs’ failure to implement the BMDP, responsibility was reassigned to the DOT under Memorandum Order No. 214 in 2006 (qtd. in Burgos 2008; DOT, 2008) and the Eminent Persons Group that is led by the Tourism Secretary. (Ong et. al 552)
Bramwell and Lane, researchers who conducted a study on sustainable tourism and government planning, suggest that since local authorities do not possess the human and financial resources that the national authority does, intervention by the state is necessary to ensure the sustainability of coastal tourism development. Along with help from the state, managing the sustainability of tourism development also relies on cooperation among stakeholders to monitor tourism activities (Ong et. al 564-565). Tourism undersecretary Benito C. Bengzon also expresses his awareness of this need to work together as he stated, “… it would be crucial for DOT ‘to get the support of the local stakeholders and local establishments because they have more stake than anyone else (italics mine), more than the
visitors or the tourists’” (Andrade). Therefore, authorities at both local and national levels must work hand-in-hand to create a stronger enforcement body.
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Lantin 7 With adequate infrastructure and effective enforcement of policies, attaining sustainable coastal tourism on Boracay Island becomes feasible. Nevertheless, even with such improvements, it all comes down to tourist behavior. Based on experience, many tourists are careless and unconcerned with their disposal of waste. It is not uncommon to find plastic bottles, empty bags of chips, cigarettes, and the like floating around in the water or buried in the sand. Every piece of garbage adds to the waste problem and the tourists seem unaware of the imminent dangers that await if this sort of behavior continues. Lack of tourist awareness is an evident problem in Boracay. If tourists continue to improperly dispose their waste nothing will change hence tourist education is of utmost importance in order to achieve sustainable tourism.
Environmental education informs tourists in hopes of making them more environmentally aware of their behavior (qtd. in Knapp, 2000) and responsible with their actions towards the environment (qtd. in Orams, 1997). Studies on the topic have produced varying results, some produced results exhibiting the existence of a co-relation between environmental knowledge and more responsible behavior while others presented data showing that the relationship between the two is negligible (Mensah 72-73). Although some studies have shown a minimal relationship between being environmentally knowledgeable and environmentally responsible, there is no harm in making tourists aware of the pollution on the island and the plausible dangers if it continues to worsen.
A proposed way of making tourists aware of the causes and effects of pollution on the island is to set-up bulletin boards with graphic images of what is currently happening around them due to their irresponsible waste disposal habits. A study conducted by Jennifer Cantrell on the effectiveness of graphic warnings produced results that proved pictorial warnings are significantly more effective when communicating information. Quoting directly from Cantrell’s study, “images designed to illustrate text information stimulate greater message processing because pictures draw attention, improve learning and memory and impact postmessage attitudes (Cantrell 7-8).” This concept could be applied to tourism education in Boracay in order to make tourists aware of the current state of the island and to promote wary
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Lantin 7 tourist behavior so as to avert the eradication of the coastal shores and realize sustainable tourism on the island.
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Lantin 8 In summary, government authorities need to focus their attention on the absence of adequate waste management facilities on the island, an efficient system of enforcement of environmental policies, and environmental awareness of tourists. These are all factors contributing to the depletion of Boracay’s coastal environment. The coastal tourism industry in Boracay relies heavily on the environment thus preservation of the island’s natural resources is key to keep the industry alive. These issues hinder the coastal tourism industry from becoming sustainable and the longer they stay unresolved the deeper the damage becomes on both Boracay’s environment and its coastal tourism business.
The relationship between the environment and sustainable coastal tourism was covered in this paper however there are other factors that need to be considered when aiming to attain sustainability. The interrelationship between overpopulation and sustainable coastal tourism is an important area for study, especially in the case of Boracay due to the rising tourist arrival rates. Boracay Island’s coastal tourism business provides opportunities for leisure, economic growth, education, and appreciation for the environment so it is important to ensure the industry continues to flourish for future generations.
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Works Cited
Virrey-Pizzato, Amanda. “A Call for Sustainable Waste Management on Boracay Island.” Boracay Sun. 3 Oct 2012. Web. 28 Mar 2016. Dulay, Dodo. “Boracay: On the edge of disaster.” The Manila Times. 9 Mar 2015. Web. 28 Mar 2016. Coastlearn . n.p, 25 Sep 2004. Web. 28 Mar 2016
Ong, Lei Tin Jackie, Donovan Storey, and John Minnery. “Beyond the Beach: Balancing Environmental and Socio-Cultural Sustainability in Boracay, The Philippines.” Tourism Geographies . 13. 4. (2011): 550, 552, 555-556, 564-565. Web. 28 Mar 2016. Wong, P.P. Coastal Tourism in Southeast Asia. Manila: International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management. 1991. Print. Ghosh, Tuhin. “Coastal Tourism: Opportunity and Sustainability.” Journal of Sustainable Development. 4. 6. (2011): 68. Web. 28 Mar 2016. “Paje urges collective effort to improve Boracay’s water quality.” Department of Environment and Natural Resources. 21 Feb 2015. Web. 28 Mar 2016. Garcia, Krista. “Trash Talk: What really happened in Laboracay 2015.” Rappler. 23 May 2015. Web. 29 Mar 2016. Andrade, Jeannette. “DOT Optimistic Boracay visitors to increase, vows steps to improve water quality.” Philippine Daily Inquirer. 22 Mar 2015. Web. 28 Mar 2016. Sallave, Roanne. “LGU Malay seeks DENR’s help for Boracay MRF.” Department of Environmental and Natural Resources. 23 Feb 2015. Web. 31 Mar 2016. Mensah, Ishmael. “Environmental Education and Environmentally Responsible Behavior: The Case of International Tourists in Accra Hotels .” International Journal of Tourism Sciences . 12. 3. (2012). 72-73. Web. 31 Mar 2016.
Cantrell, Jennifer. Et.al “Impact of Toacco!"elate# $ealt% &arnin' Lael( acro(( )ocioeconomic, "ace an# Et%nic *ro+p( "e(+lt( from a "an#omi-e# &e!a(e# E/periment. Plos One. 8. 1. 2013. 7!8. &e. 31 ar 2016
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